NetSuite gears up to take on SAP

NetSuite claims to offer a cheaper and more flexible means to track business processes

NetSuite is to begin targeting larger businesses with software aimed at customers of SAP.

The firm has announced an update to its OneWorld software that it claims will make it easy for enterprise customers to integrate the business management application with existing SAP implementations.

The integration will be provided by a new service called SuiteCloud Connect for SAP, which will roll up a customer's transactional data generated by NetSuite applications at a divisional level into SAP legacy accounts that function at a corporate level. The transactional data may include processes such as invoices, purchase orders, shipments and invoicing, said NetSuite, adding that such functions will ensure that the customer's current investments in SAP systems are retained.

NetSuite explained that its software-as-a-service model allows the company to offer a cheaper and more flexible means to track business processes than SAP's traditional business suites.

"While some companies spend vast sums on corporate implementations of integrated suites like SAP, these business software systems often fail to deliver the functionality and flexibility to manage the processes that drive the multiple divisions and lines of business that make up today's typical multinational corporations," said NetSuite.

The company is expanding its customer base from small and medium sized businesses to large enterprises that are looking at ways to control costs and gain greater efficiencies across the business in the declining economy.

NetSuite's SuiteCloud Connect for SAP is based on a number of industry-standard technologies used for systems and application integration and data migration, including Simple Object Access Protocol, JavaScript, Open Database Connectivity and Comma Separated Values.

"These interfaces are robust and well-suited for integrating NetSuite OneWorld with other enterprise resource planning systems," said the firm.