They’re calling it “one of the most important pieces of software written in the last decade.”

The advent of “Service-as-Software.”

The “holy grail” for service companies.

Hosted CRM, ERP and e-commerce solutions provider NetSuite (News - Alert) Inc. has released SuiteBundler, a new component of its application development and integration platform, SuiteFlex, which enables the creation of third-party vertical applications within NetSuite, as well as end-to-end business process customization for any end-user company. With this new tool, customizations and configurations created in one NetSuite account by a developer can be reused in another account without recoding or rewriting.

This is a major milestone because it allows developers to customize apps within SuiteFlex and then re-use that code anywhere else they wish. The ability to re-use software bundles without having to rewrite the code means it will be faster, easier and more cost effective to assemble vertical applications.

The company claims that with SuiteBundler, service partners will be able to “turn their services expertise into repeatable and resellable software solutions, built and delivered on NetSuite as more complete SaaS (News - Alert) vertical applications, to meet the complex needs of today's mid-sized businesses.”

NetSuite claims some of its partners are already using SuiteBundler “to open up new vertical-focused business opportunities.” In a separate press release, it explained that some partners and solution providers have already developed “new vertical and micro-vertical solutions spanning markets including software; agriculture equipment dealerships; seaport management; retail (point of sale); franchises for packaging and shipping materials; electronics wholesale/distribution; and pharmaceutical distribution. They have also developed new add-ons to core NetSuite functionality in the areas of fixed asset management, tax automation, human resource management and warranty management.

"We believe that SuiteBundler will prove to be one of the most important pieces of software written in the last decade," said Zach Nelson, CEO of NetSuite. "The ability to take a piece of custom functionality that was designed as a one-off for customization for a single customer and use it repeatably for other implementations has been the holy grail for services companies. SuiteBundler, combined with NetSuite, finally delivers on this promise, and truly enables VARs, systems integrators, and ISVs to participate in the SaaS revolution."

Among the key components of SuiteBundler is Bundle Builder, an easy 3-step graphical assistant for selecting and creating SuiteBundles. With this you can bundle any components NetSuite from the simple elements, such as user roles, dashboards, custom tabs, custom centers, custom KPIs and scorecards, custom reports, custom lists and custom forms. You can also bundle database elements such as custom fields and custom records/objects, as well as scripted business process and application development elements, such as client SuiteScript, Server SuiteScript, SuiteScript UI Objects and Suitelets. Then, Bundle Distribution lets you choose how you want to make these available to your customers via three “modes:” You can create a SuiteBundle for commercial availability and distribute it as Shared to particular customer accounts that have purchased the solution -- while customers leveraging SuiteBundler to prototype their own customizations and implementation of new business processes would set availability to Private. Or you can choose to distribute a Public SuiteBundle, fostering an open-source community for sharing small add-on enhancements to NetSuite.

SuiteBundler also includes the SuiteSource Bundle Repository, which lets developers save the customer-installation-ready version of their SuiteBundle while continuing to work on the next iteration of their solution in their NetSuite developer account.

Then there’s Bundle Installation, which allows customers looking to install a SuiteBundle to locate it by browsing the SuiteSource Bundle Repository or searching by a specific Bundle ID given to them by the partner they purchased the solution from. Once a customer has located a particular SuiteBundle, they can install it via one-click. Conversely, they can also “un-install” it if it turns out that the bundle contents need to be removed.

All customizations and solutions deployed using SuiteBundler are carried forward with version upgrades, just as is the case with customization changes made directly in NetSuite accounts.

The real power of SuiteBundler lies in its profound flexibility. Now, companies don’t have to run to NetSuite every time they need to tweak their hosted CRM, ERP or e-commerce software – which tends to make the SaaS model more costly than arguably it should be. Now, a company’s developers can go into an app and tweak a part of it just once and then apply the change across the board to the other NetSuite apps that are being used with having to adjust the code in each instance.

The introduction of this new capability falls in line with what NetSuite’s competitors – namely salesfoce.com and SAP (News - Alert) – are now doing, however it can easily be argued that NetSuite has traken the level of flexibility to new heights. This will go a long way toward boosting the company’s value as it prepares to go public before the end of this year.

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Patrick Barnard is Associate Editor for Customer Interaction Solutions magazine and Assignment Editor for TMCnet. To see more of his articles, please visit Patrick Barnard’s columnist page.