EFFECTIVE ERP ON TABLETS WITH NETSUITE
ERP vendors failed to understand
In an interview with Spandas Lui from ZDNet published on 10 August 2012, Gartner enterprise software research director Nigel Montgomery has voiced the opinion that ERP vendors and tablet manufacturers have failed to understand how to effectively bring ERP onto mobile devices.
Gartner failing to understand?
This criticism seems tied to the fact that many ERP suites are designed as on-premise solutions. Such solutions often require local resources or client software to run the application. Taking an on-premise ERP application and porting it to mobile users on tablet devices does not lend itself easily to providing a consistent user experience.
ERP systems are complex multi-functional software applications. Switching between a client application and browser tends to offer users inconsistent experiences. This may create confusion and cause users to make errors.
It may be that reportage is limited or the comments taken out of context, but it seems that Gartner is failing to understand NetSuite is not an on-premise solution ported to mobile.
NetSuite is mobile native
NetSuite is truly mobile native in two respects:
- NetSuite is easy to use on a touch screen tablet because full functionality is accessed through a standard browser, independent of operating system or browser preference. Users never have to switch between a client application and a browser interface. It is always accessed through a browser.
- NetSuite is perfectly suited for use on browser enabled mobile computing platforms because it is cloud-based. The application is available whenever users have an internet connection. There are no on-premise infrastructure costs or management overheads.
This means NetSuite makes for an excellent mobile user experience while providing the flexibility that today’s mid-market wholesale distribution businesses need to operate efficiently.