In Windows Azure, Analysts See Leveling of ERP Playing Field, With a Natural Edge to Dynamics

Now that Epicor and Sage have decided to join the Microsoft Dynamics ERP team and support versions of their ERP solutions on Microsoft's Windows Azure cloud platform, the question is: How will Dynamics ERP products stand up to the competition on their home turf?

Constellation Research analyst Frank Scavo thinks the Azure cloud will actually level the playing field.

"What it really does is it takes the cloud computing element out of the decision," he explained in an interview. "Now a buyer can get any of these ERP systems on Azure. So that's kind of a level playing field. Now [the customers] are back to looking at the features [of each system]. Buyers are looking at features and functions and if the package supports their functional requirements. That's going to win over a package that doesn't, regardless of what platform it's on. I think Azure is the great equalizer here in cloud computing. It's allowing these vendors to deploy cloud versions of their software and take the cloud element out of the decision."

China Martens, an analyst at Forrester Research, agrees that Azure levels the playing field, but Dynamics is likely to maintain a home field advantage of sorts.

"The [Dynamics ERP teams] say the [other vendors] will never be able to run as optimally on Azure as they will because it's their (Microsoft's) technology," Martens says.  "But if you talk to the other side of the house, for Azure to look really strong and robust [the Azure team] needs to have these third parties developing in ...