NetSuite launches services offering

On-demand business software vendor NetSuite has launched a new enterprise-grade product for the services market designed to tap the expertise and technology of recent acquisition OpenAir.

NetSuite Services Resource Planning is an on-demand business suite which could help professional services firms manage their marketing, sales, customer service and financials, according to the vendor.

The market for project-based enterprise resource planning tools is set to reach $1.5bn (£850m) by 2010, according to analyst firm IDC.

"OpenAir has 10 years' expertise in the services automation space and NetSuite has 10 years in process management and business suites, so we feel we have a lot to offer this target market," said NetSuite vice president of product marketing Mini Peiris.

The product has also been engineered to scale for companies with a global presence, featuring an isolated-tenancy dedicated database, a sandbox test environment and 24x7 support, according to Peiris.

"Software-as-a-service lends itself well to the services industry," she added. "Because they are travelling to client sites so often, it is much easier to update project status or time and expenses details over the web."