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This blog post explores current trends in the ERP industry, and how NetSuite Solutions fit into the picture.  First, we will examine the impact of COVID-19 on the ERP market as a whole, now that businesses have completed a full fiscal year amid the pandemic. Next, while COVID-19 temporarily slowed international business, the global presence of businesses continues to grow, and the ERP Industry will play a significant role in scaling and daily operations for enterprises.  We are also seeing a trend towards mobility in business, with ERP solutions driving the charge towards always-accessible business data for managers.  Additionally, AI & Predictive Analytics are finding a niche in the ERP market. At the same time, data security remains a key focus for companies like NetSuite, which provide cloud-based ERP solutions.

Impact of COVID-19: Increased Demand for Cloud ERP

Though the pandemic has strained finances for many businesses, the global need for efficiency amid a remote workforce has increased demand for Cloud ERP over the past year.  As a result of COVID-19 and its impact on various industries, in 2021, many businesses are making significant investments in ERP systems to reduce costs and increase operational efficiency for remote workforces, even amid the aftereffects of 2020 budget cuts and layoffs.

“Businesses are using the cloud effectively to create resilient and disaster-averse systems anywhere across the globe to cater to a remote workforce and protect data and business application integrity as well. […] Thus, the increasingly mobile workforce due to lockdowns, and security to avoid high network downtime costs have fueled the demand for cloud services across the vertical globally.” - Markets and Markets

The result has been an accelerated the shift from on-premises software to cloud-based solutions, which has given the industry a jump-start on the growth that was predicted prior to the pandemic. In fact, 20% of finance executives (key decision-makers) expect to spend more on cloud ERP technologies going forward due to the industry changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

How NetSuite ERP Meets These Needs

While a market-wide increase in demand is a wonderful opportunity for everyone in the ERP industry, NetSuite is particularly well-positioned.  NetSuite is the #1 Cloud ERP and offers the most flexible solutions, tailored to meet the unique needs of each business.  Since NetSuite is also highly scalable, it can meet the needs of a company from its mid-size business stage through the day it scales to become a global enterprise.  The flexibility and complexity of NetSuite come with an employee learning curve that has historically caused executives to hesitate before implementing NetSuite.  However, as more companies shift to cloud-based ERP solutions and improve efficiency in their daily operations, the flexibility provided by NetSuite will be crucial for companies looking to break out ahead of the competition.  The learning curve for employees to use NetSuite will remain, but the operational efficiency that companies will gain will be well worth the time and money invested in training them.

Global Business Operations: NetSuite OneWorld

Both international trade and global business operations were slowed during the pandemic.  However, with borders opening and product distribution channels returning to normal, it is clear that global business is as prevalent as ever and growing. The thing about global businesses is, they require global ERP solutions.

NetSuite OneWorld

Although it has been around for a while now, NetSuite OneWorld continues to meet the needs of global businesses.  This NetSuite Module enables companies to easily manage multiple business units and streamline subsidiary operations with location-specific capabilities in a single cloud-based ERP platform.  The NetSuite OneWorld module includes the tools your team needs to consolidate operations while gaining real-time financial visibility, and can even be used to manage multiple legal entities.

NetSuite OneWorld's comprehensive multi-currency management makes worldwide accounting operations simpler than ever.  More specifically, segregating ERP and G/L for each subsidiary, combined with consistent processes across countries, helps companies manage their subsidiaries more easily worldwide.  OneWorld even helps your company with compliance for both internal and external processes through audit and compliance reporting capabilities.

Easy access to company data provides managers with real-time insight into business operations, enabling informed decision-making at every level of the business, anytime. NetSuite OneWorld also provides businesses with the global CRM and sales support necessary to maintain strong, growing customer relationships in any location.  

With its extensive feature set and capabilities, NetSuite OneWorld is the ideal solution for businesses seeking to expand internationally. It can even be implemented for enterprises that already operate globally.  As global business continues to grow, there will be an ever greater demand for ERP systems that offer these types of global tools.

Mobile ERP: ERP Buddy

Mobile ERP apps are gaining popularity throughout the market due to their user-friendly nature. Mobile ERP interfaces enable users to access and view critical data anytime.  This means that employees can quickly and easily add potential sales leads directly into the ERP system, even when they are away from a computer.  With a significant increase in the number of remote workers over the past year, many of whom are expected to remain remote post-pandemic, mobile ERP applications can be anticipated to play a much larger role in ERP management over the next few years.

ERP Buddy for NetSuite

Though not created by NetSuite, ERP Buddy is a CRM application created specifically for NetSuite ERP.  This mobile app revolutionizes how companies use NetSuite by enabling employees to access CRM and transaction records effortlessly via voice commands.  Keeping data up to date is a key component of leveraging Oracle NetSuite ERP. ERP Buddy helps employees enter the data they are responsible for more easily, making NetSuite more convenient to use.

ERP Buddy is a great solution for companies with sales employees who frequently travel and struggle to integrate NetSuite into their daily workflow.  ERP Buddy provides these employees with instant access to sales data in the office and on the go, allowing them to enter new CRM data at any time.  Employees can find and access records with a single button press or a voice command.  From sending emails and messages instantly, to adding notes directly to CRM records, ERP Buddy helps companies maintain good customer relations and keep better records.

Since ERP Buddy utilizes existing NetSuite user access, company user roles and permissions will remain unchanged.  This makes ERP Buddy the perfect solution for companies that are looking to organize their channels more easily and quickly view transactions without any added hassle related to application management.

As demand for mobile ERP applications increases, ERP solutions like NetSuite, which enable third-party developers to create applications that plug directly into the existing ERP codebase, are poised for rapid innovation.

AI & Predictive Analytics: NetSuite Dashboards & Integrations

In the modern business world, companies are increasingly focusing on delivering the most personalized experiences possible to their customers. To achieve this, companies require ERP systems that can accommodate this level of personalization through features such as highly customizable dashboards and predictive analytics enabled by AI.

NetSuite Dashboards & Integrations

A key feature of NetSuite Modules is the customizable dashboards and data analytics that enable company-wide visibility of business operation data and KPIs.  In addition to the built-in AI & predictive analytics features of NetSuite ERP, numerous integrations can connect NetSuite ERP with other business management applications that also utilize these tools.

For example, a NetSuite Integration with Mailchimp enables businesses to leverage the wide array of AI-driven tools in Mailchimp's all-in-one marketing platform.  Although Mialchimp is primarily known for its in-depth email marketing tools, the application also includes a range of other marketing capabilities, from postcard mailing to ad management.  By integrating NetSuite with Mailchimp, businesses can leverage tools such as e-commerce automation, including cart abandonment and product recommendations.

From growing your audience to fine-tuning retargeting campaigns, the combined power of NetSuite and Mailchimp's AI & predictive analytics helps managers identify the best marketing tactics more quickly.  Companies can even embed Mailchimp forms on their websites that sync back to NetSuite, ensuring that all company data remains accessible within NetSuite while leveraging Mailchimp's robust marketing framework.

As AI & predictive analytics continue to play a bigger role in guiding business decisions, ERP features like NetSuite's KPI dashboards, combined with the power of predictive applications like Mailchimp, will help business managers identify trends and quickly respond with operational decisions that put them ahead of the competition.

Centralized Data & Data Security: NetSuite Data Centers

Centralized data is a key aspect of all ERP systems. It eliminates conflicting data within various departments, and helps business managers make decisions more quickly.  Housing company data in a single space also simplifies the data security measures that need to be in place. With on-premises ERP solutions, companies must invest significant time and money to ensure data security.  However, cloud-based ERP solutions shift much of that responsibility to the people who manage the cloud data centers.  After all, data saved in the cloud doesn’t just float around in space; it has to be housed somewhere.  There are already significant efforts to protect this data. Still, as technology continues to evolve, cloud ERP providers will need to stay ahead of the curve in terms of data security.

This is Where NetSuite Data Center Comes In

NetSuite DataCenter provides your organization with the tools you need to effectively and securely manage your data, along with operational support from a world-class hosting operations team.  NetSuite Data Center features a scalable application architecture, includes performance monitoring tools, and undergoes regular data center performance audits. The module includes a range of reliable enterprise-class data management features and is designed around redundancy to provide disaster recovery and failover capabilities.  

The module includes application security features such as encryption, IP address restrictions, role-based access, and idle disconnect.  On the other hand, operational security is achieved through continuous monitoring, separation of duties, security/privacy certifications, and physical access rules.  By simply utilizing the security measures already in place within the NetSuite Data Center, businesses that use NetSuite ERP don't have to spend as much time and money building similar security measures of their own to protect their data.

Conclusion

In general, demand is increasing across all areas of the ERP Industry.  In particular, we are seeing greater trends towards cloud ERP systems, global business capabilities within ERP, mobile ERP applications, AI & predictive analytics, and centralized data and data security.  Oracle NetSuite is well-positioned to meet these needs within the ERP industry.  Between the innovations introduced by NetSuite itself and NetSuite's broader community of partners, consultants, and developers, NetSuite ERP can be expected to remain a leading player in the ERP market as the #1 Cloud-based ERP Software.

Hopefully, this post provides you with something to work with as you explore NetSuite and its capabilities for your business. If you have any questions or would like consulting advice, please don't hesitate to contact our team at Anchor Group.

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