"My company moved from MYOB to NetSuite 6 months ago. With the help of NetReturn, we have gone from strength to strength. We are now fully embracing the power and performance of NetSuite. One of the great advantages I have found is the ability for my team, who are located all over Australia, to be accessing "real time" data from any PC location. As Director and CEO, I have found the reporting capabilities and customisation levels to be awesome and incredibly useful."
Security and Why NetSuite is better at it
By adopting a NetSuite application, you automatically enjoy the advantages of a world-class data centre (Level 3) and team of IT professionals. With the goal of providing the highest level of security possible, Level 3 protects the physical and electronic infrastructure of their global network. The network was built to meet or exceed commercial telecommunications standards worldwide for availability, integrity and confidentiality.
Security
Security is organised into two areas: physical access and Web-based access. To protect data from physical access, the Level 3 data centre employs top-level security measures including 24-hour biometric admittance to keep anyone from entering without full security clearance.
For Web-based security, NetSuite system configuration employs these measures and more:
Internet firewalls
Firewalls block all attempts to access data centre other than from methods and points allowed
128-bit secure socket layer data encryption
When you or your employees access a NetSuite application, your login, with the unique ID and password that are required, starts a connection where all data passed back and forth is encrypted.
Application-only access
The system is divided into layers that separate data from the application. Everyone who logs in only has access to the application layer so no-one can access your data to maliciously alter it.
Role-level access, idle disconnect and account lockout
Every user is assigned a specific role with specific permissions to only see and use the Features related to their own jobs. The system also detects if your connection is idle and automatically disconnects to prevent someone else from sitting at your computer and using your access. Also, if anyone tries to access the application by guessing at a person's ID and password, the account will be locked out after three attempts.
Compared to the standard security practices of software installed in-house, users typically experience significantly higher security measures after switching to a NetSuite application.
Performance
Performance levels are addressed from a standpoint of both uptime and system speed. NetSuite and NetReturn understand how important uptime is for your business. In response, the uptime objectives have been setup to surpass industry in-house and outsourced levels. Those levels have been consistently exceeded and the goal is to strive to continue to do so.
Uptime objectives are:
Hours of Service Uptime Goal
Monday to Friday, 4 a.m. to 11 p.m. AEST - 99.5%
Saturday and Sunday, 4 a.m. to 11 p.m. AEST - 99.0%
Monday to Friday, 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. AEST - 90.0%
Saturday and Sunday, 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. AEST - 80.0%
These uptime objectives can be achieved because the data centre configuration uses a three-tier architecture that separates the data delivery layer, the application layer and the database layer. Each layer uses multiple servers, and a fault-tolerant session fail over is employeed. In other words, if one server fails, your connection is seamlessly handed over to another server, and you can continue to do your work without even noticing a change. Also in place is fully redundant hardware systems, including an independent power supply, so that if any hardware fails the backup hardware takes over and there is no interruption of service to you.
In addition to uptime, the data centre configuration is also pivotal in ensuring the best system speed which is achieved through load balancing, direct backbone connection and optimised page transmission. For load-balancing, The data centre uses the NetSuite architecture's ability to shift connections among servers to spread the load evenly and assign each connection to the least busy server so that you always get the best speed.
To maximise system speed, the data transferred is also optimised. NetSuite application pages re-use standard page elements which are cached in your browser so that the data transferred is only those elements that are unique to the page requested. Having less data to transmit means your browser receives all the data it needs sooner and the page is displayed for you sooner.
By using the NetSuite hosted solution, you get a data centre as sophisticated and secure as those used by the Top 100 Australian companies at no additional cost to you. The team of IT professionals takes care of all hardware and software upgrades, data storage, and backups. And most of these tasks can be done without any interruption of service to you. With a higher than 99.5% uptime and performance level any other business application would be hard-pressed to beat.
Conclusion
NetSuite gives you premium-grade security combined with unparalleled anytime, anywhere access and performance. By adopting a NetSuite application you tap into a multi-million dollar world-class IT service at a small fraction of its cost. You will never have to worry about outgrowing and replacing your IT infrastructure. The Level 3 data centre is designed to scale effortlessly to your business needs so you can focus your time and capital on growing your business itself.
