Join beta testing for Accounting/ERP/CRM solution developed with .NET

[eddh]

Hi, I tried to join the beta program, but I got this error after clicking the save button on step 3 of 4

CDO.Message.1 error '80040220'

The "SendUsing" configuration value is invalid.

/store/Scripts/_INCappEmail_.asp, line 223

Any ideas?

[gary.h]

but small businesses don't tend to use the "major accounting applications"

I would be concerned about the potential for data loss of key records.

There should be no concern. Because SQL is designed for large "mission - critical" applications it is far more reliable than the database technology usually found in small business accounting systems.

[mjaynes]

Hi, I tried to join the beta program, but I got this error after clicking the save button on step 3 of 4

CDO.Message.1 error '80040220'

The "SendUsing" configuration value is invalid.

/store/Scripts/_INCappEmail_.asp, line 223

Exactly the same error here, my "receipt" shows paid.

[jenny.c]

Hi,

Thank you all for your posts.

Today, Interprise Suite Beta 4.0 is released. We welcome everyone to join the beta program and be our partner in developing Interprise Suite into a complete solution for your business needs.

Please be reminded that Interprise Suite is currently in beta. You may post suggestions and error reports to our beta partner community forum.

[InfoSourcing]

To all SMB owners,

If you are a small and medium business owners and deciding which software to buy to run your ebusiness, here is my analysis and I hope this helps you in your decision making...

After working for past 7yrs in enterprise solution and speaking to several small and business owners, resellers and vendors, I would like to shed some light on this topic.
There is a huge change in enterprise space, Microsoft is collaborating all its software to enter in a big way, the leader QuickBooks is back to its drawing board to address the "All In One software" for SMB, netsuite is going great guns, new Competitors like Interprise are entering this space and others like Everest are trying to hold their ground..

NetSuite has advanced further with its package and is doing good in the market as of now, compared to other competitors, but has downside to its strategy, just think about it, if you are going to spend $100 per mth per user (all options) for one year and for every other year of usage and you still don't own nothing, what is your Total Cost of Ownership (TOC)?? But Pros Netsuite is backed by the leader in database, knows how to run their business and has very effective VAR program compared to other solution which is mentioned in this post.

Look at the following points if you are buying software from a vendor

1. Who are the founders of the company/current CEO, their track record their objectives for running this company just to make profits so the investor gets their bucks and eventually sell to big fish

2. What technology is used to build this software? Because that clearly shows how dependant the vendor is on other software giants like Microsoft, Oracle, Intuit etc... If somebody is using Delphi let's say how many people really use Delphi today even though it is powerful tool

3. What is their selling strategy? Direct or VARS, direct clearly says "I don’t want to give my piece of cake to others ..." so how can you expect to eat the cake, VAR channel they will put themselves to help you grow, and guide every step they believe in customer relationship and retention

4. Do they have Software Development Kit (SDK) Why is this required, if you want to grow big and if you want to add-on more functionality that is specific to your business/industry this is a must so that you are not totally dependant on the software vendor and spend huge amounts for customization, and VARS love SDK's it makes them feel FREE

5. Is this software built on Open source code which means that everybody is working to build this software but nobody to support or nobody owns ownership for support and boils down to your VAR/resellers ability

6. Price - the most important, nothing comes free and even if it is what's the catch read the small letter prints . Use RFP and make a matrix of "who is who", which helps you to decide the winner.
What is the cost of implementation, cost of support, cost of learning/training your employees (Keep in mind employees quit all the time and the new ones you hire should be knowing the software already or you have to reinvest in training)

7. Web based is the "way to go", the new Interprise is on its way of promising note, because of being web based enterprise, it is developed using Microsoft technology, since it is new in this space I expect the prices would be lower as they have to gain market share.
But beware they are new that means they have to unearth few issues such as bugs in software, stability, customer satisfaction, support and stay in competition.

8. No harm, in trying this beta but if you are planning to go live then weigh the risks and options, whereas Netsuite has great name and is a great product, has VAR's, well established customer market share, kicking the thick client (client server applications like Everest) out of competition, but has to be hosted always, which kind of sucks coz of Total Cost of Ownership...

I'm not suggesting you to buy specific software but weighing all options out there in the market and this could allow you to make your decision easy.

Let me know if these thoughts really helped you in your decision.

Thanks

[Skyytek]

Hey InfoSourcing,

That was a great review of the factors to consider in adopting a business management platform. Two of the issues that you mentioned bear more consideration. They are total cost of ownership (TCO) and software ownership.

The hidden costs of self-hosting a complicated CRM/ERP package can be substantial. Hardware maintenance, network design and security and the endless stream of software patches require expertise that most growing businesses simply do not have and cannot afford. These issues do not arise at all with NetSuite.

Here is a recent article that NetSuite TCO was just less than half (50% lower) of a competing bundle from Best Software:

http://www.crm2day.com/news/crm/114696.php

Another related issue is support for customization which can again drive up TCO. Many applications do not support customization of record types, workflow, rpeorting and messaging. Consider whether you can add new types of information, in effect redesigning the database, to track information that is important to your business. Even if you can, will these changes survive an upgrade in the software? NetSuite's NetFlex platform allows truly unprecedented customization of a web-based application that is fully supported through the upgrade cycle.

The second issue is software ownership. Lets be clear about this. You never OWN software. At best, you obtain the perpetual right to use it under certain license terms. This distinction may not be relevant when the software is a video game. It is very important, however, when considering a BMS. Prior to the emergence of NetSuite and other hosted applications, the software industry was based on repeatedly selling customers upgrade packages. These came in two forms: new version purchases and maintenance contracts. In some cases, companies would discontinue existing products (Example: the recent iCode decision to drop the Everest Standard product) leaving an upgrade path that is often more expensive and usually technically complex. If your software stops working and is no longer supported, "owning" it is of very limited benefit. Even if this strategy is not adopted, maintenance rates generally run in the order of 20% of the original price, which means you are "rebuying" the software every four to five years. Finally, technical requirements for the software may require you to periodically upgrade your hardware, OS or other related software otherwise your software may no longer be supported.

By contrast, NetSuite is open about its business model. They offer, 'We will provide all the software you need to run your business and to keep it current, available and secure on state of the art hardware with upgrades and patches applied for a single monthly fee.'

Depending upon your size, number of locations, pace of growth and business model, NetSuite may be an attractive option with truly lower TCO.

[Gromit]

Wow, this forum's really cooking. Thanks to all of you for taking the time and putting in the effort to educate us all.

Gromit

[InfoSourcing]

Hi,

"To the Person who started this thread", your website has lots of errors at the time of registering.

I recently registered with great difficulty for this BETA program and never heard or got an approval from you guys.... I referred one of my friend and he neither got any response....

I'm not sure if you guys are pushing this software or is it still being cooked

Please let us know

[jenny.c]

Hi there I'm Jenny from Interprise Solutions..

We apologize for the errors and the difficulty...
Our website and online store is currently undergoing renovation...

We are pushing our current beta release despite the disadvantages and our next beta is cooking very well...

Thanks,
Jenny

[Dynamo321]

ok the software does too much. Maybe I won't mention it

[Gary Harrison]

Hi,

I’m Gary Harrison one of the project managers of Interprise Suite. Next week we will have a new beta of Interprise Suite available – beta 4.1. You are encouraged to apply for this beta on our website www.interprisesuite.com. Unlike most beta programs which encourage you to help find bugs, the Interprise Suite beta program was setup to bring the potential users of the application directly into the development process. This has been very successful for us as we have received a large number of comments and suggestions that have been integrated into our betas.

If you not familiar with Interprise Suite it is a fully integrated solution that brings Accounting and CRM functions together. It is a traditional desktop application like iCode Everest but can also connect to data over the internet like Netsuite making it ideal for connecting remote offices and employees. This is done via the new “Smart Client” technology that allows you to combine the best of desktop and web applications into one solution. In 2006 we will be introducing an option to allow offline data progressing allowing remote offices and employees to continue working when the internet is down. The ability to work offline is only available in a “Smart Client” application and is not technically possible in a browser based application like Netsuite. With Interprise Suite you can install it locally, install it remotely – it’s your company and your choice.

One of the most surprising things about Interprise Suite is its price. It is 100% free for companies with less than 3 concurrent users and even the full blow SQL version is less than $7,500 for unlimited users. We are often asked why are we priced so much less than everyone else and the answer is easy – we want to develop a large user base for Interprise Suite. So far this strategy is working with over 1000 companies signing up for the free version. Given the fact that servers now cost less than $1,000 and the Interprise Suite server can be easily self installed nothing comes close to its TCO.

The core team developing Interprise Suite is very experienced having either managed or previously developed on accounting systems that have been installed by over 5,000 small to mid sized companies worldwide.

Interprise Suite was designed with customization in mind. Unlike most applications that come with a very limited SDK or API, the source code to Interprise Suite is available. To ensure that customizations are not lost from build to build and version to version, a flexible “plug-in” architecture was developed allowing customizations to be made via custom plugs.

I look forward to seeing you in the beta program.

Sincerely,

Gary Harrison
Interprise Solutions
www.interprisesuite.com

[InfoSourcing]

Hi Gary,

I applied for beta program maybe 2 months back and never heard from you guys infact I even referred couple of my other friends/reseller to apply and neither they have heard from you guys, not a good response from a company which wants to grow....

We will look fwd to hear from you guys from our previous submission to beta program.....

[Gary Harrison]

Hi Gary,

I applied for beta program maybe 2 months back and never heard from you guys infact I even referred couple of my other friends/reseller to apply and neither they have heard from you guys, not a good response from a company which wants to grow....

We will look fwd to hear from you guys from our previous submission to beta program.....

Hi Infosource,

I did some checking on your beta application.

The beta program is designed for us to receive comments and suggestions from the prospective users of the application to help us improve the application. Since Interprise Suite was developed for product related businesses the beta program is limited to companies that fit that criteria. Best we can see, your company specializes in Accounting / CRM software development in India.

Thank you,

Gary

[InfoSourcing]

Hi Gary,

Thanks for your reply, I was looking to see if you guys are open to VAR/Reseller program and I was considering from that point, which definitely meets your criteria as we represent many small and medium business across North America along with our R&D being back in Bangalore, India (just like other fortune 500 companies)

If your interested pls do email me [email protected] we cantalk off line also my other friends who are interested in your VAR program have already emailed you and we all reside in USA representing SMB market.

Thanks

[noblenull]

I noticed that Microsoft SBA looks a lot like Interprise Suite. Any connection? (SIMILAR SCREENSHOTS: Microsoft | Interprise)

Also, how do you sign up for the beta? Just add beta to cart and checkout? Will a link be provided in email?