Leading On-Demand ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) Suite for Mid-Market Companies Helps Large SAP Customers Cut Costs and Relieves Them from Hefty Maintenance Fees and Upgrade Hassles
Customers Deploying NetSuite to Replace or Complement SAP realise Major Cost Savings and Productivity Gains
SAN MATEO, Calif.—February 11, 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 for mid-market enterprises businesses and divisions of large companies, today announced the extension of its Business ByNetSuite program for SAP (NYSE: SAP) customers. The program targets existing SAP R/3 software customers who are eager to address expanding business software needs without having to increase their capital investment in SAP. The NetSuite program guarantees SAP R/3 software customers at least 50% off their current annual maintenance and support agreement when they switch to an annual NetSuite subscription. For more information about the Business ByNetSuite program, please visit www.netsuite.com.sg/businessbynetsuite.
Originally launched in November 2008, the successful program is being extended through the second quarter of 2009, giving SAP customers now up for renewal the opportunity to move to the more cost-effective NetSuite business management system.
NetSuite's announcement comes shortly after SAP's launch of SAP Business Suite 7, an upgrade to its monolithic on-premise legacy application, SAP 6. This new suite offering still fails to provide existing SAP customers with a viable path to the Cloud that so many have been clamoring for.
InformationWeek author and blogger Mary Hayes Weier summed it up well in her February 4 blog post on the new SAP offering: "While Business Suite 7 isn't SaaS, it's a nod to what SaaS proponents have said all along: buying and maintaining huge software packages is not in the best interest of businesses. SAP execs are acknowledging here that the way they've sold software in the past has created problems for customers, and is even more problematic in this difficult economic environment."
Business ByNetSuite enables SAP customers to deploy the complete NetSuite ERP offering at a subsidiary or departmental level as an SAP replacement, or as the top choice for a brand new implementation. In either situation, NetSuite can easily complement a customer's broader SAP investment, and its ability to help companies manage core business operations in a single on-demand business software system can deliver a huge advantage over current SAP division-level deployments in terms of cost savings and overall productivity gains.
A good fit for SAP customers, NetSuite OneWorld is the first and only announced on-demand system to deliver real-time subsidiary management and business consolidation capabilities to mid-market companies for accounting/ERP, CRM and eCommerce operations. All of this capability comes at a fraction of the cost of traditional on-premise ERP solutions. Since its launch in April, NetSuite OneWorld has gained popularity not only in North America, but also in Europe and Asia Pacific. It is helping companies run their global business with an ease they never imagined was possible. Less than a year after its introduction, OneWorld has been quickly adopted by companies across the globe.
Failure at Shane Co. Raises Warning to Mid-Market Companies
While SAP Business Suite 7 may tempt SAP and non-SAP customers alike who are eager to streamline business processes and cut costs, the recent failed SAP implementation at national jewelry retailer Shane Co. should give them pause.
SAP's troubles at Shane Co. come on the heels of SAP's continued and well publicized struggles to deliver an on-demand solution to serve mid-market companies, as well as larger SAP customers who desire to complement their SAP legacy environment with on-demand software at the division or line-of-business level. Last year, SAP pulled its on-demand solution, SAP Business ByDesign, from the market and has communicated mixed messages since then about when Business ByDesign might re-emerge.
NetSuite Replaces SAP at Asahi Kasei
One strong example of NetSuite's advantages over SAP at a divisional level is the impact it has had at Asahi Kasei Spandex America after replacing SAP R/3. The company, a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Asahi Kasei Fibers Corp., develops and produces brand fibers of outstanding quality for nearly all fields of applications of textile production. After implementing NetSuite, the company cut its monthly operating costs by 80%, a savings of more than $1 million annually, and was able to eliminate 13 consultants that were dedicated to maintaining and operating their SAP implementation.
"We were spending 3% of our revenue on SAP. By switching to NetSuite, we reduced that cost to 0.1% of revenue," said David Stover, Chief Financial Officer, Asahi Kasei Spandex America. "We're ‘slaves to fashion' here. When fashion changes, we've got to change quickly. And SAP wasn't conducive to those changes. It's not only the system itself but also the infrastructure that was required with SAP. All that stuff goes away with NetSuite."
NetSuite Complements SAP
NetSuite can also play a complementary role at the divisional or subsidiary level in a large organisation where SAP R/3 is deployed at the corporate headquarters. Here are two examples:
NetSuite OneWorld Lets SAP Divisions Manage Globally
Another major consideration for implementing NetSuite at the division level within an enterprise SAP deployment is NetSuite OneWorld — "To our knowledge the only on-demand system to deliver real-time subsidiary-management and business-consolidation capabilities for multinational companies, including front-office, back-office and e-commerce operations," said Nelson.
Program Details
The "Business ByNetSuite" program is available now on a global basis and open to all SAP R/3 customers in good standing. The 50% cost savings is applied based on what an SAP R/3 customer is currently paying for annual maintenance and support. NetSuite guarantees an annual subscription price of 50% lower for a comparable number of user seats, including NetSuite Gold Level support. To expedite SAP replacements, NetSuite has developed a special SAP to NetSuite Migration Program, which includes a set of services and third-party tools designed to help ease the migration for SAP customers making the switch. The program offers 100 hours of free professional services time that can be applied to various implementation tasks such as business process mapping, configuration, data migration, end-user training and deployment assistance.
For more information about NetSuite Inc., please visit www.netsuite.com.sg.
NOTE: NetSuite and the NetSuite logo are registered service-marks of NetSuite Inc.