Plative

BACKGROUND

Could you briefly describe your company?

 I work with Pardot, which is a branch of Salesforce.com.

What is your position?

I am currently a software engineer. But, I was the channel manager when interacting heavily with Audaxium.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

Could you describe the business challenges that you were attempting to address before beginning the project?

As I mentioned, Pardot is a subsidiary of Salesforce.com. We do not currently have the best integration with NetSuite. It is a little bit more difficult to work with, with some of their API’s and syncs. We’ve had an established relationship with Audaxium, and we decided to outsource all of our integrations with NetSuite over to them.

SOLUTION

Could you describe the scope of the tasks that you outsource to Audaxium? Did it include design, development, training, or support?

They’ve provided us with development and training. When someone purchases Pardot, there is an additional cost. Part of that is an onboarding package. That onboarding package is 60 days where they are onboarded with our solution in conjunction with their CRM or, in this situation, with NetSuite ERP. During that time, there is the connection that’s created. Any sort of custom items that need to be added to their NetSuite as in scripts, anything that needs to be added to Pardot, any of these sort of custom jobs and so forth, that’s where Audaxium has come into play. Audaxium also helps out a little bit on the marketing side with the creation of some custom landing pages, emails, and so on.  

How did you select Audaxium as your solution partner?

That was a little bit before my time. Audaxium has been partnered with Pardot for a long time. I’d say since 2008 or 2009, they were partners with Pardot more on the reseller side. They resell Pardot. During that time, we just developed a very good relationship with Rob [MacEwen] and Craig [DesBrisay] at Audaxium. As we started to move a little bit away from the NetSuite side of things where Audaxium has a very good stronghold, and can do a lot of great things with NetSuite. It was Audaxium and one other vendor, we did look to another vendor as well to kind of outsource all of our integrations with NetSuite. We selected Audaxium, because one,  their professionalism is outstanding; two, they’re accessible; and three, they’re accountable. We’ve had a very good personal relationship with Audaxium throughout the years. They are our top reseller. They brought in the most deals to Pardot. So, there is no way to thank them for their business.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in monetary terms?

I cannot disclose this because we’re publicly traded.

When was this project completed?

It’s an ongoing project. As we have new deals come in and they say they use NetSuite, we immediately pass them to Audaxium.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

In terms of results, could you share any statistics or metrics that would demonstrate the effectiveness of their work?

Yes, without getting into too many legal barriers, almost all of the clients that have worked with Audaxium have seen a very quick ROI. I have an example of a client that I worked with that wasn’t having much success with their NetSuite. They were looking to get away from NetSuite. I introduced Audaxium to them and within a matter of a couple months they started seeing a lot more ROI from using NetSuite with Pardot. They have essentially saved NetSuite a couple of CRM changes, and they have also helped Pardot from losing a couple of customers.

How do feel that Audaxium has performed?

Nine times out of ten, I’d give them a solid nine for performance. I have very limited amount of negative feedback that I’ve ever seen from Audaxium. Any negative feedback that I’ve ever received has always been resolved within a matter of time.

When working with Audaxium, is there anything that you would consider unique or special about them compared to other service providers?

I would say that their attention to detail and willingness to do any leaps and bounds to make the customer is second to none. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with them on a professional level, and then even personally outside of the workplace, just knowing them. It’s more on a personal level, and that’s been great. They are stand-up guys there, and I’ve seen some fabulous work. I’m looking forward to what the relationship and Pardot and Audaxium has in the future. There’s going to be some really good stuff coming out.

BACKGROUND

Could you briefly describe your company?

We’re a manufacturer and wholesaler of stationery products and note writing accessories such as bookmarks, journals, notebooks, pencil kits, and magnets.

What is your position in the company?

I’m the operations manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge(s) were you attempting to address when initiating this project with Audaxium?

We primarily needed best practice consultation and administrative support for our NetSuite ERP solution. The bottom line is that we needed qualified, expert advice and guidance for our platform.

What particular challenges were you encountering with your ERP system and/or your previous service provider?

On the support side, we were getting very generic responses from the NetSuite staff. Some of the answers we sought were actually in their help menu, but they couldn’t offer us any common wisdom for the challenges and issues we were having. It was extremely frustrating considering our sizable investment to license their product.

SOLUTION

Could you describe the scope of this project in terms of components: did it involve custom design, development, training, support, etc.?

We initially got them involved with custom scripting for some of our more complex modules, but they’ve gotten more and more involved as time has gone along. At this point they’re providing ongoing NetSuite support for us, because as we continue to grow and expand the range of services and operations, we continue to also run into barriers and problems.

How did you select Audaxium as your solution partner?

We conducted a formal procurement process. We did some preliminary research on viable candidates and interviewed a handful. We ultimately thought their personality or their style worked best with us. They’re knowledgeable and available, which were the key selection criteria for us.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative either monetary terms and/or the number of personnel dedicated to the project?

The monthly costs at this point vary quite a bit. We have them on retainer for support. Some months we might be charged between $1,000 and $5,000 in advisory services and support, other months we might peak at $10,000 or more.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Is there anything you would consider special or unique about Audaxium as compared to other service providers you’ve worked with in the past?

We’ve worked with some technology partners that might know the technical aspects better, but Audaxium also understands the business side. Their team is extremely relatable because they aren’t just code monkeys: they’re business experts on the whole. They can take a complex problem and dismantle it until anyone can understand what’s going on. That’s invaluable to us because while the technical problems can be frustrating and tiring, they really pale in comparison to some of the macro business challenges that you’ll encounter.

In retrospect, are there any areas that you think Audaxium could improve upon or that you might do differently as the client before approaching this type of project?

This might be too nuanced, but they’re very organized and regimented over there. They prefer that we set up a specific time to talk via telephone, which is fine, but sometimes the matters are urgent and require immediate attention. If that’s the case and we have to wait to schedule a call, it can be seriously frustrating. With NetSuite support, you can call at any time and someone will eventually be able to speak with you; and even though they might not be the most helpful in the end, you were able to get some information rather than nothing at all. My only critique would be that I wish clients weren’t discouraged from telephoning whenever the situation demanded it.

BACKGROUND

Could you briefly describe your company?

We’re a technology reseller of software and hardware products. We provide 3D design and engineering software to engineering and manufacturing companies. We also sell a line of 3D printers.  Our business helps architects and engineers create new products and get them to market. We sell the majority of our products in Canada and the United States.

What is your position?

I’m one of the founders and I manage the sales and marketing teams. My partner manages the technology, finance and operations teams.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What were your company’s business goals for initiating the project with Audaxium?

We transitioned from GoldMine to NetSuite back in 2007. After the implementation we began to manage NetSuite ourselves, but we never linked our IT resources to the system. As we grew we began running into barriers and issues with the platform. They were things we couldn’t solve in-house. We didn’t want to hire a dedicated support team, but we desperately needed some outside expertise. Enter Audaxium. They did custom scripting and trained a number of our support staff. They’ve essentially acted as our NetSuite administrator.

Why did you decide to transition from GoldMine to NetSuite?

We were using GoldMine and it was doing all right for us, but we didn’t think that we could scale the system they way we wanted to.  We did some preliminary research and ended up with six separate products. We then cut the list down to three: NetSuite, Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics. We then invited their representatives to present the product functionalities to us.

The idea of implementing the Microsoft stack, which is what they kept referring to, would be for us to install, maintain and manage numerous pieces of hardware.  The reason we decided not to go with Microsoft was that the implementation overhead intimidated us.

The reason we chose NetSuite over Salesforce was because we really needed an integrated solution. One of the greatest things about NetSuite is that it’s extremely flexible and compatible with a number of different systems. With Salesforce we weren’t going to have that kind of flexibility; instead, we were going to have to find certain systems that were preselected to be compatible with it. Salesforce was a robust solution and I’m sure we could have found a way to make it work, but the out-of-the-box convenience of NetSuite really persuaded us.

SOLUTION

How did you select Audaxium as your solution partner?

I don’t think there was much of a selection process. We were really floundering at the time because we know we were reaching the outer limits with our current system. We had completed a few projects with them already and we simply approached them with our problem. They told us that they could help us manage our system and since they already had an established relationship with some of our team members, it was natural to involve them in the process

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in monetary terms or the number of personnel that was dedicated to the project from the Audaxium side?

We began with only one of their consultants. He would come in and monitor our usage and make some recommendations on process and standard operating procedures. As our tasks became more complex we ended up with two or three of their consultants in-house. They’d conduct training seminars for our support staff and do some custom scripting. They’ve definitely extended more and more resources as we’ve grown.

When was this project completed or does it remain ongoing?

It’s an ongoing relationship. They’re really our NetSuite support provider and services guys. We’ve been using them since 2009, and we have no intention of switching. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

In terms of results, could you share any statistics or metrics that would demonstrate the effectiveness of the work they’ve delivered?

I can tell you that we’ve never had to hire IT resources to look after NetSuite. I know there are tons of things that they’ve done that improved the performance of the business.  The only metric that I could maybe give to you is we’re now 75 employees across six Canadian offices. At the time we began this process we were half the size. There’s clearly been some significant growth and I’m sure a part of this has to do with NetSuite and Audaxium.

When working with Audaxium, is there anything that you would consider unique or special about them compared to some of the other solutions partners that you’ve worked with in the past?

We’re in a unique situation because while we’re a technology company, we’re really a sales organization. The guys at Audaxium understand sales and they understand the implementation process. A lot of solution providers are nothing more than technologists. They know the code and the platform and they can definitely implement the system for you, but they can’t take it a step further and begin to make adjustments based on an understanding of your customers. That’s where Audaxium really shines. They’ve got technical expertise and business acumen. That’s difficult to find.

In retrospect, are there any areas that you feel Audaxium could improve upon or that you might do differently as the client before approaching this type of project?

There are two things, one of them is related to us and the other is related to Audaxium. On our side, I think we could have done a better job of managing our side of the projects. There were times when we had tasks to complete and we didn’t prioritize them properly. There were a number of slight delays because of that, which were definitely avoidable. I’m sure if we had more experience working on these kinds of projects we’d have known better, but that’s the benefit of hindsight.

On the Audaxium side, I do think that they could be better at guiding us through the process. I don’t mean micromanaging every part of the process, but because we were flaky from time to time, it’d have been great if they sent us friendly reminders to really get on top of our tasks. I know they have a lot of clients, most of whom are a lot larger than us, but it’d have definitely helped. They’re the experts after all.