Epicor, the developer of Prophet 21™ recently announced a significant change to how it rolls out new versions. Distributors who do not currently use the Web application will need to begin planning their migration.
As of its Spring 2021 release, Epicor will no longer provide new features in the Desktop application — and it will be the last Desktop version it develops at all.
“This focus on our Web application has been in direct response to our customers’ growing interest in using the Web Application, as well as their desire to invest in the cloud,” the Epicor Distribution team announced in a customer email in mid-November. “Therefore, going forward, all new features will be placed in the Web application only.”
“I was pleased to see Epicor finally release dates associated with the Fat Client retirement,” said Chad Whaley, Echopath CEO and co-founder. “I expect many of us can now move on to driving greater automation and utilization benefits of the P21 platform and focus less on application performance of the 32-bit Fat Client architecture.”
End of an Era
The new approach has been years in the making. For several of its most recent releases, P21® had features available only in the Web application, such as Report Studio in the Fall 2020 release.
You might recall that when Prophet 21 was first released with web-based functionality in 2017, we cautioned you to transition slowly in order to kick the tires. We took that approach with a few clients and were mostly pleased with the results. Nearly a year later, we were recommending clients begin the transition.
Now that the developer has set a clear end date for the Desktop version, distributors can no longer put off making the switch.
How to Prepare
To adopt the Web approach, there are two things to know. First, you will need to deploy a server running Prophet 21 Middleware software. This server controls all the data processing and business logic, acting as a central point of communication between your SQL database (which stores the data) and the Web user interface.
The second consideration is whether you want to restrict P21 access to devices on your corporate network or open up to external devices. While external access permits authorized users to work with P21 while outside the office, it does raise some additional security risks that need to be mitigated and monitored — especially because P21 is typically a critical component of your business operations.
At Echopath, we have the expertise and experience to help ease the transition and walk you through any concerns.
To schedule a time to discuss your P21 plan, call us at (855) 337-2225, or email info@echopath.com.
Key P21 Milestones on the Road to Web-Only
Spring 2021 — Prophet 21 2021.1
- Epicor provides final Desktop version, with no new features
- Users can choose to use either Desktop or Web versions
- Fixes for the Desktop application will continue
Fall 2021 — Prophet 21 2021.2
- Web-only version release (no Desktop)
- Limited fixes for the 2021.1 (Spring) Desktop application continue
- Customers with maintenance support retain full access to services
November 30, 2022 — Desktop End-of-Life
- No further fixes for the Desktop application
- Customers with maintenance support retain full access to services