NetSuite used its annual user conference SuiteWorld conference in Las Vegas this week to update customers and partners on its roadmap and detail some of the secrets behind its rapid growth and product innovation.
One of the key ingredients to it’s the successful execution of its expansion plans lies in its new parentage, according to Evan Goldberg, the NetSuite’s founder and current executive vice president of development.
“The more things change, the more things stay the same,” he said.
“We’re being aggressive – not too aggressive – for our customers to take advantage of that. We’re integrating with Oracle products and there are a couple of areas there where it is super helpful to be part of Oracle. The other giant synergy for us is the ability to expand so rapidly internationally. It’s about making sure when we go into these markets we do it in a culturally appropriate way.”
Now it’s part of Oracle, it’s also possible for resources, such as the sales force, to be diverted – both internationally and domestically – to help bolster rapid expansion plans, according to Oracle CEO Mark Hurd. Hurd added that some of the investments that have been made in the last year or so simply would not have been possible without Oracle’s investment.
Hurd was also quick to pour cold water on suggestions around uncertainty relating to the structure of the company – previous Oracle acquisition targets have been absorbed into the business, whereas NetSuite remains a distinct operating business unit.
“We’re aligned. There is no lack of alignment. There are things to do…. Those are just natural migrations,” Hurd said.
“It’s part of our strategy to give NetSuite all of the possible benefits of Oracle, but none of the downside of Oracle. Let it leverage the best of what it does and the best of Oracle so it can grow.”
The duo also talked about how NetSuite is currently moving over to the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) – a process that will take a few years.
“We’re just a few weeks away from having our first customer live on OCI,” Goldberg said, adding that he believes that will act as a proof point.
“We do all these transitions carefully to make sure they’re not disruptive to customers. We have 16,000 customers. We can’t hire a database administrator for everyone for them to tune. Autonomous will be a DBA for each of our customers and make sure it’s tuned for their particular use.”
Hurd used the conference as a platform to reiterate how his own predictions around cloud – such as cloud apps having AI embedded in the next few years – and how market activity generally is moving in the same direction.
Suggesting “the data is irrefutable” Hurd cited the number of US datacentres closing in the past year and that almost half of development and testing is now carried out in the cloud.
“This is not, in my opinion, a technology. Cloud is architecture, an approach. As an approach it is irrefutable. It has several key elements that are big deals. It costs less. It has tonnes more innovation associated with it without having to add it on to your IT budget nickel. It removes the risk,” Hurd said.
“These drivers are the reason people are talking about cloud 10 years later. This is not a reversible trend. This is more about the speed at which you get to the destination.”