NetReturn News 2004
2004 Press Releases
The clever IT investment goes to Net Return
SYDNEY, December 6, 2004 - NetReturn today announced that a collective of Australia's most astute investment and IT minds had come together to provide extra funding for the company.
Two equity sources, Saltbush Annuity Growth Management and a consortium of investors led by David Shein* have acquired a shareholding in NetReturn.
NetReturn is the sole Australasian distributor of NetSuite, the world's leading online business application for small to medium sized companies. NetSuite was recently ranked the second fastest growing software company in the US and delivers integrated applications at an affordable price.
"Investment in a company is always a signal of faith in your model, but when the backing comes from Saltbush and the David Shein consortium then you know that you really are on the right track," said Mason Little, chief executive officer, NetReturn.
"Both Saltbush and the David Shein consortium are sophisticated investors. They don't take punts. Both groups spent a considerable amount of time evaluating and examining the business and felt, as we do, that there is tremendous market opportunity for Net Return. Even with our successes, we have only just scratched the surface of the Australian market which we estimate to be in excess of $5 billion dollars," added Little.
Saltbush Annuity Growth Management (SAGM) is part of the Saltbush Group which is an alternative asset manager running hedge funding and direct equity investments. SAGM is funded by high profile private and corporate investors.
"At Saltbush we evaluate a large number of opportunities, and only choose a very small percentage of them. Our reputation and that of our investors is based on making the right decisions. The Net Return management team are highly experienced and have held senior management positions in companies such as Oracle and the product suite is by far the best available for SME's," said Andrew Boustred executive director, Saltbush Annuity Growth Management.
"We are in a rapid growth phase with NetReturn, and what is most pleasing is that the growth is all based on results," said Mason Little.
Earlier this year, NetReturn opened branch offices in Brisbane and Melbourne, and overall staff numbers have doubled this year.
The invested capital will allow NetReturn to progress with further expansion plans.
"This funding will be used to grow and expand our distribution reach. Alongside this will be a significant push of our marketing and branding activities. Right now we have the best products in the market and our challenge is to get in-front of more people. Every time NetSuite is independently analysed and compared it comes out on top of the competition. We just need to make the market more aware of what we can do for them," Little added.
* David Shein is regarded by many as the man to follow in the IT sector. Shein founded Com Tech Communications as a one-man band in July 1987 as a specialist supplier of networking and communication products. In August 2000, David sold Com Tech to Dimension Data at a valuation in excess of $1billion. At that time, Com Tech employed in excess of 1400 people, had offices in all the major states of Australia, and had revenues of $750mil.
NetReturn is the sole Australian and New Zealand distributor of NetSuite, and Australia’s leading online service company.
Rented software adds an edge. Channelworx choose NetReturn and NetSuite
Australian Financial Review, 20th April, 2004 - When it comes to acceptance of the application service provider or ASP model, the idea of having rental software dished up over the Internet is likely to appeal to many small businesses, the prospect of sending their sensitive data back out into the either may not.
Scott Lidgett, managing director of Channelworx, an up-and-coming Melbourne based distributor specialising in IT security and networking, says his business definitely fell into this category.
But Channelworx has taken the plunge regardless, he says, because of the competition it faces from cashed up established rivals and the pressure this creates on the business to turn costs in non-core activities.
"We are always looking for an edge. Despite our size we are able to compete with the big players, but it is hard for us to keep up with them on a technology basis because they are all better funded," he says. "That means we need to stay on top of technology and we look for any advantage we can."
So out of its team of 20, he says, the goal is to have as many of these as possible involved in the product, whether in sales, support or marketing. And this, he says, means taking a philosophical position to embrace outsourcing for as many non-core activities as possible.
Its outsourcing effort kicked off four years ago when it used to employ people to lift and shift boxes in its St Kilda warehouse. But it opted to outsource the activity. Adopting the same approach for its software applications was still a stretch at that time, says Lidgett,"We are happy to go with an outsourced model on certain non-core elements but, when it came to accounting and customer relationship management (CRM), it was a much tougher call."
For starters, the whole ASP movement was just beginning. Security had yet to be fully addressed, he says, and performance was still an issue. To have a fast Internet connection, even at work, was a rarity. But with security and performance issues now largely addressed, ASP has become a tempting proposition for a company with strong reason to move away from packaged and legacy software.
Channelworx had built its own CRM system, which had evolved over 10 years and required its own in-house programmer to tweak and update it, which equated to a fairly significant capital outlay.
Also, the CRM system did not integrate with its accounting software, which was developed by a small local firm. This system was getting a little dated and lacked important feature such as allowing Internet access for remote users.
When it came to taking the ASP plunge, says Lidgett, the challenge for the business lay in reconciling some perceived disadvantages if the model. These included paranoia about security of the data sitting on someone else's computer, in someone else's building, managed by someone else's IT team.
Even so, Channelworx decided to take a closer look at NetSuite, an accounting and CRM product sold in Australia by NetReturn that was built specifically for remote Internet delivery to small to medium sized businesses.
Channelworx looked at the credibility of the outfit and found the system was built on an Oracle database, that the data was encrypted, and that the application was hosted in data centres far more secure than any of the buildings it, or its competitors, worked out of. "It would probably be easier to steal our data by walking up to the door, using a sledgehammer and stealing a computer. At the end of the day that was ill-founded paranoia," says Lidgett.
The second issue, he said, was reliance on the public Internet. "It is a real concern but the reality is that the networks they are sitting on are guaranteeing pretty good up-time that is on par with most corporate networks."
He says while he would love 100 per cent up time, it is not a reality.
He says ASP up-time worked out at about the same as running an internal network once you factored in general system maintenance and upgrades. So by September last year, Channelworx felt ready to begin trialling NetSuite and its started implementation at Christmas. It opted to go with the CRM application first, with the account application expect to be up and running in time for the new financial year.
"All I need is the Internet and I have access to the full capabilities of the system." Channelworx staff are undergoing extensive training by Net Return, to help them become more comfortable with the accounting product before it is rolled out.
Because the software includes both CRM and accounting, the plan, according to Lidgett, is to gain 360-degree visibility of any data on customers or suppliers and view it from any angle.
For example, a member of the engineering or account team should soon be able to see what products a customer has brought, whether there are any outstanding tech support issues and whether these are affecting receipt of payment. The system also helps its other offices in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth to operate as a single team.
"Our West Australian office is a one-man show but he can use the CRM system as if he's in the booth next to mine," says Lidgett. "Part of the strategy is to have a virtual organisation in which you can put an individual anywhere and have them feel part of a team."
And as a frequent overseas traveller, this provides a major advantage in his own work, he says. "All I need is the Internet and I have access to full capabilities of the system asset is 100 per cent browser-based." He says the software is also role-based which means it can configured so that every user can filter the information on the system to suit their job.
NetSuite will also enable the business to automate its channel. It sells to resellers and large customers and hopes to soon offer these customers a fully integrated e-commerce option.
"You just check a couple of boxes in the system to build a full e-commerce system that can be used by suppliers and customers." "Customers, for example, could use it to see their own specific pricing, back order status and to place orders on line," he says.
However, from a strategic point of view, the real objective of moving to the ASP model is to continue to run lean on non-core skills and pour resources into developing the business, according to Lidgett.
Other packaged solutions could have provided similar functionality but still involved "serious money" in licenses, hardware and consulting fees, he says. Instead, he says, that capital outlay could be used in a way that gives a great return for the business. And he believes the ASP software model can also better match the growth of the business than packaged software.
Staff acceptance, he says, has been strong, the only challenge being an invitation to enter too much information in the system. "There are fields for everything and if you try to capture too much, no one will want to use the system. The challenge is in culling the available fields and working with the team to decide what is the most relevant information."
NetReturn is the sole Australian and New Zealand distributor of NetSuite, and Australia’s leading online service company.
First locally-hosted, on-demand CRM service launched
SYDNEY, 9th March 2004 - NetReturn today announced the availability of NetCRM, the first 'on-demand' CRM (customer relationship management) service - for medium to large businesses - hosted in Australia by Telstra. The product was launched at the Customer Contact World exhibition, Sydney Exhibition Centre, Darling Harbour.
NetCRM includes broad functionality for sales force automation, marketing automation, and customer support, and adds features not found in any other online CRM solution:
1. Sales order management: NetCRM allows businesses to actually sell and track product and service sales with its integrated order processing capabilities - salespeople can create quotes and orders. Sales commissions can also be managed in the one application.
2. Marketing automation: NetCRM includes purchase history, so campaigns can be created to target specific customer segments. Also, NetCRM provides end-to-end marketing campaign management - from system-provided templates to e-mail campaign distribution to results measurement and ROI analysis - all in one application at no additional charge.
3. Partner relationship management: NetCRM includes complete partner relationship management. The NetCRM Partner Centre allows a unique log-in for partners to view their leads, track orders, and submit and view support cases. It also enables a company to prepare accurate sales forecasts with better visibility into their partners' sales pipeline. This is important in financial services, for example, where a myriad of financial intermediaries are used.
4. Dashboards: When a user logs-in, they are presented with a pre-configured real-time dashboard specific to their role (i.e. sales manager) highlighting up to 40 key performance indicators. Users can then click-through on any element to see the detail and action appropriately.
"It's amazing that the one thing that all other online sales automation systems can't do is make a sale - you literally cannot take the order," said Stuart McLean, managing director of NetReturn, exclusive distributor of NetSuite/NetCRM in Australia. "NetCRM's order management functionality, combined with its integrated marketing, sales and support technology, gives medium and large businesses a complete CRM solution in an affordable, easy-to-use package.
NetCRM is now being made available as a separate service from NetSuite (the first on-demand, all-in-one business suite for SMEs with over 5,000 customers) launched in Australia in October 2003. NetSuite was started by Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle to bring enterprise power to SMEs.
NetCRM integrates with Microsoft Outlook, Lotus Notes and Yahoo! Mail as well with Palm handheld devices.
NetCRM pricing ranges from $100-150 per user, per month depending on level of usage and number of users. As an online service, there is no complex IT to buy, set-up, install and support. Local support is included as well as all future upgrades.
NetReturn is the sole Australian and New Zealand distributor of NetSuite, and Australia’s leading online service company.
NetReturn now has 21 Australasian NetSuite customers, and wins customers from Salesforce.com
Sydney, 1st May – NetReturn the sole distributor of NetSuite, the on-demand suite for small and mid-sized businesses (SMEs), announces new Australasian customers, including some who've switched from Salesforce.com. NetReturn now has 21 Australasian customers, demonstrating that SMEs are accepting the idea of affordable, on-demand services.
ChannelWorx, a leading IP communications distributor with operations across Australia, switched from several standalone applications to NetSuite.
"ChannelWorx is growing steadily, so we needed a flexible and scaleable platform to cope with the challenges of a growing company. NetSuite provides us with a sophisticated, enterprise-wide system at a price that's affordable for a company our size," said Scott Lidgett, managing director, ChannelWorx. "With NetSuite we automatically have a B2B web store that integrates with sales, marketing, customer support and accounting. This will enable us to save money, be more efficient and deliver better customer service than with any other system we have seen."
Mainpac, an Australian software and consulting firm specialising in asset and maintenance management , has also made the switch to NetSuite.
"We had a combination of systems for our accounting and customer relationship activities and initially, were looking for a CRM-only solution. However, when we saw NetSuite's functionality, it was obvious to us that being able to integrate our sales, consultants and customer service operations with invoicing and accounting was the best solution for us and our customers. We now have the ideal CRM system, one that gives everyone in the company a view of the customer according to their role. This will improve our sales and marketing campaigns plus reduce some of our costs," said Peter Bates, product and marketing director, Mainpac.
"Small and mid-sized businesses don't want to go through the pain of using different software packages to run their operations. It's no less painful or costly for a mid-size enterprise to integrate Salesforce.com with Microsoft Great Plains than it is for a Top 100 company to integrate SAP with Siebel," said Stuart McLean, managing director of Net Return, the exclusive distributors of NetSuite in Australia. "Having to re-enter data into different systems not only results in additional costs, it also translates to lost revenue."
"As importantly, a company trapped on stand-alone applications is inherently weaker in providing customer support. Customers end up getting transferred from one department to another, because employees don't have visibility into customer records. When a company uses NetSuite, they see the limitations of using stand-alone applications, and their customers see the benefit in the way they are treated by companies," McLean added.
NetSuite was launched in Australasia by NetReturn in late October 2003. The service is hosted in Australia with Telstra and delivered as an on-demand service, so there is no hardware to procure, no large, up-front license fee, and no complex set-ups. With over 7,500 customers globally, NetSuite enables companies to manage all key business operations in a single, integrated system, which includes customer relationship management; order management and fulfilment; inventory management; finance and e-commerce and Web site management; and employee productivity.
NetReturn is the sole Australian and New Zealand distributor of NetSuite, and Australia’s leading online service company.
NetReturn a finalist in AIIA iAwards 2004
Sydney, 1st March - NetReturn has been selected as a finalist in the Australia Information Industry Association's iAward's 2004, run in conjunction with the Australian Financial Review. For more information: www.aiia.com.au.
We have been selected in the 'Outstanding Partnership between a local company and a multinational company' category. This award recognises Australian companies who have successfully partnered with a multi-national company to create a product or solution. In our case, it is our partnership with NetSuite, Inc. that has been recognised.
NetReturn worked with NetSuite, Inc. to customise the NetSuite service for the Australian market, ensuring that it meets all Australian taxation requirements (and that the spellings were Australian, not American!).
As well as customising the product, we also wanted to be the first online application of its type to be hosted in Australia - as this gives a much faster service to customers.
So, through a strategic partnership with Telstra, we now have a fully functional data-centre capable of supporting at least 40,000 users (and we can keep adding more users thanks to scalability of NetSuite). Thanks to sterling co-operation between NetSuite in the US (who sent over three US technical managers for 4 weeks) and NetReturn, the data centre was up and running a week earlier than targeted.
We also aim to show Australia's SMEs that they can get the same capabilities as the large companies but at a fraction of the cost of software form the traditional vendors. We are changing mindsets about the ASP or on-demand model. We can do this because the price gap between our hosted product and 'old, traditional' software is so big. The award will be announced in the next few months.
NetReturn is the sole Australian and New Zealand distributor of NetSuite, and Australia’s leading online service company
