NetSuite teams are entering a new phase of maturity.
NetSuite teams are entering a new phase of maturity.
For years, growth was driven by rapid implementations, systems integrators and incremental configuration. Today, that model is under pressure:
- Finance leaders want tighter control.
- Operations teams want clearer ownership.
- Executives want reporting they can trust without delay or manual workarounds.
In response, NetSuite hiring strategies are changing. Organizations are building stronger internal capability, prioritizing data and reporting skills, and using certifications as a clearer signal of value and readiness.
Together, these shifts are reshaping what high-performing NetSuite teams look like and how leaders should approach hiring.
This is not about chasing trends. It is about building delivery models that scale, reduce risk and support better decisions over time.
Why NetSuite Centers of Excellence are replacing SI-heavy delivery
Many organizations are moving away from long-term reliance on Systems Integrators (SI) and toward in-house NetSuite Centers of Excellence.
A Center of Excellence (CoE) is not a large internal team. It is a focused group of senior NetSuite professionals who own system standards, roadmap decisions and delivery quality across the business. Their role is to ensure NetSuite evolves in line with commercial priorities, not just technical requirements.
This shift reflects how NetSuite is now used. It is no longer a back-office finance system. It connects CRM, billing, revenue management, inventory and reporting in a single platform. Decisions made in one area affect outcomes everywhere else.
When delivery is fragmented across multiple external partners, accountability blurs. Knowledge is lost between projects. Leaders struggle to understand whether issues are caused by process, data or configuration.
CoE models solve this by creating internal ownership, supported by contractors or specialists when needed. Contractors provide flexibility and speed. The internal team retains context, governance and long-term control.
From a hiring perspective, this increases demand for NetSuite professionals who can operate beyond a single module. Leaders are prioritizing candidates who understand how decisions ripple through the full revenue and reporting cycle and who can collaborate confidently with finance, operations, and commercial teams.
About a third of the way through, it becomes clear that technology alone does not solve these challenges.
The platform is powerful, but success still depends on people. Anderson Frank connects organizations with NetSuite professionals who can design delivery models, guide internal teams, and support sustainable in-house ownership.
The rising importance of NetSuite data and executive-ready reporting
As organizations take more ownership of NetSuite, expectations around data quality and reporting increase.
Executives want confidence that the numbers they see reflect reality. They want fewer reconciliations, fewer explanations and faster answers. This is driving a spike in demand for NetSuite professionals who can turn system data into clear, trusted insight.
One area seeing particular growth is NetSuite Analytics Warehouse (NSAW). NSAW is a reporting and analytics layer designed to consolidate NetSuite data and present it in a format suitable for dashboards, KPIs and executive review. For non-technical leaders, the key point is not the tool itself. It is what it enables.
Teams with strong NetSuite analytics capability can:
- Align finance, revenue and operational metrics in one view
- Reduce manual reporting and spreadsheet dependency
- Surface issues earlier, before they affect forecasts or cash flow
This changes the profile of in-demand talent. Reporting and analytics skills are no longer secondary. They are central to how NetSuite teams create value. Hiring managers are increasingly looking for candidates who understand both the system and the business questions leaders are trying to answer.
According to the Anderson Frank Careers and Hiring Guide, organizations consistently report difficulty finding NetSuite professionals who combine technical capability with commercial and reporting insight. That gap is widening as executive expectations rise
Why certifications now influence hiring, pay and progression
As NetSuite environments grow more complex, informal onboarding and unstructured learning become risky.
Certifications and structured training are becoming a common language between employers and candidates. They provide a baseline understanding of how NetSuite works, how data flows, and how changes should be tested and governed.
For business leaders, certifications are not about badges. They are about predictability. Certified professionals tend to ramp faster, make fewer early errors and require less rework from senior staff. That translates directly into lower delivery risk.
This is especially important in CoE and reporting roles where accuracy matters. A small configuration or reporting mistake can affect revenue recognition, forecasts, or board reporting.
As a result, certifications are increasingly tied to:
- Role definitions within NetSuite teams
- Pay bands and seniority expectations
- Trust placed in individuals to own reporting or system changes
This does not mean uncertified professionals lack value. It does mean that hiring strategies are becoming more structured, particularly in organizations that want consistency across regions or business units.
Roughly two-thirds of the way through the hiring journey, leaders often realize that skill signals matter as much as experience.
Anderson Frank helps organizations assess NetSuite talent beyond CVs, identifying professionals whose experience, certifications and delivery mindset align with real business needs.
What these shifts mean for NetSuite hiring leaders
Taken together, these trends point to a more deliberate approach to NetSuite hiring.
High-performing organizations are:
- Building internal ownership through Centers of Excellence
- Hiring NetSuite professionals who understand data, reporting and decision-making
- Using certifications to standardize quality and reduce ramp time
- Combining permanent hires with contractors to stay flexible
This requires clearer role design and stronger market insight. Hiring based solely on module experience is no longer enough. Leaders need to understand how skills translate into outcomes like faster closes, better forecasts and lower operational friction.
It also places more importance on hiring partners who understand the NetSuite ecosystem deeply and can advise on team structure, not just fill roles.
Building NetSuite teams that support long-term growth
NetSuite will continue to unify finance, CRM and analytics. As it does, the cost of poor delivery and unclear reporting increases.
Organizations that invest early in the right people gain more than technical capability. They gain confidence in their numbers, speed in their decisions and resilience in their delivery model.
