Leading On-Demand Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Suite for the Mid-Market Helps Sage Customers Transition Smoothly to SaaS
Customers Deploying NetSuite to Replace Their Sage Legacy Software Realise Major Efficiency and Productivity Gains
SAN MATEO, Calif.—March 4, 2009—NetSuite Inc. (NYSE: N), a leading vendor of on-demand, integrated business software suites that provide Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Ecommerce software to mid-market enterprises and divisions of large companies, today announced a new program for Sage Software customers interested in switching from their current Sage products in order to experience the productivity benefits of NetSuite and Software as a Service (SaaS) computing. The NetSuite Sage Switch program guarantees Sage customers at least 50% off their first year NetSuite subscription when they switch to one or more NetSuite on-demand applications. The program, which is available to all Sage customers in good standing and covers all Sage products, also offers 100 hours of free professional services that can be applied to NetSuite's shared implementation offering. The NetSuite Sage Switch offer is only available through June 30, 2009. For more details about the program, please visit www.netsuite.co.uk/sageswitch.
This new program from NetSuite comes on the heels of Sage's most recent problems with the beta test version of its SaaS offering, Sage Live. Recently, a serious security flaw was uncovered in Sage Live, forcing Sage to shut down its beta trial. ZDNet blogger Phil Wainwright provided some expert perspective on this latest Sage Live problem in his blog post entitled: Sage Shows Why Bigcos Can't Be Trusted with SaaS.
Wrote Wainwright: "I'm not privy to what went on within Sage during the development and unveiling of its new offering, but it seems clear that the project was being directed by people with no practical experience of running business-critical on-demand offerings, and no such advice was sought (or if it was, it wasn't taken seriously). What kind of thought processes allows a product to see the light of day without that kind of scrutiny?"
NetSuite would like Sage customers to consider the NetSuite on-demand business management system as an alternative to Sage Live, considering NetSuite is available now and is already in use by more than 6,000 customers. A recent report from the analyst firm Saugatuck (Great Expectations: SaaS Strategies in the Finance Organisation) identified 'explosive growth' of SaaS in key financial functions by the end of 2010. SaaS applications and suites enable employees to work any time and anywhere — and get the latest accounting innovations without the pain of upgrading. NetSuite has been delivering SaaS finance applications for 10 years.
Unlike Sage, NetSuite has only a single code base to maintain and innovate in operating its NetSuite on-demand service — so NetSuite customers get all the benefit of a highly focused R&D effort designed to help them leverage and grow their investment.
NetSuite anticipates that Sage customers will find a lot to like about the NetSuite offer as they seek opportunities in this economic downturn to realise value across their operations.
NetSuite Replaces Sage at the Following Companies in the US and in the UK:
Redstor Limited (www.redstor.com), an IT managed services and solution provider based in Reading, Berkshire, UK, switched to NetSuite from Sage and other silo software applications. The company has realised true value using NetSuite.
"NetSuite has transformed our business," said Steve Harcourt, Service and Delivery Manager , Redstor. "In the 'old days,' Redstor used ACT! for contact management, Gemini for problem management, Excel for customer quotations, and Sage Line 50 for the accounts. We really struggled to produce any accurate and relevant business analysis information, and in many cases we stopped bothering to ask for it, because we knew that it would take so long to pull it all together, and by then it would inevitably be out of date. Now we have immediate access to up-to-date, accurate reports, enabling us to continue our growth, by identifying and focusing on the most profitable elements of the business."
Innovice Plc (www.innovise.com), based in Brierley Hill, West Midlands, UK, is a fast-growing supplier of managed IT solutions that also provides its own workforce management and compliance software to facilities management, manned Guarding, NHS and other and other services led businesses.
"The advanced functionality of NetSuite with features such as income recognition have saved us a lot of time and improved the accuracy of the accounts, which we just did not get with Sage," said Tony Edwards, Finance Director, Innovise. "Switching from Sage to NetSuite enables us to make rapid and detailed analysis of our business, and with NetSuite OneWorld we have now dramatically reduced the time taken to produce month-end consolidated accounts."
AbilityNet (www.abilitynet.org.uk), based in London, is a national charity helping disabled adults and children use computers and the Internet by adapting and adjusting technology to suit their needs.
"With NetSuite we are firmly back in control — it has improved life for our users and our customers," said Eliot Martin, Client Services Director of AbilityNet UK. "We had previously used Sage to manage our finances but it just wasn't up to the job. We couldn't access streamlined reports and didn't have a clear view of our business. This made decision making difficult and time consuming. With NetSuite we no longer have data trapped in legacy systems, distributed across multiple systems or hidden in individual files. The centralisation and hosting of data has proved to be one of the biggest benefits to the company, enabling better control over its assets and a clearer view of its financial operations."
Bitemark (www.bmcgiftware.eu), based in London, is an EMEA-wide retailer of games, adult goods and giftware through multiple websites.
"Before NetSuite Bitemark was using Sage Line 50 for financials, but it wasn't working well," said Dominic Hawes, Managing Director of Bitemark. "Sage was costing £800 a year but I then had to pay two people who were doing nothing but rekeying data. That's expensive when there is no value-add. Sage also wasn't designed to manage a warehouse effectively, and when integrated with Actinic, our customers were ordering goods that were found to be out of stock and damaging our customer service. Thanks to NetSuite we are more dynamic, transparent, streamlined and integrated than ever before and are seeing an immediate saving of over £100,000. That's a direct ROI on the software. It's a brilliant system."
The Central Lift Maintenance Group (CLMG) (www.clmg.com), based in Chicago, is a distributor and service provider of large industrial equipment. Since coming on board with NetSuite, CLMG has used primarily the back-off functionality of the suite, including multi-location inventory, shipping, and payroll, to cut overhead costs and significantly improve companywide reporting to make better business decisions to grow the company.
"We used Sage Accpac for years, and didn't have anything like we have now with NetSuite," said Bryan Murray, IT consultant for CLMG. "We have customised NetSuite to do everything we need it for, so we don't have two systems trying to talk to one another anymore. And with the NetSuite dashboard, which is fantastic, we know exactly what products we need, in real-time. It has helped us close deals faster and make us more profitable."
Room It Up (www.roomitup.com), a division of Prime Source Accessories Inc, a privately held company located in Stuart, Florida, designs and manufactures a coordinated lifestyle collection designed to "Personalise Your Space," including a patented lap desk, totes and cosmetic cases, essentials for campus living, home and closet organisation, beach necessities, etc. Room It Up products are available in over 5,000 retail stores throughout the United States as well as numerous countries around the world. Room It Up is using the full NetSuite for its accounting, customer relationship management, and its ecommerce Web store.
"We switched from Sage MAS 90 and other products to NetSuite, and the company has benefited significantly since then," said Joseph Rudolf, CFO, Room It Up. "Working in a fast-paced industry, we deal with a lot of inventory, locations, and multiple websites. NetSuite is able to tie everything together and be our one system behind the scenes. It's the ideal solution for a company like ours that is moving quickly and growing rapidly."
LaptopSchools.com (www.laptopschools.com), based in Seal Beach, California, sells laptops to students at private and public schools through partner schools across North America. Since coming on board with NetSuite, LaptopSchools.com has used the e-commerce and the back-office functionality, including serialised inventory, shipping and CRM to cut costs significantly, helping them manage their business efficiently.
"With Sage/SBT we spent a lot of time and money customising and integrating different modules," said Mike Vitiello, Owner, LaptopSchools.com. "It was a nightmare! It took three systems just to make one sale happen and there was no way we could systematically track each laptop that we shipped. With NetSuite we have one system that takes care of our Web store and seamlessly ties into our accounting system. We do about 2,000 online transactions per year through NetSuite and we never have to worry about losing orders or laptops anymore."
Ambiente Wine Importing Co. Inc. (www.ambientewine.com), based in Austin, Texas, is a wholesale distribution company based in Austin, Texas, dedicated to selling an excellent variety of wines and spirits statewide.
"Growing businesses like ours do not usually possess the experience or cash flow to choose the best business software on the market, yet given the importance of this decision to our future success, a bad choice of software could cripple a growing business at its most vulnerable stage," said Jordan Actkinson, President and Owner of Ambiente Wine Importing Co. Inc., based in Austin, Texas, who switched from Sage Accpac to NetSuite. "NetSuite eliminates the hidden costs of a bad decision. We don't have to worry about upgrades, data back-up paranoia, outages, and the hassle of hiring someone to bring it all together. NetSuite's online presence lets us work anywhere. The lack of hardware investment keeps capital expenses and maintenance costs low. And NetSuite's pricing structure is scalable to the size of the business and its requirements. Nobody ever actually likes their business software. I like NetSuite."
For more information about NetSuite Inc., please visit www.netsuite.co.uk.
NOTE: NetSuite and the NetSuite logo are registered service marks of NetSuite Inc.