NetSuite Inks Cloud Partnership With Longtime Microsoft Dynamics Stalwart Tribridge

NetSuite said Monday it has inked a partnership with longtime Microsoft Dynamics partner Tribridge, a move the vendor says could open the door to new types of customers.

Tribridge has joined NetSuite's Solution Provider Program and will resell its cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP) and ecommerce apps to midmarket and enterprise customers, said Craig West, vice president of Americas channel sales at NetSuite, San Mateo, Calif.

West said Tribridge's focus on specific industry segments will help NetSuite tap into new business, including health care and professional services opportunities.

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"They're taking the core of what NetSuite does around ERP and ecommerce, and extending that with domain expertise and other technology, to deliver unique solutions," West said in an interview.

Tribridge CEO Tony DiBenedetto said the NetSuite partnership is the first his company has formed with a public cloud ERP vendor. Tribridge, which has an established private cloud and on premise ERP business, is now expanding its focus beyond Microsoft Dynamics, he said.

"The fact that NetSuite is an all cloud environment was attractive," DiBenedetto told CRN. "We needed a platform like NetSuite to be able to get our solutions into the cloud market more quickly. Their brand can attract the kind of customer that puts everything in the cloud."

Tribridge, Tampa, Fla., has a large health care IT business, which includes intellectual property focused on the Affordable Care Act, said DiBenedetto. Tribridge can help hospitals manage re-admission rates and handle physician referrals, among other tasks, he said.

NetSuite had been recruiting Tribridge to join its partner ranks for the past five years, according to DiBenedetto. Tribridge decided to pull the trigger in response to customer feedback and because NetSuite allows third parties to build on top of their cloud solutions, he said.

"We looked at a lot of cloud products, but were very impressed with how NetSuite allows third parties to build on top of their platform, while still guaranteeing performance," DiBenedetto said.

DiBenedetto said the hope is that the NetSuite partnership will be "super-additive" to the cloud ERP work the company is already doing with Microsoft. "We're creating a separate business unit, with completely separate sales and delivery teams," he said.

NetSuite and Microsoft, longtime rivals in the ERP market, have seen a warming of relations in recent months. Under a partnership unveiled in May, the vendors will be integrating NetSuite's platform with Microsoft Office 365 and Azure.

DiBenedetto said he believes the partnership will make both NetSuite and Microsoft more competitive with Oracle and other cloud vendors.