Interview: NetSuite on Google Apps Marketplace

NetSuite APAC MD Chris Schafer (pictured) tells The Channel how resellers can benefit from selling and managing a cloud-based product.

Following the firm’s recent announcement that NetSuite will be available on the Google Apps Marketplace, The Channel caught up with company APAC MD Chris Schafer to tell us more about how the deal will work for resellers. 

How do you think resellers view NetSuite being available directly from the cloud?

Most SaaS offerings are not attractive to resellers. What they would get as a reseller is possibly a one time service, which is from the very first time they sell it and set it up.

There’s then this idea that the services work basically dries up, which is a bit of a misconception. NetSuite’s turned the tables and we’ve made it competitive from a reseller’s point of view.

Tell us how a reseller can continue to draw revenue from the suite.

Let’s say a good-sized, mid-market organisation spends $100,000 on its business system with NetSuit in a year. Let’s use Fusion5 for example. So F5 goes out, they sell an organisation NetSuite and then professional services.

What makes it really attractive for the reseller is that they just have to keep the customer happy. When they renew, they can make another sale. It’s creating a recurring revenue model that’s predictable and consistent. NetSuite’s an annual subscription and every year that customer renews.

Let’s fast-forward 12 months and say F5 has 40 customers. Every year they add to that customer base and every year those customers renew. Now assume they‘re putting true value and services behind each sale. Rather than looking at the next job, they’ve got a recurring revenue model that snowballs over time.

Is the annual subscription fee set in stone or could it go monthly?

NetSuite and our resellers will work in unique situations but traditionally it’s an annual subscription.

How many New Zealand firms currently use NetSuite?

Right now we’ve got 12 companies using NetSuite in New Zealand. Our target is mid-market to divisions of enterprises and it’s going to be from a 25 to 40 person company all the way up to that 1000 seat organisation, that’s really our sweet spot.

And in a year’s time?

In a year’s time I’d love to see closer to 100 companies using NetSuite. We’ve never done anything in New Zealand. Every one of those customers has come to us through our Australian website. We’re talking to Fusion 5 right now about a New Zealand website… most likely we will do one.

What are you looking for in a New Zealand reseller?

I’m looking for somebody who’s got extreme experience in a point of sales system within New Zealand. Maybe they’ve got a customer base of 300-400 that they’ve been working their entire life on integrating with other businesses.

Why New Zealand and why now?

New Zealand is an educated country when it comes to technology. It’s extremely forward thinking and the demographic of company size is perfect for what NetSuite’s going after.

We’ve had success in New Zealand without even soliciting and so that means it’s a good time for us to go to market. By June we’re hoping to have our three resellers in place.