NetSuite and Informatica team for two tier ERP

Beverley Head
Wednesday, 02 March 2011 15:08

Business IT - Networking

Cloud based ERP provider NetSuite has inked a partnership with data integration specialist Informatica which it hopes will help it sell two tier ERP systems - where an on premises ERP system in head office is fed data from cloud based ERP systems used in subsidiaries or branch offices.

NetSuite has been selling two tier ERP systems for a while - but in the past it's used a range of different integration systems to transfer and synchronise data. It's now settled on Informatica's integration tools.

According to industry analyst Gartner two tier ERP strategies can speed ERP deployments and also deliver savings and agility. Although cloud based ERP hasn't been as popular as say cloud based CRM, in part because of the legacy ERP systems already installed in many organisations, it is making inroads.

According to Dean Stockwell, vice president of professional services for NetSuite, the Asia Pacific market for cloud services was expected to grow into a $2.3 billion market by 2012.

NetSuite has recently added a second data centre to underpin its cloud offering. Previously the company had operated the cloud out of a single data service which had left it vulnerable to outages.

Having the second data centre on the East Coast of the US was a relief Mr Stockwell acknowledged this week.

He said that the company continues to mull over the idea of setting up a data centre locally, particularly to service the needs of the Canberra market where many organisations want to keep their data within the country.

While NetSuite has traditionally marketed its cloud ERP to small and medium enterprises, it is also keen to service branch or subsidiary operations of larger enterprises as part of a two tier solution. To make this work the information held in the cloud ERPs needs to be rolled into the enterprise ERPs - such as SAP or Oracle - for consolidation and full transparency into the entire enterprise.