Leading SaaS ERP Suite Offers Key Advantages Over SAP in Cost, Implementation Time, and Sustainability
Orlando, FL—May 11, 2009—NetSuite Inc. (NYSE: N), a leading vendor of on-demand, integrated business software suites for mid-market businesses and divisions of large companies, today announced some of the latest companies to select NetSuite over software provided by SAP. By turning to NetSuite's unique integration of enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM), and Ecommerce capabilities in a single on-demand application, customers such as Distribution Video & Audio, GestureTek and Schaeffer Oil are now realizing the benefits of a modern, enterprise-class business operations platform accessible anywhere in the world, at a fraction of the cost and administrative overhead of SAP.
Upgrading SAP is an Ordeal
According to new research from Macro 4, a UK-based global software company, there is a high degree of risk and complexity involved in most major SAP upgrades. Notable research findings include:
A July 1, 2008 report by Forrester Research reported that the tipping point toward SaaS adoption is the upgrade and application management requirements of on-premise solutions, a pain that is felt by SAP's enterprise ERP customers.
NetSuite: Antidote for the High Cost and Complexity of SAP
For years, companies successful enough to grow to a certain size and complexity had little choice but to "graduate" from off-the-shelf packages or an uneasy assembly of stand-alone, custom programs to software systems from SAP. This rite of passage came at a price—lengthy implementations, expensive hardware and software maintenance, and cumbersome upgrade processes which typically required remedial work to be done just to customise screen views and / or add the simplest of new functionality.
NetSuite has been providing a new, better approach to end-to-end enterprise operations for years, and SAP's target market is taking notice. By providing ERP, CRM, and Ecommerce in a single solution, companies can obtain a robust feature set offered by legacy software developers, including multi-language, multi-currency international operations, full controls and compliance enforcement, and a 360-degree view of customers and prospects.
As a Software as a Service (SaaS) pioneer, NetSuite has perfected the delivery model for today's always-on, business-anywhere enterprise. Anytime, anywhere access enables companies to run lean, without a need for centralized facilities, while providing instant scalability for enterprises expanding into new markets and opportunities. Unlike an SAP implementation, which can drag on for months or even years and cost millions up-front, NetSuite solutions can be deployed worldwide in a matter of weeks. Because upgrades are carefully and centrally managed, business no longer need be disrupted while technologists try to adapt yesterday's customizations to today's feature patch. And for those companies already deeply reliant on SAP solutions looking to embrace the advantages offered by SaaS, NetSuite OneWorld for SAP offers seamless integration for subsidiaries and corporate divisions which need their own enterprise-grade capabilities while maintaining transparency with the central system of record.
The most recent companies entrusting their daily business operations to NetSuite include:
Distribution Video & Audio(DVA),(www.dva.com), based in Palm Harbor, Florida, a 20-year old company, is the country's largest wholesaler of entertainment closeouts. In 1995, DVA expanded into three separate divisions: Consumer Sales, Library and Government Sales and Liquidating & Wholesaling, and in 2003 added a Special Markets division. Today DVA sells more than 10,000,000 units per year. Over a period of many years before DVA came on board with NetSuite in 2007, they had tried QuickBooks, Mail Order Manager, ACCPAC, Microsoft Great Plains, and SAP. DVA CEO Brad Kugler says NetSuite, from the start, did 80 percent of what the company needed right out of the box, and since then the company has experienced an increase of more than 500 percent in its Ecommerce business. When it came to choosing a new software solution to run this thriving business, DVA jumped on NetSuite without considering SAP again.
"Our company ran SAP as a fast-growing business and it was a nightmare," said Brad Kugler, CEO, Distribution Video & Audio. "The licensing fees, consultants and hardware needed to run a SAP installation is enormous and would sink any business like ours. We dumped it and went to NetSuite a few years later and I only wish we had done it earlier."
GestureTek (www.gesturetek.com), based in Sunnyvale, California, and with offices in Toronto and Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; and in Asia, is the pioneer, patent holder and world-leader in gesture recognition systems for interactive displays, presentations, entertainment and advertising. The company is an innovative leader in multi-touch surfaces, 3D tracking and control technology and gesture control interfaces for mobile devices.
For many years the company relied on custom software and spreadsheets to manage its business. When Gerry Sylvia joined the company as Director of Production and Logistics, he wanted to introduce GestureTek to the kind of sophistication and process controls he knew SAP could deliver, without burdening the growth-stage company with the high costs of an SAP implementation.
GestureTek found the answer in NetSuite, which provided the company with tighter development and sales processes, at a fraction of the price of the large ERP systems Sylvia was so accustomed to from past experience. "NetSuite gives me the same kind of power, but in a product that's more mainstream," he said. "And it gives us room to grow and change, knowing that NetSuite will grow with us."
Schaeffer Manufacturing Company (www.schaefferoil.com), based in St. Louis, Missouri, is a leading producer of synthetic motor oils and other long-lasting lubricants, with customers ranging from heavy industry to racing teams. The family-owned company has been in business since 1839, but has seen significant growth since the 1990s, nearly doubling its revenues to reach $100 million in annual sales—a standout success in a rapidly consolidating market usually dominated by massive international conglomerates. When growth and competitive pressures motivated an IT overhaul and the replacement of an aging mainframe platform, Schaeffer considered implementing SAP Business One. Instead, the company decided to avoid the expense and complexity of implementing an on-premise solution and turned to NetSuite.
NetSuite enabled Schaeffer to cut shipment preparation time, reduce errors from data re-keying, and eliminate substantial expenses on everything from software maintenance to redundant paper forms. Because NetSuite is built to make electronic trading and payments easy, Schaeffer has more than doubled its electronic data interchange (EDI) order volume, and conducts ten times as many transactions through electronic funds transfer (EFT).
"NetSuite makes it easy for us to offer EDI and EFT because it automates the processes, so not only is our billing time reduced, but our competitive advantage is strengthened," said Schaeffer CFO Will Gregerson. "With NetSuite, we're saving over $100,000 per year, we get our products to customers in half the time, and we haven't had to add to our staff."
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