While a NetSuite consultant brings functional expertise to the table, a NetSuite developer does more of the behind-the-scenes work of building the actual NetSuite instance for your company through code customizations. NetSuite developers and NetSuite consultants work closely with each other, and many individuals will act both as a NetSuite developer and a NetSuite consultant. However, it is helpful to think of the developer role separately from the consultant role in order to better understand the value of a high-performing NetSuite developer.
NetSuite Developer Jobs
You have probably heard that NetSuite ERP supports many modules that integrate seamlessly to create a unified business management system for your company. Sounds like a great way to manage a business, right?
A NetSuite developer's job is to take a client's objectives and turn those ideas into programs and extensions within a NetSuite environment. While NetSuite is highly customizable and can be tailored to meet your business's specific needs, you need a good NetSuite developer to get the job done right and ensure a high-performing system. We ensure you get the business management experience you are looking for by helping you connect different NetSuite Modules, make necessary customizations, and plug in NetSuite integrations when helpful.
Coding Languages for NetSuite Developers
Much of a NetSuite developer's job involves working in a developer account or sandbox account to make changes to SuiteScript with the help of NetSuite APIs. Using a base language called "JavaScript", NetSuite developers can introduce "SuiteScript 2.0" and create all the features to be introduced into their website and NetSuite ERP back office.
The best NetSuite developers have extensive experience and knowledge in all the different types of SuiteScripts to have a tool belt ready for any NetSuite customization. For instance, not all newer NetSuite developers have made a Suitelet, which can sometimes be a key ingredient for custom NetSuite tools. SuiteScript goes beyond minor automation; you can create web pages and maneuver data to meet your exact needs.
NetSuite Developer Background
Many NetSuite Developers have Bachelor's degrees in one of the following:
- Business
- Computer Science
- Engineering
- Management Information Systems
However, NetSuite Developers come from a variety of academic backgrounds. To ensure developers learn the necessary skills and requirements to succeed, they become certified in NetSuite. Visit our 'About' page to learn about our NetSuite implementation team's diverse educational backgrounds and discover what NetSuite certifications our team holds. (Spoiler: We collectively hold all available NetSuite Certifications).
NetSuite Developer Skills
A good NetSuite developer can accept complex assignments, analyze problems, and provide effective solutions. NetSuite developers excel at translating customer business requirements and business goals into workable business solutions within NetSuite. This requires deep knowledge of NetSuite functionality and the coding that brings about this functionality. Great NetSuite developers are highly skilled at coding in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and SuiteScript and have experience working with SuiteCommerce Advanced source code. A good NetSuite developer is able to bring their clients peace of mind by offering effective solutions through customizations and apps that will meet business needs in a cost-effective manner.
Qualities of a Good NetSuite Developer
A good NetSuite developer will work with consultants to discern how NetSuite can best fulfill a company's needs. Through the implementation process, the NetSuite developer builds and deploys automation, customizations, and integrations in NetSuite ERP to meet business needs, industry-specific processes, and regulatory requirements. Even after go-live, you can count on a good NetSuite developer to help you scale your NetSuite configuration through additional integrations and NetSuite Apps as your company grows. The goal of a NetSuite developer is to help NetSuite form around a business to automate daily tasks while retaining data integrity.
Advantages of a Certified NetSuite Developer
The advantages of using a group that is certified in all areas of NetSuite are boundless. NetSuite developers know that working together is one of the best ways to resolve issues. Utilizing a team of NetSuite professionals optimizes the end-to-end NetSuite solution. The functional consultant will be able to understand the native features that might want to be utilized. A NetSuite project manager will be able to design any project so that all business objectives are met with the most efficient use of developer time. On the other hand, the NetSuite developer can execute complex customization through SuiteScript.
To learn more about the different NetSuite Certifications that are available, and what level of expertise you can expect from an individual holding a given certification, check out our article on the topic: Understanding NetSuite Certifications
NetSuite Developer Accounts
With a NetSuite Developer account, NetSuite partners like Anchor Group can customize NetSuite without seeing your sensitive company data. NetSuite developer accounts have all the same features as your business' production account and do not contain any account customizations or production data. Instead, a developer account can be populated with only the data necessary for developing and testing. Developers also use sandbox accounts and multiple sandbox accounts, which are similar to NetSuite developers accounts but with added layers of tools for developing and testing customizations within NetSuite. Plus, it already has a carbon copy of your production data. Both a developer account and a sandbox account are heavily utilized while coding SuiteScript for your business.
What does a NetSuite Administrator do?
Though they can often be confused with each other, NetSuite Developers and NetSuite Administrators perform very different roles. The job of a NetSuite administrator is to manage the NetSuite ERP. This includes managing users, roles, permissions, and knowing how to use functions such as reports, saved searches, workflows, and other UI based tools built inside of NetSuite.
While NetSuite Administrators and NetSuite Developers both have some control over the website features, the extent and type of feature management these roles have are quite different. NetSuite Administrators can turn on and off certain features included within the code of their NetSuite instance. However, if they want more features added to the code of their NetSuite System, they will need to hire NetSuite developers to integrate new NetSuite Modules or third-party NetSuite Apps.
Oracle NetSuite Alliance Partner & Commerce Partner
Get NetSuite Development Services
Hopefully, this post gives you something to work with while trying to understand NetSuite development and what it can do for your business. If you have general questions about NetSuite development or more specific questions about how our team of NetSuite Developers can help your business improve your NetSuite system, feel free to contact us at any time. Anchor Group is a certified Oracle NetSuite Alliance Partner & Commerce Partner equipped to handle all kinds of NetSuite development projects, large or small!
