Services organizations are always looking for ways to optimize their processes to better deliver projects on time and on budget for higher profits.

Businesses can meet these challenges with enhancements in NetSuite OpenAir 2022 Release 1 that help project managers and delivery teams increase their focus and productivity with adjustments to project bookings while improving project and resource availability schedules. The release also updates the user experience and delivers comprehensive reporting through the improved NetSuite and Business Intelligence Connectors.

Renewed User Experience

A redesigned user experience in OpenAir 2022 Release 1 will roll out from April through June. The new responsive design optimizes screen real estate and adapts well to smaller screens for improved usability and work efficiency. Highlights include the following changes:

  • Improved navigation—The user center, navigation menus and the create, tips and resource compensation buttons are redesigned for simpler interactions and faster clickthrough.
  • Working with lists and records—Users can see more information in both list views and record headers. You also get greater control over in-record navigation and convenient advanced project filtering, so that they can quickly access the data they need.
  • Enriched assistance – A fresh new look to the OpenAir Help Center provides more convenient, accessible help resources. No more going through monolithic PDF manuals. The Help Center incorporates searchable support, training videos and release notes.
OpenAir Project Workspace
OpenAir Project Workspace

Faster Business Intelligence

The NetSuite Connector and the Business Intelligence Connector tools now offer faster and simpler integrations with OpenAir. Advanced query options and a scripting explorer make it easier to integrate either OpenAir and third-party data in select business intelligence tools or OpenAir and NetSuite data.

With NetSuite OpenAir’s NetSuite Connector, you can export exactly the information you need and simplify workflows to overcome project reporting challenges. Other NetSuite Connector enhancements include:

OpenAir Filter Builder for export workflows
OpenAir Filter Builder for export workflows

With NetSuite OpenAir’s Business Intelligence Connector, you can now retrieve exactly the information you need when accessing your published OpenAir report data from your preferred business intelligence tools or in your OpenAir user scripts. Other enhancements within the OpenAir Business Intelligence Connector include:

  • Ability to specify the columns you need in reporting by using the select and query option.
  • More advanced analysis through the ability to better filter rows to match your search criteria.
  • Transfer published report data into your scripts with the help of the new OData explorer.
OpenAir BI Connector OData Explorer
OpenAir BI Connector OData Explorer

Enhanced Project Center

NetSuite OpenAir 2022 Release 1 also delivers new enhancements to help project managers work faster and more efficiently. Users can be more productive by easily updating project plans and staffing, and anticipating potential problems with project schedule and resource availability right from the project center. In this release users can adjust project plans by:

  • Dragging the fill handle to copy a booking hours value to adjacent cells. (1)
  • Copy and paste booking hours in the project center booking worksheet. (2)
  • View the availability of the booked resource for each week as they make changes. (3)
  • View warning indicators showing potential overutilization of resources in each week and out of schedule bookings. (4)
  • Copy bookings by creating and adding bookings to project templates.
Project schedule and resource availability worksheet
Project schedule and resource availability worksheet

OpenAir Mobile

NetSuite OpenAir 2022 Release 1 also improves upon the OpenAir mobile 4.3 module. Users can now work efficiently with expenses using the upcoming edit features for expense reports so that reporting is quicker and more convenient. Other enhancements with the OpenAir Mobile application include:

  • The ability to add attachments directly from other apps using the share function on your device.
  • Easily clone or move receipts from one expense to another.
  • Create multiple expense reports by cloning already existing reports.
  • Dark display mode for better visibility and to reduce eye strain.
OpenAir Mobile 4.3 dark theme interface
OpenAir Mobile 4.3 dark theme interface

Listen to the NetSuite Podcast on the latest release of OpenAir:

These are just a few of the highlights in OpenAir 2022 Release 1. For more information on the full list of features and how to use them, be sure to check out the 2022 Release 1 Notes (opens in new tab) and the 2022 Release 1 new feature webinar (opens in new tab).

The preceding is intended to outline our general product direction. It is intended for information purposes only and may not be incorporated into any contract. It is not a commitment to deliver any material, code, or functionality, and should not be relied upon in making purchasing decisions. The development, release, timing, and pricing of any features or functionality described for Oracle’s products may change and remains at the sole discretion of Oracle Corporation.