NetSuite Inc. recently announced a new offering to entice Sage partners in the U.S. and U.K. to join NetSuite’s Solution Provider Program.  NetSuite encourages businesses to enter the cloud by offering 50% margins on all new one-, two-, or three-year subscriptions to NetSuite for the first 12 months.  The Solution Provider Program is designed to give Web-based business solutions to growing companies.  NetSuite offers solutions for accounting / Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Ecommerce.

    NetSuite’s offering comes in the wake of recent failure of MIS Group, Sage’s largest value-added reseller. NetSuite continues to establish itself as a top player in cloud computing and more and more companies are beginning to adopt their solutions to run key business operations.  In a press release this morning, NetSuite announced that three of the most recent technology Initial Publish Offerings were by companies working with NetSuite, including OpenTable, Inc., SolarWinds, Inc., and LogMeIn, Inc, proving that SaaS continues to be a strong option for fast-growing companies who want low capex costs, flexible solutions, and outsourced IT.  

    The advantages and popularity of SaaS are becoming hotter and hotter for various reasons, such as reduced cost of and quicker adoption, on-premise cost avoidance and improved flexibility.  SaaS benefits can also include long-term cost savings and higher adoption rates overall (See Liz Herbert and Jon Erickson’s recent report, The ROI Of Software-As-A-Service).  While some Sage Partners may be enticed by NetSuite’s revenue sharing, the real issue for many end-user companies remains whether or not they are ready to make a jump to the cloud – and whether the business case makes sense for them.