The news as of the first coffee this morning, and the music is PJ Harvey's Stories From The City - Stories From The Sea. Not exactly my kind of music, but I listened to it once to see if it could be. It didn't displace Exile On Main Street after the first listen, but it stayed in my mind and I'm listening to it again. At first listen in lacks the strong songwriting and melodies I like, but there's something about it that's interesting. Stay tuned.

NetSuite has announced a new program offering current Sage partners in the U.S. and U.K. the opportunity to add NetSuite products to their business practice at a revenue share of 50 percent for the first twelve months. 

The fine print: The 50 percent revenue share offer will apply to all new NetSuite subscriptions secured by the partner on one, two or three-year subscriptions. The new program for Sage channel partners is available through September 30 to all current Sage channel partners in good standing, based on acceptance into the NetSuite Solution Provider Program.

 

In a concentrated bid to attract Sage customers, NetSuite officials have announced that Sage channel partners will receive "dedicated training customized for Sage implementation experts" on NetSuite's accounting / Enterprise Resource Planning, Customer Relationship Management and e-commerce products. 

NetSuite officials say they expect this program will find "a warm reception" in a Sage channel partner community "wracked with fear, uncertainty and doubt about the future of on-premise applications and the ability of Sage to lead them to the new world of cloud computing." 

In fact, NetSuite officials say, pointing up the differences between their offerings and Sage's, demand for on-premise software "is diminishing across the board... Sage has yet to offer their channel partners a Software as a Service application which can be recommended to clients, forcing some partners to look elsewhere." 

Aric Shelko, President, Accession Technology, a value-added reseller of Sage products and a new NetSuite provider based in Ridgewood, New Jersey says in the future "we expect to see an increase in companies moving toward the Software as a Service model."

Research from "Gartner Market Trends: Software as a Service, Worldwide, 2008-2013" cited by NetSuite officials finds that Software as a Service is forecast to have a 19.4 percent compound annual growth rate through 2013, "more than triple the total market CAGR of 5.2 percent.

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FunnelSource, a vendor of what company officials call "lightweight" Business Intelligence products, have announced the official release of the FunnelSource product. 

FunnelSource pulls data from cloud CRM systems (such as, oh, Salesforce.com), converts it into information and presents it in a single-screen view that gives users "intuitive quota vs. actual revenue tracking bars," company officials say, including "enhanced forecasting capabilities and error alerts to warn users that data in their CRM is either bad or incorrect."

In addition, FunnelSource gives executives the ability to drill down from the executive level to the individual sales rep level to track performance, "all on one screen and in real-time" while still retaining executive washroom privileges.

With user adoption being a "great challenge in the world of CRM," John Hanna, co-founder and CEO of FunnelSource, says "our philosophy is simple. If you empower your reps on the front lines with an application that helps them hit their individual quotas and eliminates fumbling around in the CRM, then your reps will see true value in the application and they will use it."  Because hey, sales reps are human, too. Honestly. 

FunnelSource is on the Salesforce.com AppExchange. 
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The SAP road show hits India as customers, partners and industry experts are meeting at Le Meridian for the unveiling of "Clear New World," described by company officials as "a new mid-term strategic thrust."

The theme is "See Your Way Clear: Strategies for Success in the New Reality." It's being held in 100 cities across 50 countries. 

Keynoter Ranjan Das, Managing Director, SAP Indian subcontinent, focused on how technology enables companies to derive increased understanding, visibility and value -- "both of their own operations and those of their partner networks," according to SAP officials.

Riffing on the theme of "clear," SAP officials said at the Indian event that companies must "see clearly, think clearly, and act clearly." Becoming "clear," in their estimation, allows companies to operate with "increased speed, relevance and accuracy."

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Requisite Technology, a vendor of channel management, eCommerce and master data management products, has announced the release of eCommerce Suite - Small Business Edition, described by company officials as "a streamlined version" of their flagship product designed for small enterprises.

The suite is available in two packages, one providing sales force automation and customer relationship management functionality, and the other geared towards "the eCommerce needs of small businesses" such as order capture, shopping cart, lists, order and shipping status, company officials say.

Both packages have the functionality of Requisite Technology's channel-specific framework, including modules such as marketing communications, partner profiles, partner programs, and business plans with "quick implementation timelines."

Grace Feliciano, general manager at Requisite Technology, said the eCommerce Suite - Small Business Edition "is designed specifically with the requirements of small businesses in mind... to help them get the most out of their current channel relationships."

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Neudesic has been named to the 2009 Microsoft Dynamics Inner Circle, company officials say, adding that the Microsoft designation is for "the top 10 Dynamics partners in the world."

Darren Gooding, Neudesic Director of Microsoft CRM/XRM Practice, said the company is "excited to have achieved this accomplishment for Microsoft's FY 2009. We made it into their President's Club for the third year in a row which is the top five percent of the Dynamics partners." He called the recognition "a great achievement for our team."

Doug Kennedy, vice president of the Microsoft Dynamics Partners team, pronounced himself "proud to congratulate the company on being named to this year's Microsoft Dynamics Inner Circle."

Neudesic helps customers launch CRM, company officials say, "with minimum disruption and maximum ROI," integrating CRM and analytic capabilities "into our customers' current environment, allowing them to use the Microsoft software and systems they already use." Neudesic officials say they By working closely with the teams at Microsoft, Neudesic officials say, they maintain "an understanding of the Microsoft Dynamics platform."

Neudesic was established in 2001 and is headquartered in Irvine, California. It maintains a global presence based out of Hyderabad, India.

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Sage has announced the availability of Sage ERPX3 for Australian and New Zealand customers, specifically designed for deployment and operation over the Internet.

The product is described by company officials as "the latest in Sage's Enterprise Resource Planning suite designed to automate and manage business processes for medium to large organizations with between 100 and 5,000 employees." It's aimed mostly at businesses in vertical markets and industries including discrete manufacturing, finance, process manufacturing, warehouse management, distribution, pharmaceutical, medical and mining.

Processes automated by the new solution include finance, production, sales, CRM, purchasing and stock management functions. Sage officials say a reduced total cost of ownership and improved speed and ease of deployment are "particularly high priorities for Australian and New Zealand businesses at present," citing feedback from their resellers.