NetSuite Integration-as-a-Service

The Celigo Integrator is an on-demand integration platform that easily integrates NetSuite with external applications through a user-friendly interface, which is implemented directly within NetSuite – an industry first. It's a purpose-built solution for implementing NetSuite integrations and is based on the industry leading Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) technology.

Key Highlights

Using the Integrator, the Celigo team was able to provide a fast and flexible solution that integrated our two core banking systems into the NetSuite ERP platform. The integration was developed and ready to go in a couple of weeks, and is today helping our Finance department upload the information that before would have taken them the entire day. -Edson Sossai, Technology Sr. Project Manager Banco Itaú

The Marketworks NetSuite adapter is built on the Celigo Integrator. Using the Integrator, we were able to quickly implement a robust and complex integration. It not only provided an easy means of mapping business processes and records from one system to the other, but allowed us to expose the actual execution and monitoring of the integration within NetSuite through a custom dashboard. -Rob Vance, CTO Marketworks

• Integrates business applications, business services, and most data sources.
• One central user interface with complete visibility into all aspects of the integration.
• Ability to change the behavior of the integration through the user interface.
• Preconfigured vertical and horizontal solution modules.
• Deployed as on-demand or on-premise.
• Uninterrupted service through a subscription model.
• Enterprise strength and the ability to handle a large number of transactions.

Business Problems Solved

The Integrator can be used to address any NetSuite related integration or business automation requirements.

• Business Applications: Integrate with MRP, ERP, SCM, PSA, WMS, and order entry systems, on-premise or on-demand.
• Business Services & Partners: Exchange data with vendors, partners, and suppliers; utilize pre-built integrations with other services such as Yahoo!, Amazon, ChannelAdvisor, salesforce.com, and others.
• Data Sources: Use connectors to integrate with flat/XML files over FTP, SFTP, HTTP(S), and file systems; SOAP-based web services and XML over HTTP(S); custom applications.

Typical integration scenarios with NetSuite that are solved by the Integrator include:

• Import Orders: Orders taken on external systems are imported to NetSuite as sales orders. The most common example is integration with an external web store.
• Customer Master: Use NetSuite as the system-of-record for customers and synchronize these customers with other sources.
• Provisioning & Subscriptions: Provided for companies that need to provision accounts or generate software licenses. Once a sales order is created in NetSuite, the order is passed to the provisioning system for processing, and the order or subscription is updated in NetSuite.
• Usage Billing: Detailed usage information from an external application is imported to NetSuite as an invoice.
• Item Pricing and Inventory Updates: Item information is updated in NetSuite using item feeds from a manufacturer or any other external source; inventory in NetSuite is updated from external WMS systems.

Powered on Integrator

Celigo also has several preconfigured powered on Integrator modules:

• Yahoo! Merchant Solutions: Real-time integration with externally hosted Yahoo! web stores, which can be deployed in a few days.    
  
  
  
  
• Third Party Fulfillment / 3PL: Seamless integration with an external Warehouse Management System (WMS) for companies that have outsourced fulfillment with a third party.
  
  
  
  
• Data Manager: User interface within NetSuite imports delimited files, which represent any NetSuite record type that SuiteTalk supports, including transactions such as invoices, customer payments, and inventory adjustments.
  
  
  
  

Features

Why use multiple applications when you can benefit from the convenience of using one application? The Celigo Integrator has extended NetSuite's one system, no limits vision to the maximum possible extent by using NetSuite's SuiteFlex platform, so that customers can manage external integrations without ever having to leave the NetSuite application.

The Integrator provides a familiar NetSuite user interface through the SuiteFlex platform for mapping, configuring, and monitoring integrations. This interface is managed and deployed using the SuiteBundler, and uses a combination of Suitelets, SuiteScripts, custom portlets, alerts, and other features that make for a rich user experience.

Communication with the Integrator Engine, which can be hosted by either Celigo or the customer, is achieved through SuiteScripts and SuiteTalk web services.

Configuration & Mapping

The mapping of source data from an external system record type to a target NetSuite business object is achieved through a user interface, which is implemented directly within NetSuite. All NetSuite record types currently available though the SuiteTalk interface are fully supported, including the ability to map custom fields, hierarchical data types, etc.

This interface allows business users to make changes to the integration without having to write code. For example, if the external application introduces a new field for an existing  sales import to NetSuite, this field can easily be mapped to a standard or custom field in the NetSuite sales order record type with a few clicks.

Monitoring

Integration activity is logged directly inside NetSuite with the ability to specify summary or detailed logging. The summary logging occurs at the job level, capturing the details of an import/export of multiple records. The detailed logging occurs at the record level, and includes the ability to click through from the summary. A custom dashboard with portlets, KPIs, meters, and graphs are installed out-of-the-box.

Preconfigured alerts are provided through the standard NetSuite alert functionality. With a few clicks, administrators can configure the alerts to suit the needs of their enterprise.

Architecture & Business Logic Execution

The Integrator is purpose-built for NetSuite from the ground up, on a Java ESB platform.

It handles simple integrations with minimal business rules out-of-the-box through configuration.  No coding is required. Advanced integrations with complex workflow and business rules are addressed through custom business components. This is achieved by extending select interfaces exposed by the Integrator. These Java-based components are designed to interoperate with the Integrator platform in a robust and efficient manner, and are easy to implement and maintain by any developer.

While the Integrator can implement a significant number of integrations without the need to write any code, the Integrator was not designed to adhere to the so-called “codeless” integration bandwagon. This is a current industry trend where vendors in this space strive to achieve this self-imposed rating, always at the expense of good design. Dig under the covers, and you will most likely find primitive scripting languages for implementing your business rules, which have been cobbled together in an unintuitive fashion, with limited flexibility for achieving the desired results. Such solutions are hard to extend and maintain. Additionally, they tie you to a specific vendor application, which requires specific developer training.

On-Demand (or On-Premise)

The Integrator is designed primarily to run as a Celigo hosted service on a subscription basis. Hosted on world-class infrastructure, Celigo will monitor and support your integrations to ensure that they run uninterrupted. This includes ensuring that the Integrator will always be compatible with NetSuite updates. When NetSuite makes an update, your application will be automatically updated as well (if needed) to fix any problems in a proactive manner.  Updates also occur immediately upon discovery of a problem. Additionally, the subscription entitles you to receive the latest version of the Integrator automatically when it becomes available, ensuring that you benefit from new and improved features.

Our servers are hosted on an industrial strength platform, with heartbeat monitoring of all servers, immediate replacement of faulty hardware, and critical OS and platform updates to facilitate an uninterrupted service.

Given that NetSuite is an on-demand application where updates to the application can occur on a frequent basis, we believe that having an integration model that is in alignment with NetSuite allows us to provide the best options for uninterrupted service. However, with a few simple configuration changes, we can also install the Integrator to run on-premise on your own servers.

Specifications

• User interface is installed from a SuiteBundle directly to your NetSuite account. These interfaces are fully customizable.
• Communication with NetSuite is facilitated through NetSuite's SuiteTalk SOAP-based web services and is encrypted using SSL.
• If hosted on-premise, the program requires a server running Linux or Windows 2003 Server with Java version 1.6 or above installed.
• Automated updates and patches are made available transparently.

Pricing and Availability

The Integrator is available as a subscription with a one-time setup and customization fee. Please contact us for demo and pricing information.