Edith Cowan University Chooses Microsoft Axapta for teaching ERP

Perth - Friday, 17 February 2006 - Eclipse Computing Australia Pty Ltd (Eclipse), today announced that the Faculty of Business and Law of Edith Cowan University (ECU), one of the largest universities in Australia, has chosen Microsoft® Business Solutions-Axapta®, now part of Microsoft Dynamics for teaching enterprise resource planning (ERP) for students in the Management Information Systems (MIS) faculty. Eclipse will support and train lecturers to use the system and provide ongoing maintenance and helpdesk support for the faculty.

Professor Craig Standing, the Head of School for MIS, said, “ECU focuses on providing students with professionally-focused degrees that are developed in close cooperation with Australian and international industry bodies. We aim to provide our students access to best practise teaching techniques and the most current tools, which is why we chose Microsoft Axapta. Having knowledge of one of the most widely used ERP systems will provide a competitive advantage for ECU students when entering the employment market.

“Our portfolio of courses has been carefully planned to meet the demands of the students, the community, and employers and the program is continually under review to reflect the changes in the industry. Our course development recognises the changing patterns of commerce and the industry and we believe that with Microsoft Axapta our students will get a better view of how organisations are structured and operate in the real world.

“We’ll be using Microsoft Axapta initially for the ‘Introduction to ERP’ module with a view to roll it out in the next three years or so to other modules including project management, advanced ERP, customer relationship management, supply chain manufacturing, ebusiness and accounting and finance,” said Professor Standing.

Martin Wildsmith, director of business solutions of Eclipse, said, “Microsoft Axapta has over 3,500 sites worldwide and is the fastest-growing ERP system in the world. Being chosen as an academic tool for the industry is an additional proof point of the practical adoption of the system in the commercial marketplace.”

Eclipse has the largest Microsoft Axapta team in Australia with the strongest skill set and capability to resource Axapta implementation projects. Microsoft Axapta is a highly customisable, flexible and fully featured out-of-box ERP solution designed for enterprise resource planning, distribution, supply chain management, manufacturing and businesses with unique workflow which is built on Microsoft architecture. Microsoft Axapta is a cost effective alternative to ‘Tier One’ solutions for the upper mid-market.

Eclipse was awarded Microsoft Business Solutions Outstanding Partner of the Year Asia Pacific 2005 in July. This is the most prestigious accolade given to any Microsoft Business Solutions partner in Australia. It honours Microsoft Business Solutions reselling partners whose commitment to customers is reflected in their business performance and high level of sales achievement and customer satisfaction.