Netsuite to IPO
Software-as-a-Service pioneer Netsuite has announced that it will make an Initial Public Offer - rumoured to be for US$75-100 million. Netsuite offers mid-scale businesses a very comprehensive suite of online applications. Built from Oracle beginnings, and bankrolled by Larry Ellison, it is a leading example of SaaS, rivalled only by Salesforce.com, but with a much richer application suite.
I do like the breadth, depth and integration of Netsuite’s functionality, but its pricing seems expensive, especially when you turn on lots (hundreds) of users.
Accounting start-up Xero (which IPO’d recently) isn’t really a competitor of Netsuite. As I commented on Lance Wiggs’ blog, it’s like comparing a small utility truck with a 20-wheeler. Xero’s offer and its micro/small business target market are very different from Netsuite’s - Xero’s more a threat to MYOB. Interestingly, MYOB is Netsuite’s Australasian sales channel, but seems to have difficulty connecting to the larger company market (at least, from my experience), perhaps illustrating the difference between them. Given the blog and media comment around Xero’s IPO, there’ll no doubt be more on Netsuite. (Update: see my later post on Netsuite in Australasia).
I do my mainstream and international investing via Gareth Morgan Investments, so I’ll leave it up to G to decide whether or not to invest - I’d guess probably not, since he usually avoids IPOs, and the rumoured IPO price looks very high. But then again, Gareth does know a little about web businesses, as an investor and director during son Sam’s TradeMe success.
Disclosures: Fronde offers SaaS-related implementation and integration services, and is both a Salesforce.com user and implementation partner. I have an investment interest in Xero.
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July 4th, 2007 at 7:06 pm
Apologies, folks, for all the duff links - they should work now. Just proves it’s really me doing this stuff!
July 5th, 2007 at 6:26 pm
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