NetSuite upbeat over channel progress

It’s been 18 months since NetSuite introduced its partner programme, and the firm has indicated it has been making solid progress with the channel across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

The supplier cut the ribbon on SuiteLife in April 2019, and so far, 245 partners across EMEA have signed up. The ambition to use a simplified programme as a way of attracting fresh blood has also seen the partner network increase by 24% over the same period.

Chris Norfolk, channel director for EMEA at NetSuite, said it was encouraged by the levels of participation in SuiteLife from the channel. “We’ve also been able to acquire partners a lot quicker than we have done in the past,” he said. “The last number I saw was 24% growth in partners joining the programme.

“Even during the current circumstances we’re seeing that our partners have growth rates quicker than ever,” said Norfolk. “The last number I’ve pulled, which was a quarterly view, was around 37% growth year over year. Even in the interesting times we’re in at the moment, [the programme] is helping partners get up and running and selling quicker, implementing quicker and selling more, which is good for everybody.”

He added that compared with its previous channel efforts, the current programme is much easier to navigate, and that meant onboarding new prospects was less complicated.

“They’ll go through the onboarding and we are seeing partners selling in three months now, getting their first live customer, rather than nine months or so like we saw before,” said Norfolk. “Throughout that process, they will then take on extra skills and learn them as they need them, rather than trying to teach everything upfront.

“One of the inhibitors before was that we were going to teach you everything, and that’s going to take months and month. You’re not going to see a return in that case, and I think people were nervous about that. The fact that they can now learn as they go and start seeing a return significantly quicker makes it much more attractive to propose to prospective partners.”