Oracle NetSuite, one of the world’s leading providers of cloud-based omnichannel commerce software suites, announced the expansion of operations in the Middle East to meet the increasing demand for cloud ERP in the market. With the support of Oracle’s global resources, NetSuite added a dedicated sales team with new leadership; new solution provider partners to strengthen its existing partner ecosystem; and increased customer adoption of NetSuite OneWorld. Additionally, NetSuite will offer support for the new Unified Value Added Tax (VAT) Agreement, set to take effect for Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) next year with more Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries expected to follow.

“Local and global companies with regional headquarters in the area are already reaping the benefits of cloud ERP,” said Mark Woodhams, Oracle NetSuite Vice President, EMEA. “With today’s announcement, we’re signalling our ongoing commitment to the region and the success of our customers and partners here.”

NetSuite to Provide VAT Support, Enabling Businesses to Comply with New Tax Rules

With the Unified Value Added Tax (VAT) Agreement signed by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries set to go into effect in the UAE and Saudi Arabia January 1, 2018, and with other countries in the region expected to follow, NetSuite will build support for the new changes directly into the system. The VAT will impact every part of the business, including cash flow, pricing of products and services, financial reporting, tax accounting and reporting and, of course, technology. NetSuite already has a highly flexible in-house tax engine that supports over 110 countries for VAT, both rules and reporting, creating a solid foundation on which to build out functionality specific to the GCC VAT. Tax codes for the standard rate, zero rates, reverse charges, as well as VAT on imports, will all be part of NetSuite’s International Tax Reporting SuiteApp. Existing customers will enjoy full business systems compliance with new changes in the value-added tax (VAT) rate without having to lift a finger. NetSuite’s cloud computing model and the flexible, powerful NetSuite Tax Engine inside NetSuite’s financial software ensure that NetSuite customers immediately benefit from this update.

NetSuite Adds Direct Sales Team and Leadership

NetSuite is extending its focus on the Middle East and the surrounding region with a dedicated sales team, pre-sales, country manager, marketing and other support functions, all operating out of a new Dubai office, which will be the center of East, Central Europe, Middle East and Africa (ECEMEA) operations. The dedicated sales team has been established and trained to address the UAE and Saudi Arabian markets. NetSuite will also continue to recruit local implementation partners with experience in ERP to support continued growth in the region.

The dedicated sales office will be led by Khaled Ismail, Vice President, Oracle Digital Application Business, ECEMEA, who will manage sales and marketing strategy for the region. In this role, Ismail will manage an organization of 250 sales professionals with almost 20 managers and directors. He is also responsible for all the supporting functions for ECEMEA from pre-sales, sales development, marketing and customer success.

“The UAE has been a strong growth engine for NetSuite in recent years. Now, with the additional global resources of Oracle, we intend to continue that growth and expand not only our sales operations and partnership, but build out additional functionality specific to the region,” said Ismail

NetSuite Strengthens Partner Presence in the Region

NetSuite already has a strong partner presence in the region with 16 partners serving customers in the region. In 2017 alone, NetSuite added the following seven businesses to its Solution Provider Program: Azdan Business Analytics; Trinamix Business Solutions; Wolfrayet Business Consulting; Masterkey Software; Foresee Solutions; UnitedofOQ; and Digital Trends. As part of its expansion in the region, NetSuite will actively be recruiting qualified partners to continue to provide local businesses with a leading cloud ERP solution.

NetSuite OneWorld, a Game-Changer for Middle Eastern Businesses

Businesses seeking to gain efficiency, grow revenues, expand globally and enter new markets often find themselves held back by software systems siloed by department, geography or legal entity structures, leaving them unable to deliver an optimal customer experience and gain insights into their operations. The agility, flexibility and scalability that NetSuite OneWorld provides is difficult to achieve by businesses running legacy on-premise software. Meanwhile, other available cloud financial software solutions only offer basic product functionality that cannot scale and support changing business needs, growth and international expansion.

NetSuite OneWorld provides a unified and cloud-based suite of software that is flexible enough to meet the needs of diverse business models, legal structures and geographies. NetSuite OneWorld supports 190 currencies, more than 20 languages, automated tax calculation and reporting in more than 100 countries, and customer transactions in more than 200 countries.

Further, to help today’s B2B and B2C businesses with omnichannel commerce, NetSuite OneWorld delivers commerce-ready capabilities that can help both B2B and B2C commerce businesses to move from siloed online, in-store and phone consumer shopping channels to an integrated commerce solution, connecting ecommerce and in-store POS to order management, inventory, merchandising, marketing, financials and customer service, while delivering a seamless brand experience and exceeding customer expectations.