Six Lessons Every Business Should Learn from NetSuite

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Since its launch in 1998, off the back of a five-minute phone call, NetSuite has become a transformational product that serves fast-growing businesses across the globe. It’s both followed, and enabled, some foundational approaches that can serve all business leaders - here are some highlights, from NetSuite’s founder and from other experts within the NetSuite ecosystem.

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1. Focus on a specific need and a specific market, then scale after that
NetSuite was launched in the belief that cloud-based software could serve all business needs - but it started with a clear focus on a single one, accountancy, and serving smaller enterprises. The plan was always to expand into other services, like CRM and ecommerce - but in the words of NetSuite’s most enthusiastic early backer, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, “you have to build the back office first.” The company took a similar approach to scaling its client base: focusing on specific industries and digging in before targeting new ones was “what we did for 20 years," according to founder and EVP Evan Goldberg.

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2. Have rich information on how your business operates‍

NetSuite and Workiro were both born from the belief that businesses need to have excellent data to flourish and succeed, and both have built platforms to deliver it. “The lack of technology should not be the reason that you don’t succeed,” Goldberg told Acceleration Economy. “It won’t be the reason that you do succeed—that’s going to be your great idea and your execution on that idea. But if you don’t have rich information about your business and you’re not able to keep control as you grow, that can be something that can cause you to fail.” That belief is what drove Goldberg to launch NetSuite to support businesses, and it’s the core of what Workiro offers. You can find out more about how Workiro gives you that information by visiting us at SuiteWorld.

3. Empower customers rather than limit them
One of NetSuite’s great strengths is its flexibility, with a robust list of partners providing additional services. By not relying solely on internal development, but allowing others to build new solutions on the underlying platform, it’s able to support more businesses, faster. “You can kind of be creative,” says John Gori, VP of Business Advisory Services at NetSuite partner Accrete Consulting. “If you see an underserved segment or a particular piece of functionality, that needs some additional robustness, there's nothing that stops you from going out and building it.” In the words of this year’s SuiteWorld, all systems grow - and NetSuite’s is built to enable that.

4. Believe in your vision - and make sure everybody knows it
Goldberg knows what the company stands for, and is focused on it. “Our vision is that you have everything you need to grow as a business all in one place,” he told leadership expert Adam Mendler. “You always have to lead… what is the core of your value proposition. You have to be the evangelist for that, you have to be the protector of that, as a leader, because there'll be silos in your organisation that want to go off in some different direction.” The key to that is being consistently positive about that vision. “I think you have to present enthusiasm in everything you do . People have to see that enthusiasm. That enthusiasm becomes infectious. And you have to be the biggest evangelist for your vision.”

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5. Make sure your product always meets your customer needs
From the first days as NetLedger through years of iteration and expansion, NetSuite has been lead by what its customers need, and has tailored the platform to suit them - either through development or by acquisition.  “What historically has made Oracle NetSuite super successful is they have really leaned in over all the years, on their product,” says Dirk Shimpach, CPA for fellow NetSuite partner GoVirtualOffice. “They have been a very product-first company. Really offering true solutions that solve business problems. I would say the same thing for WorkIro. WorkIro is really leaning into the product and that that will drive success. If you can truly meet your customers' needs and solve their problems, you’re gonna be in a good place.”

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6. Eat your own dogfood
   A classic lesson of software development: you should use your own product in your own business, because then you’ll know how best to improve it. “NetSuite didn't use NetSuite for like, its first six months, because it didn't exist yet,” Goldberg told Mendler. But once the product was up and running, he was quick to use it to view the finances of his own company, to confirm it met his vision of putting all the information in a single view. He knew from the first glance: “I looked in my browser, and there was everything I needed to know, all in one place, and I was like, ‘Oh, yeah, this is gonna work’. Obviously, it's not always the case that you get to build a product for yourself. And there are minefields there, because you're not necessarily the perfect customer. But when you can, as they say, eat your own dog food, it's a big advantage as long as you keep that perspective that it's not just about you.”

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To learn more about how you can apply these lessons to your business, and how you can stay informed and take control using Workiro’s fully Netsuite-integrated tools to store and manage every document and communication securely, book a chat with us here.

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