“SQL Server 2012 Reporting Services greatly improves our analytical and decision-making capabilities, delivering powerful, automated reports that increase efficiency and give employees the information they need to better serve our customers.”

Patrick Parker, Director of IT, Dynamic Sealing Technologies Inc.

Dynamic Sealing Technologies Inc. (DSTI) is a Minnesota-based manufacturer of rotary union and swivel joint products for customers worldwide. The company needed to ensure high availability for its critical Epicor enterprise resource planning (EPR) solution, and it also sought new, simpler data analysis tools. To address these needs, DSTI deployed Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Standard, which provides easier analysis and improves insight into the business. The solution also makes IT more efficient and will ultimately increase system availability.

Business NeedsDynamic Sealing Technologies Inc. (DSTI) is a rapidly growing manufacturer of rotary unions—mechanisms used to transfer fluid from a stationary inlet to a rotating outlet, preserving and isolating the fluid. DSTI exports its products to more than 45 countries.

For many years, DSTI has relied on Epicor ERP software to run its business. Epicor Software, an early adopter of Microsoft SQL Server software, built its next-generation ERP solution on a service-oriented architecture, delivering flexibility, usability, and agility to customers.

“Epicor ERP is the backbone of our business,” says Patrick Parker, Director of IT, DSTI. “It touches every aspect of our company from top to bottom. We have more than 15 computers on the shop floor, and they all run Epicor ERP, using it for everything from logging production job data to handling inventory and shipping. It’s critical to what we do.” For that reason, system availability is key. “We are a 24-hour business, and when we take Epicor down to do updates and software patches, it can have a large impact,” says Parker. “People have to start

writing down what they did, and then they have to key that into the system when it’s back up. That can lead to errors.”

DSTI employees also need easy-to-use data analysis tools to create reports. “The more information we have about our business, the better we are at answering customer questions and taking the pulse of our company at any given time,” says Parker.

To improve availability and data analysis, the company sought to enhance Epicor ERP with new database software technology.

SolutionThe latest version of Epicor ERP is based on Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Standard software, which made it that much more attractive to DSTI. DSTI was particularly interested in SQL Server 2012 Reporting Services, which workers can use to easily create self-service analytical reports in various formats. SQL Server 2012 also features SQL Server 2012 AlwaysOn, an integrated high-availability and disaster-recovery solution that uses availability groups to reduce planned and unplanned downtime. “Although we have not yet

Customer: Dynamic Sealing Technologies Inc.Website: www.dsti.comCustomer Size: 69 employeesCountry or Region: United StatesIndustry: Manufacturing—Industrial equipment and machineryPartner: Epicor SoftwareWebsite: www.epicor.com

Customer ProfileBased in Andover, Minnesota, Dynamic Sealing Technologies Inc. (DSTI) is a manufacturer and supplier of specialized equipment for customers across the world.

Solution Spotlight Helps employees answer questions

about the business and delivers analytical reports more effectively than before.

Gives IT the ability to automate database procedures and easily manage reporting security.

Will provide higher availability for company’s mission-critical Epicor ERP solution.

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Manufacturer Gains Business Insight and Boosts IT Efficiency with Database Solution

implemented AlwaysOn, we know we’ll use it in the future, and we look forward to taking advantage of it,” Parker says.

DSTI implemented SQL Server 2012 and upgraded to the newest version of Epicor ERP in February 2013. “We always deploy the newest Epicor releases as soon as they’re available,” says Parker. “We were one of the first customers to have a SQL Server 2012 license for Epicor.” Microsoft greatly appreciates its partnership with Epicor. “We value the long-standing, ever-expanding partnership Microsoft and Epicor share, which is a prime example of the success that can be achieved through a focused, mutually beneficial relationship,” says Kim Akers, General Manager, Partner Evangelism, Microsoft Corp. “We applaud Epicor for its continued adoption of forward-looking Microsoft technologies. The strong combination of Epicor and Microsoft, with a proven history of innovation, continues to drive value and create new business benefits for Epicor customers worldwide.”

BenefitsWith SQL Server 2012, DSTI can give employees better analytical capabilities and business insight. IT is more efficient, and the firm will be able to ensure higher availability for its ERP solution.

Improves Analytical Capabilities and Business InsightWith SQL Server 2012, DSTI employees can create their own analytical reports based on data in Epicor ERP. “SQL Server 2012 Reporting Services greatly improves our analytical and decision-making capabilities, delivering powerful, automated reports that increase efficiency and give employees the information they need to better serve our customers,” says Parker. “For example, users can get valuable insight into daily jobs we run and can determine at a glance whether we are over or under capacity on a given job.”

Users also get access to reports faster. “It’s very simple for managers to sign up to receive reports in their email each week. Those employees could be on the road in Europe, but the report they need is always accessible in their inbox,” Parker says.

Increases IT Efficiency and Eases IT Management

The DSTI IT department is more efficient, because SQL Server 2012 delivers new functionality that makes certain processes easier to perform. For instance, Parker previously spent a lot of time and effort de-fragmenting indexes on an application. “I had to shut the system down, export the entire contents of the database, and reload them,” says Parker. “It took too much time, and the database would slow down over time without this lengthy process. Now, with SQL Server 2012, I can run a stored procedure every weekend that automatically searches indices and rebuilds the ones that are 30 percent or more fragmented.”

Also, SQL Server 2012 Reporting Services makes it easy for Parker to manage security. “SQL Server 2012 has a great interface for managing security for reports,” he says. “It’s simple for me to create the reporting structure hierarchy and make it secure for each department, so only the individuals in each department can see their respective reports.”

Will Provide Higher Availability for Epicor ERPWhen DSTI implements SQL Server 2012 AlwaysOn, the organization expects to ensure higher availability for Epicor ERP, its most-mission-critical business solution. “SQL Server 2012 AlwaysOn will give us the redundancy and failover capabilities we need,” says Parker. “It’s another great feature in SQL Server 2012, and one that will further enhance our support for our Epicor environment. SQL Server 2012 gives us everything we need to continue to grow our business.”

This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.

Document published August 2013

Software and Services Microsoft Server Product Portfolio− Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Standard

Technologies− Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Reporting

Services− Epicor ERP

Partner Epicor Software