NetSuite, a cloud-based business management application helps a lot of companies to manage their ERP, CRM, Automation and eCommerce. With users across different departments, it is essential that Netsuite be integrated with all applications across the IT landscape to access customer information seamlessly through a single record without data redundancies.
In this blog, we share a success story of a customer who has integrated NetSuite using Dell Boomi, a unified cloud-based integration platform.
Background
PageGroup is one of the well-known recruitment consultancies based on UK and operating over 36 countries providing recruitment services and career opportunities. RSM is a global audit, tax and consulting network operating in 120 countries.
PageGroup engaged RSM for their global finance program, enabled by NetSuite and Dell Boomi. The main objectives of the engagement were
- Implement a single global finance system with global integrations
- Improve the provision of finance and management information for a better support model in the future
PageGroup considered the market for 3 different types of integration partners
- Heavyweight platforms
- Small push/pull applications
- iPaaS applications
Dell Boomi was chosen among the couple of selected iPaaS based on its following benefits.
- It’s a low code/Drag and Drop development tool
- No Separate IDE required
- Don’t need many developers
Design Principles
- Separation of Concerns: NetSuite handles finance functionality and logic; Other business applications handle their respective functionality and logic
- Integration layer brings the applications together
- Diagnosis to be simpler and maintenance easier
- Performance to be considered as part of initial design
NetSuite interacts with different financial systems:
- Billing
- CRM
- HR
- Payroll
After the growth of PageGroup, it has many disparate systems, which need to be standardized. Different applications, versions, different data structures need to be managed.
Highlights of NetSuite Integration Solution:
- Global APIs were used to interact with NetSuite. Local atoms per region.
- Local regions sent the data using API or files depending on their capability which was synched to NetSuite via API
- Changes to local systems were isolated from Global processes
- Existing regions were not affected when new regions came online
- Automated Testing to ensure all changes were not causing any impacts
- Development of global APIs took longer time in the beginning, but made the integrations easier later and maintainable.
Options for Connecting to NetSuite from Boomi:
Following options are available for connecting to NetSuite from Boomi
- Out-of-the box NetSuite connector – Uses SOAP API internally
- NetSuite SOAP API(OOB)
- RESTLet – enhanced performance as done in batch and allows complex business logic
Choosing one of the approaches for NetSuite connectivity:
- RESTLet
- Suitable for Large volumes of data movement
- Complex business processing and logic if needed to be done on line item level, then this is suitable as it is performance efficient
- Need to do additional development in NS platform for this
- SOAP API/Boomi Connector
- Available out of the box, but less performant than RESTLet approach
Based on the analysis, we have the following learnings about NetSuite integration solution
- It is best to stick to our initial design principles
- Create integration patterns that are scalable by thinking globally around standardized APIs and data models
Conclusion and recommendation
In case of customers who use Salesforce for customer management and NetSuite ERP for order, pricing and product management, use of integration tool such as Boomi will be helpful.
Finance and Sales are mission critical business functions. Cloud-based application integration automates key business processes across multiple applications to provide accurate and timely financial visibility throughout the organization and eliminate inefficient, error-prone and manual data entry.
To support this effort, several dependent master data records must be integrated as well, most notably Customers and Products. Integration will keep both applications in sync so users can be confident they are working with accurate and current information
At this stage it will also be good to review the key overall benefits customers have obtained from Dell Boomi investment (Download Forrester report – total economic impact of the dell boomi platform):
- Incremental Revenue contribution – Improved integrations, data exchange with partners, access to data and new workflows resulting in incremental profit
- Cost Savings from transition to the cloud – Shutdown of servers used for legacy integration solutions and reassigned IT staff for other tasks
- Avoided cost of legacy software – Cancellation of legacy software licenses saves cost to organization
- Improved IT staff productivity – Reduction in labor required to complete integration project by 70%
We have integration practice in Aspire where we have expertise in building integration solutions using Dell Boomi, NetSuite and Salesforce. Request you to contact us if you are looking for any solution in the related areas.
For a quick demo on Boomi – Best way to contact aspire’s boomi implementation integration experts
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Solving modern IT challenges with cloud integration
- Boomi NetSuite Integration – Best practices to follow during your Netsuite project - May 2, 2019
- Role of Master Data Management in integrating data from disparate systems - September 25, 2018
- Financial Applications of Neural Networks - February 22, 2018
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