NetSuite profit soars amid economic gloom

NetSuite has pulled in record profits

On-demand business software provider NetSuite has defied the current economic climate by announcing record third-quarter results. Total revenue rose 44 per cent year-over-year to $40.4m (£25.4m).

The period marked the 36th consecutive quarter of increased revenue for NetSuite, with an ending cash balance of $133m (£84m).

"While market conditions remain unpredictable, we believe that the cost reduction and productivity enhancements provided by NetSuite's on-demand integrated suite will be highly sought after by customers as they navigate through these turbulent times," said NetSuite chief executive Zach Nelson in a statement.

The firm recently went on the offensive in an attempt to poach Salesforce.com customers by offering the opportunity to switch to NetSuite CRM+ at a cost guaranteed to be 50 per cent less than their current implementation.

NetSuite announced a similar initiative today targeting SAP customers. Business ByNetSuite offers SAP R/3 customers at least 50 per cent off their current annual maintenance and support agreement, and 100 hours of professional services, if they switch to an annual NetSuite subscription.

Arch rival Salesforce.com is also keeping busy with a major new release of its flagship customer relationship management technology.

Salesforce Winter '09 features tighter integration with the Google Apps online productivity suite, and the ability to share data more easily with partners.