There are a lot of myths going around about NetSuite, and we’ve spent the past few months debunking some of the most egregious claims made against the trusted leader in cloud ERP.
Following our recent blogs debunking the commonly held opinion that NetSuite is too big for growing SMBs and tackling the myth that suites are any harder to implement than best-of-breed applications, we would today like to turn our attention to another dangerous misconception: “NetSuite can’t integrate with other applications and you’re trapped with only the modules and extensions offered by them.”
The Myth: Suites Can’t Integrate/Connecting a Suite to Other Software is a Hassle
When you are comparing NetSuite with other applications, vendors and implementation partners will often push a narrative that their best-of-breed application is “built to integrate,” and “more affordable than an all-in-one product.”
While we will discuss the latter point in another blog, these two points are related because they actually present a rigid dichotomy.
The Tactics
Just as small value-added resellers were the ones who touted the myth that their solution was the only one that was built for businesses outgrowing entry level software, the myth that NetSuite can’t integrate is often one that is discussed at length by companies who sell complementing software options.
It’s a pretty simple idea: Convince potential customers that a competing software can’t integrate and you have them on the hook for not only the core financial management application, but every complementing application as well. They’ll convince you that you can “build your own suite,” use phrases like plug-and-play in order to pitch you on inch-wide, mile-deep software.
How the Myth Spread
The suite vs. best-of-breed debate has been raging for nearly five decades, and during that time, best-of-breed applications have become more easily integrated. In today’s rapidly accelerating business environment, this was fueled by necessity: In order to compete with an all-in-one option, they had to find a way to emulate a suite as much as possible. In fact, when perfectly-implemented, one could say that it’s “almost like a suite.” However, this doesn’t make a best-of-breed application any easier to implement or cheaper to use.
The Verdict: Pants on Fire
The reality is this: NetSuite Customers can and do connect the ERP platform with other applications and you’re not going to save money by working with dozens of vendors to get something that’s “almost a suite.”
SuiteScript and SuiteTalk Make It Easy to Connect Third-Party Applications
As with any other cloud application, NetSuite is built to empower and work with the modern organization. Through SuiteScript and SuiteTalk, NetSuite can connect with third-party applications, fitting into your workflows and augmenting the solution as needed.
A Piecemeal “Suite” Isn’t Going to Save You Money
Second, building a “suite” using dozens of best-of-breed applications isn’t going to save you money. This is because each software will have a separate fee, separate implementation costs, and separate service contracts.
On top of this, every single implementation is going to expose you to more risk. While an ERP software implementation is going to be the most challenging project (often compared to heart surgery), you can’t discount the risks that come from smaller implementations. Any time you put your company’s data and business processes under the knife, new risks pop up.
The Reality: NetSuite Integration Works—If You Need It
When you look at the facts, you’ll find that NetSuite is not only an amazing, user friendly, and business-changing software on its own, it can connect with anything else you use—today or in the future.
With over 40,000 organizations in more than 160 countries using the platform, the software has been put through test after test—someone, somewhere has had the same challenge and found a way to tackle it.
Don’t believe the myths—connecting NetSuite is not as hard as you think. Whether you find pre-built connectors on suiteapp.com, leverage affordable and easy to use SuiteScript to build your own workflows or applications, or utilize the SuiteTalk integration tool, the platform is easy to integrate.
At MIBAR, we know NetSuite. Through our industry leading process, we have been able to provide our clients with higher on-time implementation rates, lower costs, and less risk. Learn more about our services, read our blogs Three Ways Executives Can Avoid ERP Project Pitfalls and Noel Slater’s first “Go Live” story, and contact us for a free consultation.
