Epicor pushed us to 2022.1 over last weekend. We use CADLink to coordinate data to/from SolidWorks. QBuild is an Epicor partner but apparently QBuild was not in the loop for the upgrade and CADLink is now disabled and can’t connect to Epicor. QBuild is promising an updated installer in the next few days but we have already lost 3 days of engineering production.
Anyone else affected by this lately?
Thanks,
-Todd C.
Todd;
Sorry I can’t offer any assistance but this is helpful to know. We use CADlink for our on-premise system which I hope to start testing with 2022.1.3 when it is released.
For what it is worth, we have found QBuild to be very responsive. This is clearly the case that depending on Epicor to inform 3rd parties and verify compatibility should be confirmed.
Do you have a process to test CADLink in your pilot cloud environment? I have found this to be a major pain as you have to break your production environment to point the client to another environment. We also have this issue with our XL Connect interface.
We are mid implementation for CADLInk and found the issue back when 2022.1 was applied to our test environments. They got it fixed several weeks ago for us. They told us that even though they’re an Epicor partner, it is the customer’s responsibility to let them know an upgrade is planned (even though we’re cloud and on the standard upgrade schedule)
From QBuild:
Although we're an Epicor partner, we do not know the exact schedule of when your instance of Epicor is upgraded as this varies for different customers.
That being said, we ask that you give us a heads up via email 2 weeks prior to your planned Epicor upgrade date, as mentioned during our project kickoff call.
Our development team tests our Epicor environments and makes any necessary changes prior to any Epicor upgrade roll-outs, but the upgrade notice from you will let us know when to release an updated CADLink installer.
The main point is that as a SaaS site we have no control over updates. We are not in the driver’s seat for planning. I know where to look for updates that are scheduled by Epicor but they only have a date and sometimes an estimate of how long it might not be available. No details at all about what is being updated, what the new version\release\patch level might be. We might have had more concern if I had been able to see it was going to 2022.1 since that, in my mind, would indicate a major update. We can’t even preview in our Pilot instance since it all happens at once. I know CADLink is difficult to switch back and forth which instance to use. I believe it does not use a config file where separate connections could be made. All our databases get converted with new schemas at the same time.
I suspect the root of the issue is lack of communication between Epicor and QBuild. As an Epicor partner we would expect QBuild to be informed about pending releases - especially in Cloud settings - and be prepared for multiple sites that could be impacted. Why can’t Epicor provide the upgrade notice to QBuild with details about what changes there are, since the Cloud sites don’t even have this information? Aside from Epicor possibly monitoring EUG threads I think we need to raise this issue with the client’s CAM.
And, yes, QBuild has been very responsive for questions and even possible re-mappings of fields.
IMHO,
-Todd
I agree that QBuild and Epicor should communicate better and not put all responsibility on the customer.
As for upgrades, there is information out there, release notes, etc. but you have to go look for them. Test environments are updated 1 week prior to live for minor updates and 4 weeks prior to live for major releases. When I get a notice a release or upgrade is planned, I go to EpicWeb and search for the release number to find documentation. For minor updates, these typically aren’t posted until after it’s applied to test environments. For updates, we only review the UBC dashboard. For releases, we go through a full test plan especially focusing on integrated solutions and customizations.
Recently, I haven’t been receiving the emails so I have to be aware of the release schedules to know when to go look for release notes, but Epicor should be sending emails to advise when these updates will happen.
I have been informed by the manager at the corporate level who handles the QBuild relationship that he had received the following from QBuild about the latest incident:
We do get advanced notice from Epicor to test out CADLink compatibility against the latest version they're releasing.
This particular release required more changes to CADLink than expected, and especially with your CADLink installer being customized, it required a longer lead time than usual.
We're working with our senior developers as well as Epicor to ensure enough time and resources are allocated for future releases.
Thank you for your patience and apologies for the inconvenience.
Yes, they are responsive. Hopefully the incident was a one-off occurrence.
-Todd
Thank you for sharing that! We are planning to customize the installer and wondered how it might impact the upgrade process. There were some significant changes with 2022.1 so I’m not surprised it is requiring longer than usual
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