NetSuite (News - Alert) subsidiary OpenAir, a vendor of on-demand, professional services automation (PSA) software, has announced a new product lineup, which includes OpenAir Team Edition, OpenAir Professional Edition and OpenAir Enterprise Edition.

 

These products have been designed to meet the specific needs of project-based businesses of both small consulting firms and multinational organizations.

 

“We designed this new product lineup in response to customer demand for solutions tailored to their businesses and budget requirements,” said Morris Panner, CEO at OpenAir, in a statement.

 

Panner added that the new products reflect the investments that both OpenAir and NetSuite have made in their products since the two companies came together. In June 2008, NetSuite acquired OpenAir.

 

Each OpenAir Edition features pre-configured integration with NetSuite's on-demand, integrated business management suite for customer relationship management (CRM), enterprise resource planning (ERP) / accounting and e-commerce.

 

Since OpenAir solutions are delivered over the Internet as software as a service (SaaS (News - Alert)), they are accessible from “anywhere at anytime.” According to company officials, this enables collaboration among authorized users.

 

Using the new product line-up, services companies can “effectively” manage their key assets, employees and their expertise. In addition, the solutions eliminate the need for hardware installation or maintain. Officials said that products also optimize revenue by automating time and expense tracking and billing.

 

While OpenAir Team Edition is targeted at project-based teams that require automation in their business practices, OpenAir Professional Edition is a PSA solution for mid-sized businesses searching for insight into their daily business practices.

 

And, OpenAir Enterprise Edition is a PSA application for global enterprise organizations searching for a solution that can support around-the-clock business needs.

 

With its SaaS delivery model, OpenAir Team Edition streamlines business processes, and includes integration with NetSuite and QuickBooks. Plus, it links to salesforce.com.

 

Equipped with customizable billing rules engine, OpenAir Professional Edition is capable of handling complex billing scenarios. This enables companies to reach out into vertical markets without overhauling. Also, it features project, resource and revenue management capabilities, which enables companies to automate billing and invoicing processes

 

Along with integration with NetSuite, OpenAir Professional Edition also links to several accounting and CRM point solutions.

 

OpenAir Enterprise Edition streamlines multiple aspects of a global services enterprise. These aspects include project management and resource management to services delivery and billing and revenue management.

 

This edition offers an application programming interface (API) set for integration purposes, which entrenches the system within an organization’s infrastructure and preserves investments in other applications.

 

Similar to the other two products, OpenAir Enterprise Edition includes integration with NetSuite, as well as connectors to accounting and customer relationship management (CRM) point solutions.

 

The company also announced that Bank of New Zealand (BNZ), Carrot/United Health Group, CommScope, Insurance Data Processing (IDP), Personified, and TARP have selected its OpenAir's on-demand professional services software.

 

The software will automate the companies’ business operations for project management and resource management. The automation is expected to cut costs by eliminating IT and support staff.

 

BNZ is a subsidiary of the National Australia Bank Group of companies. Emma Treadwell, corporate strategy principal for strategy and marketing at BNZ, said that

OpenAir timesheets module is intuitive and “exceptionally” easy to use, with comprehensive reporting functionality.

 

Minneapolis-based Carrot is a marketing services and advertising agency business unit of OptumHealth, a division of UnitedHealth Group. The company chose OpenAir after evaluating numerous PSA systems, including QuickArrow.

 

This year in September, Carrot went live with the deployment of the OpenAir solution. Amanda Brinkman, CEO at Carrot, said that with OpenAir's solution the company can now provide the financial accountability that the clients expect.

 

She added: “We have the data to support managed growth of our staff, and we have access to an automated project management tool that allows our staff to focus on creating and delivering effective marketing campaigns.”

 

Based in Hickory, North Carolina, CommScope has operations in Richardson, Texas, and Westchester, providing infrastructure solutions for communication networks.

 

Justine Walkowski, director for global operations at CommScope, said that the company needed a large-scale Web-based professional services automation tool that would manage people, projects and customers and track their time and expenses globally. “OpenAir is a more robust and flexible application that meets our unique requirements.”

 

IDP is an independent provider of software and services to the property and casualty insurance market. “We needed better visibility into our resource portfolio so that we can provide best-in-class professional services to our clients,” said Raymond Barton, vice president for professional services/PMO at IDP.

 

He said that OpenAir provides an easy means of collecting necessary data allowing the company to be more agile in meeting client expectations while running the business in a fast-paced environment.

 

Talent management and consulting subsidiary of CareerBuilder.com Personified selected OpenAir as the project management tool, according to Mary Delaney, president at Personified.

 

TARP Worldwide is a customer experience agency based in Washington, DC. Lisa Hockensmith, manager for process and operations at TAR, said that OpenAir was an easy choice. “Its ease-of-use, robust reporting capabilities, and advanced project management tools were all key factors in our decision.”