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Netsuite targets Sage users

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8th Sep 2010
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NetSuite, the pugnacious developer of web-based business software, is mounting a major “get Sage” campaign after winning over two UK clients.

Catering equipment import/export company Buttress Group and internet service provider Easynet Connect both confirmed on Wednesday that they had converted from Sage software to NetSuite’s online application this week.

So pleased was NetSuite with the news that it commissioned two vans to drive around the Telford venue of Sage World this week with posters echoing the successful Conservative election campaign with slogans like, “We make your software upgrades painful and expensive. Vote Sage” and “We sell you software designed before the Web existed. Vote Sage”.

“We’re thrilled to have Sage customers vote for NetSuite by choosing us to help them run their businesses more efficiently and profitably.  We will honour these votes by continuing to deliver solutions that feature the most cutting-edge Internet technologies,” commented NetSuite CEO Zach Nelson.

NetSuite "Get Sage" advert

Nelson has a long history baiting rival companies such as SAP and Intuit. While this kind of aggressive, in-your-face marketing may be a common sight at US software conventions, it is relatively novel in the UK. Craig Sullivan, the British vice president of international products at NetSuite, said that the Sage campaign was a way of making NetSuite visible to Sage users.

“Sage has an enormous market share. They are the big presence in UK business applications. In every market there’ an SAP or Sage incumbent – and we like to consistently demonstrate we have a better offering. We’re tyring to say you’re not stuck with those solutions,” he explained.

For an ERP software developer to win upgrade business from Sage users is hardly new, but Sullivan hailed the recent wins as “another step in the process of migration from these traditional vendors”.

He continued, “Unlike some of the other vendors in the client/server space, Sage  purports to have a range of offerings that go into larger mid-market companies. The reality is that while they may argue from a functional perspective they’ve got what these businesses need, they fall very short of having integrated applications. They’ve actually Sellotaped together offerings from other solutions.

“They have no cloud strategy at all, so businesses that are looking to reach out and communicate with customers really struggle and businesses that have multiple locations in the UK and around the world have no viable solution in the sage stable. Where NetSuite comes in is we have a full business suite, and we bridge that gap from a multinational and multi-location perspective.”

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By onesys
10th Sep 2010 13:09

Are Competition and Change Good?

Everyone can benefit from competition, improvements and choice.

Competition and ongoing development of business applications can be good for users. There is no room for complacency amongst creators (including Sage). Those who can't afford to keep up in this 'application race' will drop out or lose market share. That's progress.

Those who buy these applications will have to pick their suppliers and support partners very carefully. Price should not be near the top of your priority list, unless you don't mind replacing these business tools when you least expect it, as several creators / suppliers with unsustainable business models or products have gone.

Unfortunately sticking with a tried and tested product that suits a user who doesn't want the latest upgrade seems to be impossible these days. :-(

Change seems inevitable.

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