CRM Software

NetSuite users who are also iPhone (News - Alert) and/or iPod touch users now have a new way of getting critical, up-to-the-minute information about business operations, as NetSuite has introduced a suite of cloud-based solutions for the two increasingly-popular mobile devices.

That means business managers can manage important daily processes, such as invoicing, customer records, inventory and financial reporting, whilst on the road using either the iPhone or iPod touch. In addition business executives can access dashboards giving them high-level, comprehensive and/or detailed views into daily business operations, in real-time, thus enabling them to quickly and confidently make important business decisions, regardless of their location.

NetSuite (News - Alert) said in a press release that the new suite of applications, which is available for free, was downloaded more than 1,000 times in the first two weeks it was available on the iTunes store.

Now, users can access NetSuite functionality via a rich interface designed to run natively on iPhone and iPod touch. If a company has implemented custom fields, custom records, role-based security or custom dashboard elements in their NetSuite account, they will all be seamlessly reflected in the NetSuite app.

 

NetSuite users will benefit from having real-time access to their NetSuite calendar and task lists, including the ability to accept or decline events and mark tasks complete. Sales representatives can benefit from access to leads and opportunities, the ability to view customers and contacts, and to review quotes and orders. Field service users can inquire about customer history, browse associated cases, and see all issues filed by a customer. Executives can browse financial trends, watch dashboards in real-time, and drill into Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), as well as generate report snapshots and scorecards.

 

In the press release, Elliott Rabin, president of Ridout Plastics Co. Inc., a plastics manufacturer based in San Diego, Calif., said "Access is very fast overall, and trend graphs are much faster than through a browser. From a CEO view, I can see my KPIs and can get ‘top 10’ information quickly – by sales, customers, sales reps, etc. Like in a browser, the app lets me find a customer quickly through searching – and I'm one who loves 'recent records' for quick access to information. The iPhone application adds tremendous value to my NetSuite experience."

NetSuite, which already offers business management applications for iPhone users by way of its SuitePhone offering, also provides a variety of business apps for BlackBerry (News - Alert) and Windows Mobile devices.

With this new suite of ERP and CRM applications for the iPhone, the company is heating up the competition in the rapidly expanding cloud-computing market for mobile devices.

Earlier this year, business software company (and NetSuite competitor) SAP (News - Alert) announced that it was teaming up with mobility enterprise application platform company Sybase to bring SAP Business Suite 7 to Apple’s (News - Alert) iPhone, as well as Microsoft Windows Mobile devices, BlackBerry smartphones and other mobile devices. The combined solution, which is scheduled for release in early 2010, is being marketed under the slogan “Office on the Go."