NetSuite Links Up with iPhoneIf you’re a NetSuite user and you haven’t plunked down $500 for an iPhone yet, you now have more incentive to seek out the closest Apple store.
NetSuite introduced on July 12 a mobile application access interface called SuitePhone that will allow iPhone users to link up to information stored in the latest version of its software, NetSuite 2007.
The difference between NetSuite’s SuitePhone and application synchronization with other mobile devices is in the amount of functionality available on the iPhone.”Traditionally in a mobile environment business applications provide a scope of functionality that is limited – typically CRM [customer relationship management] or access to the back office, but it’s a defined set of capabilities,” said Huffman, in San Mateo, Calif. “With iPhone all of NetSuite’s CRM, all of ERP [enterprise resource planning] is available – even the ability to manage ecommerce activities.”
The reason NetSuite, which provides an integrated on demand CRM and ERP suite, is able to expose so much functionality over the iPhone is three-fold, according to Hoffman: the fact the software is built as an on demand service; NetSuite’s ongoing and deepening support of Apple’s Safari Browser; and the company’s use of AJAX as a user interface standard.
Huffman said NetSuite has been working with Apple over the last couple of years to improve support of NetSuite running on the Safari browser. Because Apple designed Safari to run on standard Web technology, NetSuite had to analyze its own development environment to see if it utilized technologies that really are Web standard, according to Hoffman. “So this was an exercise to support all different browsers in the same way,” he said. “It involves a lot of QA to get the nuances of NetSuite on Safari.”
Then with the latest iteration, NetSuite 2007.0, the company did a substantial amount of work to tighten support for Safari.
All that said, given Apple just released the 1.0 version of the iPhone things are expected to improve from the initial iteration.
“The speeds are going to change and improve with access to the network,” said Hoffman. “The good news is users have a certain expectation; they’re not going to get T1 speeds over a mobile device.”
Using the SuitePhone, back office users can remotely access financial functionality like invoicing, accounts receivable and payroll. CRM, or front office users, can enter leads, file expense , view contacts or place quotes and orders, officials said.
There are, however, some limitations to SuitePhone’s capabilities. “There are things like printing that just aren’t supported,” said Huffman, not at all seriously. “This is really about accessing information in NetSuite and entering new information. We’re expecting people to check dashboards or run an income statement. We don’t really think people are going to spend eight hours a day on the iPhone.”
The SuitePhone capability and native Safari Browser support are available in the NetSuite 2007.0 release that is currently rolling out to existing users. It will be available to new customers in August.
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