NetSyncX, however, is still the only native app available on the market today that syncs NetSuite and the Mac. We also realize its importance to those users who already rely on it to keep their business communications and calendaring in sync. To serve these and other potential users, we are making NetSyncX available as a free download from our website. This tool will be unsupported from this point onwards and Celigo will not be releasing future updates to the current release. The free download does contain the full functionality of the last production release. The release had been tested up to Microsoft Office 2008 and Apple Mail running on OS X Snow Leopard. Users have also been successful at getting the application to run on OS X Lion.

While we will not be able to provide you with support or guidance beyond what’s already documented online, we encourage you to try out the tool and determine if it does meet your requirements.

Looking Beyond NetSyncX

For organizations who require dedicated product support, we highly recommend that you look into Google Apps and our CloudExtend product as an alternative to your current enterprise email, calendaring and collaboration. There is already a great poston the subject, outlining what you stand to gain by moving to the Google cloud. With CloudExtend keeping your company’s calendar, contacts and emails synced with NetSuite on the cloud, let’s briefly look at how individual users could continue to pull essential business data on to their native Mac apps.

Calendar and Contacts

Setting up Google Calendar sync with iCal is a breeze and is well supported by Google. As CloudExtend Google Calendar syncs user’s NetSuite and Google Apps Calendars, the Google iCal sync will trickle the same information down to iCal. Contact sync works very similarly with CloudExtend Google Contacts, one exception being that the sync is purely from NetSuite+Google  to the Mac Address Book. You cannot create a contact on the Mac Address Book and push the contact into NetSuite — a limitation that was present in NetSyncX as well.

Emails

CloudExtend Gmail integrates directly with Gmail, giving you access to many features that were not available in NetSyncX. Please see our product page for a video of the capabilities of CloudExtend Gmail.

Summary

While the CloudExtend suite is a more comprehensive product when compared to NetSyncX, we believe that there is still a small niche of users that will find NetSyncX features useful in their day-to-day operations. We hope that the tool will continue to meet their needs in the future.

How to choose the right solution partner to implement NetSuite:

Considerations for Solution Provider selection. Does the partner have the attributes listed below?

• Leadership
• Communication
• Time Management
• Understanding your business
• Strong success strategy
• Preparation and Methodology
• Guidance to Best Practices
• Industry Expertise

A successful implementation partner will work with you to:

1. Determine your requirements to identify your current pain areas so you can obtain accurate business metrics, reduce redundant efforts across business areas, improve your customer’s experience and obtain accurate forecasting.
2. Ensure cost effective allocation of internal resources
3. Guide you through the implementation process with a well defined project plan and realistic go-live date.
4. Recommend best practices for every step of the process
5. Identify project risk before it happens to avoid scope creep,time slippage and budget overages
6. Deal with change management
7. Optimize, Optimize, Optimize

Impediments to success:

What happens when a project goes awry? What are the warning signs?

• Lack of project management
• No executive buy-in
• Unplanned change management
• Rouge behavior
• Resource bandwidth
• Unrealistic expectations
• 3rd party delays
• Change of resources
• Internal conflicts: Other projects, audits, sales or mergers

Having implemented hundreds of projects, we know what it takes. Our average consultant has ten plus years of experience, and this experience plays a significant role on every project we are engaged on. Contact us if you would like to discuss your needs.

• A faster, more resilient Amazon Connector

In building this new release, the Celigo engineering team not only took advantage of the capabilities exposed in the new API but, also migrated the application to an innovative framework that they’ve been building internally. The connector is now fully hosted in NetSuite as a SuiteScript bundle which means that the Amazon Connector performs better across the board while being resilient to common integration issues such as authorization, maintenance and downtime.

The connector was also designed from ground up to maximize throughput, taking into consideration the stringent API throttling policies imposed by Amazon. 

• Easy to Customize

Each business has it’s own unique requirements to customize and fine-tune the integration. The new release makes this process easy by letting you configure the sync filters and field mappings via NetSuite Saved Searches. You no longer have to hack configurations or tediously set up custom records with field mappings. Simply, set up a saved searches that returns the data you wish to sync and use column labels to specify which fields map between Amazon and NetSuite.

• Partial Fulfillments

Though in maintenance mode, we decided to push out one highly requested feature: support for partial fulfillments. The new version will sync fulfillments as items are shipped giving your buyers greater visibility on state of their purchases.

• Downgraded Customer Sync 

Version 1.x featured a Customer Sync that extracted information from the order to generate a corresponding customer record in NetSuite. However, the initial release of the MWS API did not expose key customer information required to enable this flow. This meant that the connector had to resort to using a single dummy customer record for the orders it generated. 

This API limitation was subsequently patched by Amazon. However, with the deadline looming to upgrade existing customers to the new version, we made a conscious decision to put this flow on hold and concentrate it’s efforts on migrating our customers. Once all customers have been upgraded, we will make the reintroduction of this flow our highest priority.

Are you on board?

Starting in late February, the Celigo Services team began reaching out to our customer base and coordinate the upgrades to v2.0. If you are an existing customer and have not yet responded to your Account Manager, with your availability for the upgrade, we strongly urge you to do so now. Remember that this is not an optional upgrade: you must be on the new version by October 18th to ensure that your Amazon integration continues to work.

Accepting Returns and Issuing Refunds

Issuing RMAs and refunding customers is a delicate act that no seller would want to take likely. Often you are dealing with a irate customer, and this may be your only chance to make things right. The new Magento Connector takes the pain out of the RMA process through a fully automated background sync.

The connector supports two refund policies:

1. Formal returns process in which the items must be RMA’d before a refund is issued
2. Direct refunds issued without a RMA, in case of goods lost in shipping or for the sale of non-inventory items

Refunds against both credit and cash sales are supported.

Selling Kits and Bundled Items

It’s in Magento that things get interesting. You could create a bundle in Magento, such as a laptop, and let the buyer customize, for example choosing between a DVD RW drive or a BlueRay player. You could even edit a laptop bundle that the connector created and add this option. In which case, the connector generate a sales order that contains the individual SKUs that were sold and makes a pricing adjustment, if necessary, to ensure that the order in NetSuite will match that in Magento.

What this means is that you can continue to make use of the full power of Magento Bundles and the connector will do the heavy lifting to ensure that orders sync seamlessly in to NetSuite.

Exporting Matrix Items to Magento

The new connector allows NetSuite users to export item matrices as Configurable Items in to Magento. The current version requires manual configuration before a matrix could be exported as complete Configurable Item. If desired, the connector lets you export child matrix items such that they appear as standalone SKUs in Magento. 

When will this version be available?

The general availability of the Magento Connector v2 is still a few weeks away. However, we will be rolling out the connector to select customers as part of our beta program. If you do wish to try out the new features during the beta phase, please do get in touch with your Celigo Account Executive or Account Manager.

Have feedback? Please leave us a comment below or send use an email at sales(at)celigo.com.

1. Savings. A Houston based software company, shared a cost comparison with me recently. When they stacked up all the license costs (including Celigo’s CloudExtend for Google) the price was about even, advantage Google. What they did not take into account was labor. Costs related to maintenance, upgrades, etc. are the (not so) soft costs that tip the scales toward a web based solution. Google, of course, has its calculator presenting a yawning 10x ROI. Information from the Microsoft camp, seems to focus more on features and functions.

2. Integration/Workflow automation. Let’s be honest, Outlook users have come to depend on the tight integration between Outlook and Office. But how does Outlook work with real time data feeds or social media plugins that users are demanding. The Google Marketplace, like iTunes and or SuiteApp, offers an expanding online catalog of vetted apps that can be added by a user or admin, making it easy to add productivity gains.

For those users that are not ready to let go, let them keep the Outlook front end. Suggest a hybrid strategy for users: use Gmail for some tasks, like cleaning your inbox; use Outlook for formatting longer communiques.

3. Collaboration. Inherently, the cloud is collaborative. Instant Messaging, Social media, and real time updates make this the logical place for a conversation of ideas. Traditional email is transactional, not collaborative. Conversations should be more like a round table discussion than a tennis match.

Let’s be honest, there are still many deficiencies to Gmail or Docs. The good news is that improvements are pushed often (and with no downloads, thank you very much). If you want to truly embrace the cloud, it may be time to migrate to web based mail, decommission that old server, and let your Exchange Admin focus on something new.

Celigo helps companies move their business to the cloud. Our core NetSuite integration and functional services are complemented by portfolio of products that any NetSuite customer can use to maximize their investment. CloudExtend for Google Apps is a suite of apps, available in SuiteApp and the Google Marketplace that allow users to marry NetSuite with Google business apps accrue major productivity gains.

What’s new?

By far the most requested feature for Gmail had been the ability to save full emails along with their attachments in to NetSuite. This was not a possibility with the standard tools available to Gmail Gadget developers. In CloudExtend Gmail, we pushed the boundaries of the tools available and devised a secure workaround to bring you this feature. You can now attach an email in your inbox to records in NetSuite, preserving its rich formatting, attachments. Data still flows only from Google Apps to NetSuite and never through Celigo’s any any other third-party server.

The new suite of apps also integrates Google Docs and Contacts with NetSuite, making seamless sharing and collaborating across the organization and beyond, possible right from the NetSuite UI. CloudExtend Google Contacts enables you to leverage the full potential of the Domain Shared Contacts List available in Google Apps for Business. Public contacts in NetSuite syncs in real-time to this company wide address book, making sure that your Google Apps users will have access to up to date information on the company’s business contacts. 

Just as business communication lives largely in email today, increasingly, much of the business documentation is migrating to the cloud. Up to now, NetSuite customers have had to rely on the File Cabinet to store and share such documents. The File Cabinet made it easy to attach a file to a NetSuite record giving users valuable contextual information such as seeing what term sheet was issued to a partner, what TOS was supplied by a vendor, etc. CloudExtend GDocs takes you one step further by replacing the rigid File Cabinet with Google Docs. Now you have rich editing, collaboration and file management features at your disposal without having to consume NetSuite storage to achieve the same visibility of information. Additionally, users now can update these documents across multiple device and software platforms including from a mobile device on the go.

What’s Cloud-to-Cloud? Why does it matter?

The Celigo team built CloudExtend to run entirely on Google Apps and NetSuite. No data is passed through any other server and your login credentials to either system are never stored elsewhere. This approach ensures that a security breach outside of these core systems doesn’t put your data at risk. In addition to enhanced security, a cloud-to-cloud integration makes sure there are minimum points of failure in your business infrastructure. You are now no longer dependent on a third service provider to keep your systems running once deployed.

Like to get started?

If you are ready get started with CloudExtend Google Apps, please get in touch with our sales team at sales[at]celigo[dot]com for instructions on getting started or to arrange for a demo.

The good news is that the video is available, the bad news is that the video doesn’t show any of the demo screen itself.  It only shows the presenter, Jay Grady, Celigo’s Director of Product Marketing, talking through it.  But still, it provides a good description of the product.  Keep an eye out here or Celigo’s product pages for more video demos in the coming weeks.

As always, if you’re running an older version of the SmartClient we strongly encourage you to upgrade.  We’re committed to keeping up with changes in the NetSuite web services API, continuously improving performance, and addressing any shortcomings our (often fanatical) SmartClient customers report.  If you haven’t updated in a few months it’s a good idea!

SmartClient Webinar on NetSuite’s SuiteApp.com

And if you’re not familiar with what the SmartClient can do, or would like a quick refresher, why not check out the SuiteApp.com SmartClient Webinar we co-hosted with NetSuite back in March of 2011?  You’ll have to register as part of the process, but that only takes a moment.  Aside from some technical glitches we had at the outset, the webinar was considered a great success and we received a lot of positive feedback.  In this 40+ minute demonstration you’ll:

• See some general use cases for the SmartClient
• View a live demonstration from a real customer using it to solve real world business process problems
• Understand how it interacts with NetSuite records
• Understand how it makes for a great off-line data entry tool, or near replacement for CSV imports & Mass Updates
• Learn a few things about Celigo along the way

Watch it over coffee one morning, or while you eat lunch at your desk.  It’s well worth it.  For those in a hurry, you can always check out the Celigo YouTube channel for a quick overview or some short “How To” videos.

Thanks!
The Celigo Product Team

SDN Partner of the Year … Again!

And as if that wasn’t enough! Celigo won the SuiteCloud Developer Network (SDN) Partner of the Year Award for the second year in a row!. We’re both proud and humbled to be recognized given the caliber of companies in the NetSuite partner ecosystem, and we could not have done it without you, our customers.

Photo: Celigo Founder & President Jan Arendtsz (3rd from left), accepts Partner of the Year Award from NetSuite Chief Operating Officer Jim McGeever (right) and Guido Harmmans, VP of the SuiteCloud Developer Network.(left)

Hold The Press!!

The press coverage of SuiteWorld was generally very positive, and the live demo of Celigo’s Google Apps integration garnered high praise in various articles and blogs. Our favorite came from Ben Kepes:

“…Roll on a year later and I take my hat off to Celigo – their offering is truly sublime. The depth of the NetSuite generated information they’re exposing directly within Gmail is amazing. I bumped into Google enterprise lead Scott McMullan in San Francisco and discussed Celigo’s offering with him. he concurred with my view that what Celigo are doing is absolutely at the cutting edge of direct, in-UI integrations with Gmail”

Thanks Ben! We’re excited about CloudExtend for Google Apps not only for what it already has and what we were able to demonstrate at SuiteWorld, but for what we plan on introducing as the rest of 2011 unfolds. We’re not done yet, not by a long shot. We’ll keep you posted.

Onward

After the events & awards we returned to our day jobs back at the Celigo ranch (no, it’s not really a ranch) put the SDN award on the shelf next to last year’s, and took stock in what we’d accomplished since Jan started Celigo in his garage in 2005 (true story). But there’s no rest for the weary. It was time to get back to work. And boy did we! The buzz generated a lot of interest in Celigo’s integration products and professional services, and we’re busier than ever bringing to fruition the “Cloud to Cloud” solutions our customers are asking for, as well as those organizations will surely require as they move their core business operations online with NetSuite and so many others.

Onward.

1) Updated Magento Item Export

The Magento item export is now a real-time sync that is triggered every time you save the record.

Supported item types:

• Inventory Item
• Serialized Inventory Item
• Lot Numbered Inventory Item
• NonInventoryItem for Sale
• NonInventoryItem for Resale
• OtherCharge for Sale
• OtherCharge for Resale
• Service for Sale
• Service for Resale

New features:

• Product creation in Magento–the item export now has the ability to create SKUs in Magento as well as update them.
• Product Category sync–you can assign NetSuite items to their corresponding Magento product category from NetSuite
• Attribute field export–the connector now has the ability to import your list of attribute and attribute sets into NetSuite, display them as special fields on your item record, and export these values to Magento.
• Managed update fields–Magento product fields will be managed by their NetSuite counterparts–clearing a field in NetSuite will clear the field in Magento
• Image export–item images from the NetSuite file cabinet are sync’d with the Magento product image gallery, and clearing an image link in NetSuite will remove the image in Magento
• Reverse sync–the item export can be run in reverse and import Magento data into NetSuite. Great for longtime Magento customers who are new to NetSuite

Upcoming enhancements:

• Export Matrix items (parent and child) from NetSuite to Magento
• Reverse sync imports Magento item images into NetSuite File Cabinet
• Multi-currency support in Reverse Sync tier price import

2) New Customer Export

The connector can now export NetSuite customers as new Magento customers.

Features:

• Sync NetSuite customer fields and addresses with Magento in real-time.
• Set the customer group this customer will belong to in Magento from NetSuite, as well as the password the customer will use when they log in to Magento.

Enhancements slated for future release:

• Update customers exported to Magento with data from NetSuite
• Export customers of type “Company” from NetSuite to Magento

3) New Order Export

The connector can now export NetSuite sales orders as new Magento orders in real-time once an order is saved in NetSuite.

Features:

• Export order SKUs, amounts, and shipping method from NetSuite to Magento
• Orders exported to Magento will be attached to the customer’s Magento record as if the order had come from Magento itself
• Orders exported to Magento are fully compatible with the NetSuite-Magento Shipping Sync

Upcoming enhancements:

• Update orders exported to Magento with data from NetSuite
• Override Magento’s shipping cost and tax amount rules with the actual values calculated in NetSuite

The Magento Connector 1.5.0 release is in limited beta right now, and we are looking for customers interested in being beta partners, both new and existing Celigo customers. If you are interested in participating in the beta please contact sales@celigo.com for more information. The Magento Connector 1.5.0 release will be available for the general public a few weeks after the beta period ends; keep checking the Celigo Blog for updates on the beta.

We’d love to hear from you–please leave a comment if you have any questions about the new functionality or you want to request a new feature.