In his keynote speech at the recent NetSuite SuiteConnect event, CEO Zach Nelson spelled out his three rules of the cloud economy, and explained how he thought NetSuite was following those rules.
Embed AI into your business processes
Adding artificial intelligence into your business processes sounds like a tall order. How can you trust something as important as a business procedure to an artificial decision-maker?
It’s becoming more and more evident in the software industry that recommendation engines and intelligent predictive facilities are coming to the fore. The data we have in our ERP, allied to ever-increasing computing power is what will allow concepts such as embedded AI to be implemented into every tool used in business in the cloud economy.
Nelson stated that NetSuite will be expanding its ERP system by adding artificial intelligent order management. NetSuite already puts orders at the centre of its system and intelligent order management will be the company’s first foray into artificial intelligence. He explained that AI will drive how the order is processed, reordered and restocked, and that, through automation of the order management process, NetSuite will be able to bring products to the customers more efficiently.
Embrace hybrid business models
The preceding speaker, Nathan Furr of INSEAD, had enlightened the audience about the value of hybrid business models. Nelson’s second point echoed this viewpoint.
New, hybrid business models are emerging and in business we now have to deal with many different and complex business models. Hybrid business models have become a part of the landscape as technology has disrupted and transformed businesses.
NetSuite, Nelson observed, is able to deliver complex business applications over the internet: to companies that have product-based business models; to companies with service-based business models; and to companies with “as a service” based business models. NetSuite is a single platform that can be used with all of those.
Unified billing, a feature of NetSuite, overcomes issues with needing to bill for different business models. And to bill for them all within the same system. For example, you can invoice for a product, a service, and a subscription.
Change is the only constant.
Nelson’s final rule of the cloud economy is that “change is the only constant and that you have to be able to adapt to it.
He showed how this fits with software and IT by saying that “customisation is not a dirty word”. In fact, NetSuite was built to be customised to fit different types of industry. In fact, even companies within the same industry want to run their own operations differently from their competitors. So, it’s important that an ERP can be customised. NetSuite’s SuiteCloud allows for just that, allowing customers to add their own extensions. There are more than 260 apps that have been developed by partners and which are certified for use with NetSuite.
To emphasise how customisable NetSuite is, Nelson showed the top seven most-used features. The top two of those are each customised features: custom records and custom fields.
The 30,000 companies, subsidiaries and organisations using NetSuite are certainly grateful for how flexible and customisable it is.
If you would like more information about the cloud-based NetSuite platform, or would like a free demonstration, please call us on 020 8819 9071 or contact us using the website form.
Cloud and buildings image purchased from canstockphoto.com
Can’t decide between NetSuite and SAP?
As Balloon One is the only UK partner of both these leading systems, we are able to offer unbiased advice on which solution is best for your specific business needs. Download the comprehensive ‘SAP Business One vs NetSuite’ comparison to explore the capabilities of both ERP systems.