NetSuite Finds A Partner In CompUSA

He also said if CompUSA focuses on very small businesses where the owner buys PCs at retail, there won't be much conflict with VARs and other solution providers. "We don't discount those small accounts but we don't have the resources to chase them. You spend as much time talking with a small account as to a 10,000-seat account," Edwards noted.

Ncompass's average customer has revenue ranging from $24 million to $150 million a year, with a few accounts logging more than $400 million, he said.

Rufus Lohmueller of Lohmueller & Associates, Raleigh, N.C., agreed that a volume retail push could grow the pie for all channel players.

"You get national play anytime you can get your name into hundreds of stores. It's better than signing up one solution provider at a time. This is a strategic move for NetSuite," he said.

This is not NetSuite's first attempt to engage a national retail-oriented partner to sell what is essentially a service in the cloud.

Sources said the company had approached Best Buy for Business about a similar alliance. Questioned about this a month ago, NetSuite executives said there was no Best Buy deal in the works.

When questioned about a potential pairing of NetSuite with Best Buy, another partner said such a pact would lead to channel conflict. "You mark my words, the retail guy will get better discounts and will take sales from solution providers," said the partner, who requested anonymity.

NetSuite, San Mateo, Calif., formerly known as NetLedger, is partly owned by Oracle CEO Larry Ellison and is headed for a possible IPO.