"We see wide spread acceptance with movement of enterprise software solutions to the cloud or SaaS model," says Matthew Haller, a principal with Baker Tilly Virchow Kraus. Haller's firm expressed its confidence in the cloud by agreeing to resell applications from NetSuite and to develop versions of the program for different industries, part of a NetSuite plan to use firms to extend its platform.
Baker Tilly focuses not just NetSuite's financial application, but also its CRM, HR and business relationship functions.
"We liked the leadership quite a bit. We like the support they provide, not just to their clients, but to their partners," Haller says. He also likes the NetSuite "ecosystem and the fact it is a true multi-tenanted SaaS platform."
Over the last few months several accounting firms have allied themselves with NetSuite or its rival Intacct. The latter has signed the most, aided by its marketing relationship with CPA2Biz, the for-profit arm of the American Institute of CPAs, and by the reputation of its VP of channels, Taylor Macdonald, who argues accounting firms don't have to worry about the technology "plumbing" and can concentrate on the business advisory services that play to their strengths.
Intacct has picked up far more CPA allies, including Clifton Gunderson, Armanino McKenna. And beyond the firms who are reselling the product, Intacct has many accounting firms that are providing outsourced accounting services to clients.
Among the firms signing with Intacct is Fargo, N.D.-based Eide Bailly which is also reselling NetSuite.
Eide Bailly operates the cloud business from as an accounting service. "Where I think Intacct excels at is financial reporting when you have multiple entites with consolidation," says Victor Puchi, the firm's director of accounting services. NetSuite is more a development platform. Target clients are midmarket organizations whose activities include professional services, wholesale distribution, along with ecommerce.
WithumSmith+Brown of Red Bank, N .J., has not yet made any money with the product. Principal Jim Bourke says he has appointed an Intacct champion to accelerate the process.
"We are just getting off the ground" says Bourke. "It's an education process with the partners, they needf to understand it in order to sell it. The next level seeing it deployed within our client base."
However, Bourke is confident that the Internet-based product can bring firms closer to their clients. "It goes beyond the revenue model. It goes into how many more times we get to be in front of the client," he says.
One company with cloud products that has not yet enlisted accounting firms, is SAP with its Business By Design application. It has been discussing how to bring influencers into its channel program, according to Kevin Gilroy, an SVP who heads the North American channel effort.
"We’ve been taking a look at that model," says Gilroy. But he notes that SAP wants to make sure it understands the impact any alternate channels has on its existing program. Gilroy continues that "We have had initiative conversation with alternate channel partners. We don’t want to do any damage to our partner channel Here’s an area where we are deliberate and thoughtful."
