SightLines Consulting is in San Francisco this week, attending the annual NetSuite Partner Conference. It's pretty amazing to see the size of the event, both in partners and 3rd Party companies. Just a few years ago this conference was a small gathering of NetSuite pioneers; now, it is a multitude that have come to hear and see the future. What really strikes me so far is the number of 3rd party software vendors that are now on board with NetSuite. One of the great myths about Software as a Service, or SaaS, is that it cannot be integrated with other third party software vendors. I'll never understand where nonsense like this starts. I worked for Oracle for nine years and the lack of integration tag was more true of Oracle apps than it is of NetSuite. Created with a greater sense of the need for 3rd party integration, NetSuite comes with a published web services api, a lot easier to use than hooks that Oracle offered. On premise software, most of which is written with older technologies, has always been difficult to integrate. Also, on premise software companies actually had the istrange conceit that their software would one day handle all the needs of the enterprise. That never happened and never will. Of course, I cannot argue with the notion that an integrated suite is best of all possible worlds, being a huge proponent of the value of NetSuite. However, there are times when a third party app is necessary. For example, managing payroll is a huge challenge for companies with employees in multiple states, so it makes sense that NetSuite has a built in integration with payroll vendor Perquest. Likewise, one of our clients will integrate a third party debt collection system with NetSuite. The upshot is that the NetSuite SaaS economy grows as these third party vendors integrate theirs applications. Speaking of integration, SightLines will soon announce our own Integration Appliance. We will enable NetSuite clients to integrate with other applications, their own or another company's, with a service in which we can define the rules and specifications of the integration. We will charge on a monthly basis based on the type of integration required, not on usage. Stay tuned. | 
