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The product team behind NetSuite Analytics Warehouse has consistently improved the offering since it was initially released in 2022. Additional subject areas of data have been added, the structuring of the dimension and fact tables within the subject areas have been refined and expanded, and several highly requested features have made their way into the out of the box package that can be deployed incredibly quickly and efficiently.

Here's a look at some of the latest updates that have made implementing NSAW an even easier decision than it already was.

Data Load Frequency

One of the most common questions asked of us is “how frequently can I update NetSuite ERP data in the data warehouse?” For a long time, the answer was, disappointingly, only once per day.

The June 2023 release saw the addition of “frequent data refreshes” which allowed systems to be refreshed on a more frequent basis. In the months that followed, this functionality was refined and expanded to include scheduling of specific warehouse tables to be refreshed on a more frequent basis.

This means that if you have a specific segment of data that is valuable to keep fresh with a load every hour or two, that scheduled can be configured. This means that segment of data gets updated frequently without incurring the time cost of refreshing the entire collection of data models. Additionally, options were added to this recently that allow us to schedule refreshes of specific data augmentations (used to capture additional information from the ERP, including custom fields) as well as the specific warehouse tables.

In general, the tool only expands its flexibility in this regard. If you have a need for fresh data, NSAW has many more options available to provide it!

Enhanced Security Options

As we get deeper into 2024, NetSuite is also refining how security works within NSAW to provide greater control over who can access the system and what they can see once they are in.

As of the 23.R4 release in December of 2023, for example, NSAW has added the ability to authenticate users via OKTA. If you already leverage OKTA as your enterprise identity provider, you can now add NSAW to the list of tools that can be managed by it to assign access and roles.

Additionally, features have been added to allow hiding of prebuilt content, and being able to apply dimension specific security to NS ERP data subject areas. For example, you can create a group to specifically grant access to the “Marketing” department data and no other departments. This can ensure any policies of individuals in a given department that restricts their access to others, as an example, can be met with a simple configuration.

New Subject Areas to Access Even More NetSuite ERP Data

In the last 6-9 months, a slew of new NetSuite ERP sourced subject areas have been added to the slate of pre built subject areas that are already available. This newer subject areas include:

• NetSuite – Wave
• NetSuite – Subscription
• NetSuite – Order to Cash…
  • …Customer Invoice
  • …Customer Payment Activity
  • …Customer Refund
  • …Order Fulfillment
  • …Return Authorization
• Multiple NetSuite – Procure to Pay…
  • …Item Receipt
  • …Vendor Bill
  • …Vendor Payment Activity
  • …Vendor Return Authorization

Many existing subject areas, and some dimensions across many subject areas, have also been updated to include new fields.

Additional Connectors to Third Party Data Sources

Other than questions about data refresh frequency, most questions we receive involve third party data sources. After all, one of the big benefits to implementing NSAW is using it as the foundation of an enterprise-wide data warehouse, capable of storing data from a wide variety of sources. That variety of sources just gets wider and wider over time.

Some of the new data sources include preview connectors for Azure SQL, Oracle BI Publisher, Quickbooks Online, SQL Server, on-premises or cloud-based MySQL databases, Enterprise Data Management, and Mongo.

For me, the real door opener is the addition of a Rest API connection option within NSAW. Now we can connect to a huge library of data sources that support connecting via Rest API that would have required a middleware or scripting option in the past.

Conclusion

Just about all aspects of the NSAW product have been improved substantially since release. All the above items are available now to existing and new customers, making this a great time to dive into the tool and start taking advantage of its many benefits. As the world evolves and new challenges arise, tools like NSAW will continue to simplify the process of getting answers and insights from your data.