NetSuite: Hot Cloud Earnings, Fresh Attacks On Microsoft, SAP

By samdizzy

NetSuite’s (NYSE: N) Q4 2012 earnings statement reads like Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) CEO Larry Ellison was the author. But NetSuite CEO Zach Nelson was the one doing the talking. Indeed, Nelson said NetSuite’s cloud-based ERP and financial software business continues to grow rapidly at the expense of Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and SAP (NASDAQ: SAP). And yes, there’s even a channel hook here: Partners are driving 30 percent of NetSuite’s new business, Nelson said.

For its Q4 2012, NetSuite’s revenue rose 33 percent to $85 million. The company’s Q4 net loss was $9.7 million, but investors cheered the growth and lifted NetSuite’s shares 7 percent in after-hours trading.

In a prepared statement, NetSuite’s Nelson took some direct shots at two software giants — stating: “In a year that saw Microsoft once again fail to deliver cloud-native ERP solutions, and in a quarter that saw SAP miss their most recent top- and bottom-line forecast as more large enterprises moved to the cloud, NetSuite delivered its best year ever.”

Then, during an earnings call, Nelson took some more shots. “What’s amazing about our competitive position is that competitors like Microsoft and Sage in the mid-market and SAP in the enterprise market, are still trying to catch up with our product line as it existed circa 2007, before we introduced OneWorld, and in 2012 we moved even further ahead of them, with the introduction of our SuiteCommerce offering, which has generated great excitement in the marketplace.”

In Microsoft’ss defense, the company has plenty of cloud initiatives that are accelerating — including an Office 365 business upgrade coming Feb. 27. Also, SAP shares are trading near a 52-week high because investors seem pleased with the company’s on-premises and cloud software progress.

Still, NetSuite seems to jab Microsoft and SAP at every chance — without taking any jabs at Oracle’s legacy on-premises ERP business. The reason: Oracle CEO Larry Ellison has a longstanding stake in NetSuite. In fact, NetSuite hosted a parter at Ellison’s San Francisco home during a partner conference about a year ago.

NetSuite Channel Partners

Speaking of partners, NetSuite seems to have plenty of them. The company claims “top VARs continue to flock” to the company’s solutions provider program. Recent converts include WAC Consulting Group, ISM, Sikich, and SD Mayer & Associates.

While many cloud companies are still formulating partner programs, NetSuite VP of Channel Sales Craig West has been driving the company’s partner strategy for several years, and the partner program launched way back in 2002.

One popular offering within the program is NetSuite SP 100, which pays 100% of first year NetSuite sales revenues.