Guides & White Papers
How To Choose CRM Software — A Buyer´s Guide For Small Business
By Christophe Primault, 12 July 2012
Customer Relationship Management software (CRM) has revolutionized the way businesses today approach lead generation and customer life-cycle management. CRM grew out of contact management software that was first made popular in the 1990s. In the early 2000s, CRM software emerged with more sophisticated tools for managing and nurturing client relationships. These solutions not only helped businesses manage their leads and customers, but offered collaborative platforms so that internal teams like sales and marketing could align their strategies. In the beginning, the enterprise was the one segment that enjoyed these new feature-rich CRM apps which required vast server storage space and deep pockets. But as the concept of storing leads and contacts in the cloud became more popular, the ability to introduce CRM capabilities to all size businesses became a reality. Now any business, large or small, can have access to affordable and reliable CRM tools.
ERP Implementation – Best Practices
By Christophe Primault, 9 March 2012
No matter what type of business you're in, implementing an ERP solution is a critical project that must be taken seriously. From concerns about cost and demonstrating ROI, to practical considerations about who will manage the process at your company, ERP implementation efforts require commitment by a project team and support by business leaders to ensure success. There's no getting around the fact that ERP deployment is a major undertaking, but the process doesn't have to be painful. With proper planning and execution, implementing an ERP system should be a smooth process and quickly improve efficiency across your business. Here are some critical ERP implementation best practices to consider when selecting and deploying a solution. Select the Best ERP Implementation for Your Business Given the range of functions that ERP encompasses, it should come as no surprise that there are multiple types of ERP implementations. You can choose to build your own custom ERP and program it from the bottom up, though the cost and complexity of taking on such a huge project can make a do-it-yourself approach a poor one. Or you can purchase on-premise ERP software and install it on your company's computers and servers. Before investing in an on-site ERP solution, however, consider this sobering fact: Two-thirds of mid-size businesses are running old versions of their ERP software. 1Why the lag? Organizations often decide that the pain required to re-implement incremental releases is too great—especially since each upgrade means the business risks losing critical customizations and integrations. Keeping ERP technology current is key to maximizing its potential, so it's essential to choose a system deployment option that's easy to update and will preserve custom features. There's a third alternative: a cloud-based ERP solution like NetSuite. Because the system is cloud-based and managed entirely off site by the ERP provider, a cloud-based solution means you don't have to make expensive upfront investments in IT hardware and servers, nor worry about dedicating significant personnel resources to managing it. In addition, cloud-based implementations are usually much faster and easier to deploy than on-site deployments, and maintenance is much easier since the cloud-based ERP provider is responsible for keeping the technology up to date. Most importantly, with cloud technology, product enhancements are painless—customizations and integrations automatically update with system upgrades—so you can always be assured that your business is running with the most advanced capability. Get Executive Buy-In and Build Consensus around ERP Implementation Getting buy-in from company executives means more than just getting a signature to approve investment in an ERP solution (though that is certainly important); it means educating leadership about what ERP implementation means for the company. More than just software, ERP technology can transform the business, an idea that executives must support before moving forward with any deployment effort. Frequent communication from executives about ERP implementation plans and changing processes are vital to helping build consensus—and even excitement—across your company. Set Realistic Expectations for ERP Implementation ERP software is powerful technology that can streamline processes, improve visibility, reduce costs, and completely change the way that your company does business—but it won't happen overnight. ERP solutions encompass many complex front- and back-office systems, from accounting and inventory management to ecommerce and CRM, which need to be integrated to create a seamless experience for end users. This takes careful planning and time to execute. To accelerate the implementation process, make sure your project is scoped appropriately and consider working with an experienced, knowledgeable ERP expert. The average NetSuite customer is typically able to implement its ERP system within three months—much less than the on-premise ERP implementation industry average of a year and a half. Focus on Staff Resources and Strong Project Management Before starting any ERP implementation, make sure that your company has the staff resources in place to see the project through to completion. This may seem like an obvious point, but many companies begin deployment without resourcing it adequately, resulting in overworked, unhappy employees and a less-than-optimal installation. Identifying a dedicated project leader and a team for your ERP implementation will help ensure that the project goes smoothly. For ERP team members, consider reassigning or removing some of their normal job duties so they have enough time to concentrate on the task at hand. Identify a team leader with strong project management skills who can facilitate team communication, address any issues that may arise, and keep the implementation on schedule. Keeping these best practices in mind will help you launch your deployment on the right track and keep it there throughout the entire process. Researching the best ERP implementation option for your business, building consensus around the effort, setting realistic expectations, and giving your staff the support they need—these steps take more time, but they result in a more effective ERP experience and a better-run business in the long term.
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How Cloud ERP Compares to On-premise ERP
By Keean Persaud, 23 February 2012
(white paper provide by NetSuite) NetSuite - Cloud Business Management Software Suite Software by Netsuite NetSuite is the world’s leading Cloud business management software suite with over 10,000 organizations. Made specifically for the needs of high-growth and mid-sized businesses and divisions of large enterprise
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How the SaaS Movement and Cloud Computing Are Transforming Professional Services
By Christophe Primault, 13 February 2012
NetSuite - Cloud Business Management Software Suite Software by Netsuite NetSuite is the world’s leading Cloud business management software suite with over 10,000 organizations. Made specifically for the needs of high-growth and mid-sized businesses and divisions of large enterprise Visit Website
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4 Useful Resources to Choose CRM and ERP Online Software
By Manuel Jaffrin, 2 December 2011
If you're like most companies wondering about making a serious move to the Cloud, you're probably struggling to find and choose the right online business software that meet the exact needs of your business. Comparing websites, pricing plans, reviewing huge lists of features is likely to generate confusion with even the most advanced software buyer, and with hundreds of different solutions to choose from, most businesses become overwhelmed. When choosing ERP or a CRM apps, there is no room for approximation. We are sharing with you four easy to understand online resources to help you save time and avoid costly mistakes.
How to Select Software in the Cloud
By Christophe Primault, 30 November 2011
This post refers to how software selection is rapidly evolving when evaluating cloud-based online business software. When evaluating a web-based software for your business, the TCO and ROI should be calculated differently than for on-premise software. Organizations should be cognizant of the different criteria and perspective involved when selecting cloud and SaaS software. This post highlights analyst tips when evaluating online software solutions.
How Global Midsize Businesses Can Use Cloud ERP to Drive Growth
By Christophe Primault, 31 July 2011
In an ever-flattening world, growing and midsize businesses have more opportunities to expand globally to accelerate growth and increase profitability. But to take advantage of these opportunities, they must be able to manage and streamline financial operations across countries with different currencies, tax laws, and reporting and oversight requirements. Global medium sized businesses must manage financial consolidations at multiple levels—each subsidiary needs to have local operational control, and the parent company must be able to roll up data into consolidated financial reports. Report created by the SMB Group
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ERP Cloud Computing and SaaS buyer's guide – by Eval-Source
By Christophe Primault, 10 May 2011
Cloud computing and software as a service (SaaS) have become accepted ways to provision software, yet much confusion still exists about these two methods of software deployment and their actual meanings. Organizations are ready to commit to utilizing the cloud but are unsure of where to start and what options are available. Now that cloud has become mainstream technology, organizations are faced with the increasingly complex task of calculating a true total cost of ownership (TCO) and the return on investment (ROI) a cloud solution can bring. Cloud computing and SaaS are evolving so quickly that certain SaaS solutions are more readily available than ever before. It was not that long ago that certain applications were not available as SaaS or cloud options at all. Traditional on-premise vendors have embraced the shift towards the cloud and are offering complete enterprise resource planning (ERP) product suites. ERP software vendors now offer a diverse range of options to accommodate the main types of ERP classifications, such as process, discrete, mixed mode, and engineered- to-order. The increasing number of vendors offering ERP as a cloud/SaaS solution enables organizations to better align their business needs with the correct software and IT that supports their specific requirements. This guide was created to help organizations by clearing up some of the misconceptions and by clarifying certain aspects companies should be aware of when purchasing an ERP cloud or SaaS solution. One of the main purposes of the guide is to provide education and awareness on cloud and SaaS computing. The Eval-Source ERP Cloud/SaaS Buyer’s Guide will examine such factors as key vendors identification, vendor descriptions and target markets, the cloud software market landscape, cloud computing and SaaS benefits, important market trends that could impact software-buying decisions, security, TCO, functionality, and definitions. The information presented in this guide provides organizations with a detailed summary of the most accurate information possible to help them make a well-educated software-buying decision. » Download the white paper
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Why Cloud Computing Matters to Finance
By Christophe Primault, 9 May 2011
The benefits of transitioning from an on-premise ERP system to the cloud are manifold. In a recent survey that NetSuite conducted with approximately 800 IMA® members, the results closely mirror my experiences at the company. The survey asked finance professionals: “What do you perceive as the single key benefit of moving your financials to the cloud?”
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NetSuite ROI Evaluation Report
By Christophe Primault,
Nucleus found that customers of on-demand business application provider NetSuite significantly automated processes, boosted sales, increased productivity, reduced or avoided headcount, and retired costly legacy systems. All customers increased data visibility through NetSuite’s integration and reporting capabilities. Deployed properly, NetSuite can deliver a positive ROI in fewer than 9 months. One of the key advantages to NetSuite is that instead of forcing customers to integrate these disparate applications together, they come as one united package. Other on-demand providers, such as Salesforce.com, generally only provide single applications, such as CRM or time and expense or financials reconciliation. They fail to solve the perennial IT problem of integration and are unable to offer users asingle source of truth. On the other hand, with NetSuite, customer or employee data is maintained in a central database and can be shared throughout the system without requiring extensive connecting applications or middleware. This integration helps improve company efficiency and allows management to make better and more informed decisions faster than would be otherwise possible. This report analyzes the key benefits NetSuite customers achieved and is based onNucleus’s in depth analysis of small to midsize customers. The customers included public companies and spanned a number of industries, including IT consulting, software, manufacturing, and distribution. These customers discussed the benefits they received, lessons learned, and key cost areas. They also shared the challenges they faced and the best practices used to get the most from NetSuite. » Download the white paper
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