Oracle Netsuite Partners Rewarded for Reconnecting with Customers

SUITECONNECT LONDON — During the ongoing economic turbulence, it's up to partners to help their customers “do more with less.” That was a message from execs at SuiteConnect London to Oracle NetSuite partners at the company's latest customer and partner event.

“Today, there’s so much more focus on where the money is being spent. You want to drive efficiencies across your people, your technology and your processes, said Evan Goldberg, founder and EVP, Oracle NetSuite.

That means urging Oracle NetSuite partners to “Suite Up” — a message of upselling and cross-selling more of its software to existing customers.

The strategy seems to be paying off. Customers are investing more in NetSuite as the suite expands, said Chris Norfolk, Oracle NetSuite’s EMEA channel director. Since last June, revenue from customers of NetSuite’s EMEA partner base is up 45% compared to the same period last year.

Oracle NetSuite's Chris Norfolk

“We’ve got more products available than they had before,” Norfolk told Channel Futures at the event. “And people are willing to invest more into their NetSuite, which is great. So that means that some of the stuff I’ve done over the last couple of years – expand out my account management organization – I need to continue. I want to make sure that the customer gets the right support from my guys and from the partners as well.”

Of course, growth won’t solely come from existing customers, said Norfolk.

“We need them to also focus on new business,” he said. “It’s logo growth, revenue growth and renewal rates.”

While keeping them under wraps, Norfolk described renewal rates through Oracle NetSuite partners as “exceptional. They are amazing. The two key measures that [customers] renew each year and they spend more money with us says they’re happy,” he said.

More Oracle NetSuite Partners Certified

Additionally – again not referring to any metrics – NetSuite said it has seen “a significant increase” in the number of EMEA-based partners achieving formal certifications.

The level of certification is directly linked to the success of the partner, the company said. NetSuite did reveal that its top 10 partners in EMEA – determined by number of customers – have attained more than 300 certifications or authorizations.

“One of the reasons why we’re seeing the increase in spend from our existing customer base is because partners are more enabled,” said Norfolk. “They understand a bit more about some of the conversations they’re having or can see something they might not have seen before because it’s part of the accreditation they get.”