NetSuite on BT Business: will it work?

April 29, 2008

I’m somewhat late on this not that it matters. Stuart Lauchlan has the details of a deal which sees NetSuite (and SugarCRM) get a distribution leg up using BT Business. According to Stuart, Zach Nelson, NetSuite’s CEO is bullish about the arrangement while acknowledging the difficulties of the past:

Frankly it was too early for such a venture in the market. But this is the right idea at the right time now, given the fact so many of the IT services SMBs consume are in the cloud. It was probably too early for both of us. We were just learning how to sell this thing ourselves and it was unclear then that SaaS would definitely be the future. It was unclear that the integrated suite approach would be the future. In some respects, it’s a blessing in disguise that the relationship didn’t go forward. The opportunity that we have now with BT is to have a much broader relationship. BT is well positioned and has a strong relationship with every SME in the UK.

I’m a lot less enthusiastic. BT Business is attempting to become a one stop shop for a variety of services, of which these are but two. (I know of several other deals in the works but under non-disclosure) So far, I see no signs of what I would call life though I can fully understand the allure of going with the UK’s bandwidth wholesaler. The problem is not a question of service offering maturity but BT’s culture. It’s not a marketing organization at heart, it flogs bandwidth and airtime. That’s its core business and one it understands very well. As for the rest? How many times have we seen it attempt to become something it’s not?

When I see the current crop of BT TV adverts, they give me no clue that they’re in the apps business. They continue the belief that the company’s focus is elsewhere.

Given what I know about NetSuite pricing (all the reports are silent on this point) and the need for it to be implemented in the tradition of other mid-range applications, I really can’t see this partnership working. But then I have been proven wrong more times than enough in the past so never, say never.