NetLedger Melds E-Commerce, ERP Into New Hosted Solution

NetERP, due to come online in August, is a hosted solution that will let partners participate in the ongoing revenue stream and competes with Great Plains and MAS/90 accounting-centric solutions, the company said.

Rival offerings cannot "extend back-office processes easily via the Web to enable customer, vendor and partner view access [like checking inventory and order status] and transactions access like placing orders," said Zach Nelson, CEO of NetLedger, San Mateo, Calif.

NetLedger is previewing new ERP features that specificaly target product distribution companies, Nelson said. They include serialized inventory, bar-coding support and quantity pricing, all of which are in beta testing now.

NetERP will start with a $4,800 initial charge that includes use by one user. Additional users can be added for $75 per month.

The world of midmarket ERP and CRM has been roiled of late. Two weeks ago, Salesforce.com sued ASP rival UpShot, alleging false advertising practices.

Then, Microsoft's decision, first reported by CRN, to throw open distribution of Microsoft CRM to the broad volume-based Microsoft channel rocked that world (see story). That move inflamed many MS-CRM partners, several of which told CRN that they are now reconsidering their support for that product in favor of alternative offerings from SalesLogix, SAP and other vendors.

While Microsoft executives insist that the company's existing Great Plains and Navision ERP products will continue to flow through existing Microsoft Business Solutions partners, which have roots in Great Plains and Navision, many of those players now doubt that contention. "It's back to the old volume, volume, volume model. It just doesn't work with business apps," said one partner who requested anonymity.

Last week, Don Nelson, general manager of managed partners at Microsoft, reiterated the company's pledge to keep the ERP products moving through the current channel, but unrest persists.

Microsoft's channel move will "absolutely ... open opportunities for us in the Microsoft VAR base," said NetLedger's Nelson. "Their channel, which came with the Great Plains acquisition, was already skittish about Microsoft as a partner but was willing to give Microsoft the benefit of the doubt," he said. "But this changes everything. Clearly, this action by Microsoft indicates they don't believe they need the Great Plains channel to compete in the applications space. I think the implications of this action will extend well beyond the CRM channel and into the ERP channel as well, which is really good news for us."