Epicor Moves from WebEx to ReadyTech for Added Functionality & Efficiency

• Conventional meeting tool not efficient and created inadequate learning experience
• Meeting tool generated a great deal of maintenance and upkeep of training environments
• Image maintenance not manageable and customers had to wait for training, which was limited by the number of available desktops

ReadyTech's platform provides a hosted environment for each student

The platform offers class management tools-such as screen sharing, whiteboard, polling and chat-to enhance the learning experience as well as complete student oversight

• Epicor's student numbers jumped 300% from 1,260 in 2011 to 5,200 in 2016
• Instructors gain ability to view and control students' remote desktop
• Enabled Epicor to deploy own training images, saving time and costs

About Epicor

Epicor Software Corporation provides industry-specific business software designed around the needs of manufacturing, distribution, retail and services organizations. The organization boasts more than 20,000 customers in 150 countries. Solutions are provided in the cloud, hosted or on premises and include: Epicor Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP); Human Capital Management (HCM); Financial Management; Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES); Supply Chain Management (SCM); Retail Software; Distribution Software; Lumber and Build Materials Software; and Automotive Aftermarket Software. Epicor is the trademark of Epicor Software Corporation, registered in the United States and other countries.

Moving from a meeting tool to a training platform

In 2011, Epicor made the switch from in-person classroom training to online training in order to manage the high cost of travel for students and instructors. Initially, Epicor's training department used WebEx for live web-based training, but soon realized that using a meeting tool for training was not efficient and created an inadequate learning experience for their students. And when the organization increased its training staff from three to nine instructors and added a large number of classes, it became obvious that change was critical.

"Using WebEx for live web-based training was no longer a productive process for us," explains Amy Melton, Epicor's Director of Education. "Because WebEx was primarily a meeting tool, there was a great deal of maintenance and upkeep required on our end for the training environment."

She adds, "With WebEx, there was no hosted environment, the maintenance of images was not manageable, customers had to wait for training and were limited by the number of available remote desktops, and IT support was difficult to reach. Our large number of classes and instructors no longer allowed us to manage the training environment and offer hands-on training. We needed a new solution."

Melton began looking for a platform to provide a hosted environment for each student, as well as class management tools-such as screen sharing, whiteboard, polling and chat-to enhance the learning experience. She also wanted a platform that offered complete student oversight.

Epicor experiences a large increase in usage

Since making the move to ReadyTech, Epicor's student numbers have jumped from 1,260 in 2011 to more than 5,200 in 2016. Melton attributes this +300% increase in usage to ReadyTech's strong hands-on learning environment.

"The ability for instructors to view students' screens using ReadyTech's thumbnail view is vital," explains Melton. "Seeing and controlling an individual student's screen-as well as viewing all desktops at one time-is very helpful. This enables instructors to conduct class as if students are actually in the same room."

Additionally, Melton finds the Admin Portal to be extremely useful:

This allows us to deploy our own images, which saves the training team a great deal of time. When we looked beyond WebEx, we found ReadyTech could meet all of our needs. And it has done just that.

Amy Melton, Director of Education

About ReadyTech

ReadyTech is the easiest and most cost-effective way to deliver worldwide IT training. Our proprietary technology eliminates the most cumbersome, technical and administrative functions of running an IT training program. Students can connect through a browser from anywhere in the world to a high performance lab-environment suited for their needs. Our online training software gives instructors complete oversight and control of the lab environment and virtual classroom.