NetSuite brings business software to the iPhone

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) provider NetSuite today caught many off-guard by announcing wide-ranging application support for Apple's iPhone smartphone, making it the first business software provider to back the platform.

NetSuite, which is in the throws of preparing for a stock market floatation, has announced SuitePhone, a fully iPhone-friendly interface for the NetSuite 2007.0 hosted application suite. SuitePhone is not a new application as such, but addresses the compatibility and formatting issues necessary to make such a complex and large business app function effectively on a small-screen, low-bandwidth device such as the iPhone.

Addition of both mobile and desktop Safari browser support addresses one of the biggest problems the Mac platform and users has faced in recent year, a distinct lack of heavyweight enterprise apps suitable for operating either smaller business or a large enterprise. While the likes of Microsoft has produced versions of Office for the Mac, and Apple-owned FileMaker has developed a popular database platform, back-office applications and platforms have remained thin on the ground, something that could be easily exploited by the growing SaaS market.

"Apple has traditionally lacked the software applications required to address the needs of running a sophisticated business. SuitePhone addresses this need, and makes the iPhone, in combination with NetSuite, one of the more useful and effective tools currently available to manage small and medium-size businesses," said Zach Nelson, chief executive of NetSuite.

With the iPhone currently only available in the US, only NetSuite's stateside customers have been able to trial SuitePhone so far, but with positive results and have provided an insight into what UK users can expect when the iPhone goes on sale in the UK around October.

"With the iPhone, I have access to all my critical business information in my NetSuite account just as if I were at my computer," said Mort O'Sullivan, president of financial equipment supplier ArcaTech Systems.

"It's a pleasant surprise to see my NetSuite dashboard on my iPhone," said Brad Kugler, chief executive of Florida-based Distribution Video and Audio. "Having visibility into my business in real-time is critical. With my iPhone, I can see and act on key business information such as financial reporting, sales, orders, invoices, receivables and payables."

Using SuitePhone, NetSuite users that have been given access by their IT department or administrator can access the NetSuite back-end via an iPhone, getting full access to functions such as invoicing, CRM tools, e-commerce controls and reporting. This is possible because the iPhone uses a fully-functional version of the Safari web browser that is almost identical to the one bundled with the Mac OS X 10.4 operating system used on Apple's desktop and laptop computers.

SuitePhone, along with the new version of the NetSuite platform is currently being deployed to existing users. It will be available to new customers from next month.

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