Contact:
Mei Li
Phone: 650.627.1063
E-mail: meili@netsuite.com
NetSuite, Inc.
NEW NETSUITE CUSTOMIZATION MAKES
ON-LINE APPLICATIONS AS CUSTOMIZABLE AS TRADITIONAL
SOFTWARE
NetSuite First ASP to Bring Advanced
Customization to Web-native Business Applications
New Account Cloning Capability
Enables Solution Providers to "Customize Once,
Sell Often"
SAN MATEO, CA – December 8, 2003 – NetSuite,
Inc., makers of Oracle® Small Business Suite, today
announced new customization technology that makes its
on-line applications as customizable as traditional,
"self-managed" applications. This new technology
enables companies to fundamentally alter NetSuite's
Web-native, on-demand products with the addition of
database tables, as well as the addition of custom code
enabling rapid customization to meet company and industry
needs. NetSuite also addresses a major shortcoming of
traditional application customization by automatically
carrying forward customizations with each new release.
NetSuite also unveiled Account Cloning, a new capability
that allows Solution Providers to configure and customize
NetSuite to meet the needs of a particular industry
segment, and then replicate that account as they sell
it to multiple companies within that target market.
The Oracle Small Business Suite name is used under license
from Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL).
NetSuite customization is a major breakthrough because
it solves two problems facing the business application
market. First, Web-native business applications have
seen increasing adoption, but have been viewed as "one
size fits all." Secondly, traditional application
software has the major drawback that once customized,
it is very difficult to upgrade to newer versions of
the business application when they become available.
"NetSuite shatters the myths about the customization
of on-line products; our thousands of NetSuite customers
are running different, customized versions of the product,"
said Zach Nelson, CEO of NetSuite. "Not only does
NetSuite have the capabilities previously available
only in incredibly expensive and complex software products,
but more importantly, we also carry forward our customers'
modifications each time we upgrade them to a new version
of NetSuite."
NetSuite brings to the ASP market customization capabilities
previously found only in much more expensive "enterprise"
applications. It complements the highly configurable
elements of NetSuite such as user-defined dashboards
and the ability to add an unlimited number of custom
fields with advanced customization capabilities including:
- NetSuite Custom Records – allows companies
to extend the database structure of NetSuite to support
complex data relationships unique to each business.
With this feature, businesses can define their own
custom record sets that can then be related to standard
records within NetSuite in a one-to-one or one-to-many
manner. For example, using NetSuite Custom Records,
you could create defect or issue management records
with custom fields that track severity, status, defect
details, and resolution details. These defect records
could then be linked to standard support cases in
a one-to-many data model. As another example, you
might gather customer survey data via a custom record
exposed as an online form, and then link the responses
to the survey to each customer record in a one-to-one
data model.
- NetSuite Custom Code – allows businesses to
programmatically define validation and business rules
that operate client-side on data forms. To make custom
code simpler and more cost effective to implement,
NetSuite uses industry standard JavaScript® rather
than a constraining proprietary tool set, a restriction
often found in traditional software products. NetSuite
Custom Code can be used to perform simple field validations,
such as enforcing that phone numbers are entered in
a particular format or much more complex business
rules, such as enforcing sales methodologies. Particular
steps within the methodology could be implemented
via custom sub-tabs and custom fields on the opportunity
which the sales representative uses to indicate their
progress. Custom code would then enforce that an opportunity
status can not be moved forward to an 80% probability
of close with a status of "In Negotiation,"
for example, without completing the "Presented
Value Proposition" step.
Because NetSuite manages all software releases and
upgrades for all of its customers, the company architected
the features of NetSuite so that upgrades would carry
forward any and all customizations in each and every
account.
Projector Doctor, a San Diego, Calif.-based projector
repair company has leveraged NetSuite customization
technology to tailor NetSuite to meet its business needs.
"Our most significant area of customization is
in the data we collect during the repair process,"
said Dean Mitchell, partner of the firm. "We have
added several custom tabs with data that is captured
at various points during the repair cycle. NetSuite's
ease of customization made it fit in seamlessly with
the overall flow of customers and repair jobs within
the application. We've also made extensive use of custom
lists in order to add the proper edits to the repair
data we capture. These drop-down lists keep the data
uniform and allow ease of entry. In addition to customer
and repair job customizations, we've created several
custom record types and added fields to items, sales
transactions, and customer service cases. All of this
has carried forward without a hitch with each upgrade."
New NetSuite Account Cloning allows solution providers
to leverage NetSuite customization capabilities and
their specific domain expertise to build more profitable
businesses. NetSuite's solution providers are now able
to leverage this advanced technology to create industry-specific
templates. These template accounts can then be cloned
providing a NetSuite industry solution replicable to
many customers within the industry. These industry customers
can further tailor this solution to their specific company,
department and individual needs. As a result NetSuite
solution providers have extended their businesses to
many vertical markets other ASPs have never reached
including bio-tech, construction, real estate, financial
services and agriculture.
Explore Consulting has done extensive customization
for their clients. Steve Jones, CEO and Partner of Explore
Consulting touted, "NetSuite's customization technology
has given us the Custom Records and Custom Code capabilities
necessary to build a robust financial services vertical
solution. With NetSuite Account Cloning, we're able
to customize once and sell often. It's a win-win proposition
because we benefit from ease of use of the tools and
replication. The customer benefits from being able to
access an affordable solution, in a fraction of the
normal implementation time, which meets their industry
requirements and still provides tailoring for their
company's unique processes and personalization."
For more information about NetSuite visit: www.netsuite.com.
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