NetSuite beats Microsoft, SAP to Liberate IT

NetSuite beat out Microsoft and SAP to land reseller Liberate IT to sell and support its financials software in New Zealand.

The wholly-owned subsidiary of integrator Soltius was created to deal in NetSuite’s software as a service across the ditch, with services exp3cted to launch in Australia within 18 months.

NetSuite Asia-Pacific managing director Mark Troselj said it was difficult to move traditional resellers from upfront sales revenue to annuities common in selling such services.

“What we find is that the cloud model for channel companies is something they are struggling to work with,” he told CRN. 

But user appetites for cloud solutions meant transition was only matter of time. 

Troselj said NetSuite had 12 partners servicing about 300 customers in Australia and New Zealand but that it was looking “to grow that number as quickly and thoughtfully as we can”. 

The number of new customers coming onboard underscored the urgency, with Troselj estimating that the company took 88 percent market share from its local rivals last year.

Troselj said NetSuite was doing well in the small end of the market in Australia with its channel partner JCurve. He ruled out any conflict down the track with Liberate IT, which would focus on mid-size and larger companies when it sets up for business in Australia.

Liberate IT director Nick Mulcahy said he chose NetSuite in response to strong demand for cloud services from businesses in New Zealand seeking greater flexibility and speed at lower cost. New Zealand companies, despite their smaller size, faced similar challenges in system complexity that on-premises accounting packages struggled to manage, he said.

He said Liberate IT evaluated cloud solutions from NetSuite rivals such as Microsoft but found most came up short. SAP's Business ByDesign on-demand product was also in contention but wasn't available in time.

"Having worked with some of the country’s most successful companies to understand their business requirements, we recognised the need for a more robust, cloud-based [enterprise resource planning] solution," Mulcahy said.

"We quickly realised that the depth of NetSuite's solution combined with its development platform, configurability, and industry-specific functionality was clearly complementary to our technology practice." 

Liberate IT has two customers using NetSuite in New Zealand and hoped to grow that number to 12 within the next year.