Oracle ISV NetLedger Preps Oracle Small Business Suite 9 For 4Q Release

Oracle Small Business Suite 9.0, which is expected to ship in the fourth quarter, will incorporate enhanced CRM functionality, marketing automation and new ERP functionality for inventory management and distribution, said Zach Nelson, president and CEO of NetLedger.

The San Mateo, Calif.-based software services company, founded in 1998 and financed by Oracle Chairman and CEO Larry Ellison, licenses and markets the Oracle Small Business Suite to companies with up to 100 employees.

NetLedger claims to have 7,000 customers for the ASP-only small business suite.

Version 9.0 will also provide better usability and navigation tools, including additional dashboards for viewing applications and the ability for customers to customize portlets for viewing any company data, Nelson said.

The NetLedger CEO also said the company plans to ship version 9.0 of its NetSuite for midmarket customers in the fourth quarter.

NetSuite 9 will incorporate the same enhancements as the Small Business Suite, but will also provide multilocation inventory and multicompany consolidation features in the ERP module and marketing automation, customer self-service and territory management capabilities in the CRM module, he said.

The hosted offering is made available to small businesses by NetLedger directly and through Oracle partners such as LifeSci Technologies, San Clemente, Calif., and AAppTech, Bingham Farms, Mich.

Like Microsoft's Business Solutions offerings, Oracle's Small Business Suite incorporates basic ERP and CRM functionality for small businesses. It costs roughly $1,200 for the first user and $50 per additional user per month, Nelson said.

Nelson also said the Small Business Suite comes with Web store functionality, which enables customers to host their e-commerce sites for no additional cost.

"We have the capability so customers can tie their Web site to our back office and deliver an Amazon.com-like Web site," Nelson said. AappTech in the Detroit area delivers the service to niche retail outlets, he said.