Next Technik brings field mobility to NetSuite

Next Technik chief executive Annaliese Kloe kicked off her IT consultancy career on a warehouse floor of the family business, manufacturing equipment distributor Headland Machinery.

In 2011, the company needed to consolidate its multiple systems into a single ERP, eventually landing on NetSuite Cloud. However the solution proved to be limited on a field mobility standpoint.

Kloe at the time wanted to integrate a customer service and ticketing engine into NetSuite, so a solution that helps efficiently schedule technicians, track equipment and manage break/fix and maintenance work was developed in-house.

Dubbed NextService, the solution proceeded to win NetSuite’s global YourSuite Best Internal Development Award in 2013. The vendor then encouraged Kloe to sell it to other NetSuite users.

“Globally NextService is the only field management solution built on and for the NetSuite Cloud ERP platform with mature functionality across repairs, installations and maintenance services,” Next Technik said.

“As NextService is built on the NetSuite platform, customers have the unique opportunity to see all field operations, analytics and reporting in the same system as their financials, sales, inventory, warehousing, manufacturing and purchasing functions.”

Kloe then founded IT consultancy Klugo to sell NextService, while also reselling NetSuite to control the whole sales and delivery cycle.

Fast forward to the present, Klugo has since grown into a 50-person entity following a merger with fellow NetSuite reseller Outserve in 2017, with offices in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide. The company also founded Next Technik in 2018, a NetSuite SuiteCloud Developer Network (SDN) partner, to focus on further development of NextService and other field mobility applications.

Kloe has since shifted her focus on Next Technik earlier, appointing Mark Culverson as Klugo’s new CEO in her place. The company also started expanding into North America, with an office in Dallas, Texas, and expects to see growth in Asia-Pacific and the United Kingdom.

NextService currently has more than 1100 mobile users across Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the US. Kloe credits the acceptance by the NetSuite Channel Partner community for the customer growth, as well as business focus, faster development times.

Next Technik also works closely with NetSuite on marketing activities, including a presence at the vendor’s yearly conferences, specifically SuiteConnect in Sydney and SuiteWorld in Las Vegas.

This customer base is diverse, with some working in manufacturing, wholesale/distribution, facilities management, solar, HVAC and plumbing and electrical, medical equipment, healthcare and security.

Next Technik is a finalist in the 'Exporting Innovation' category in the 2019 CRN Impact Awards. For a list of all finalists and further details on the awards, please head to the CRN Impact Awards hub. The awards take place during the CRN Pipeline conference. You can get more information and purchase tickets here.