Since its launch, NetSuite Analytics Warehouse (NSAW) has attracted strong interest from organizations looking to build a truly data-driven culture. The reason is simple: NSAW makes enterprise data more accessible, more connected, and far more actionable.
NSAW is the only native, out-of-the-box data warehouse designed specifically for NetSuite, with the added flexibility to bring in data from other business systems. Built on Oracle Analytics Cloud (OAC) and Oracle Autonomous Data Warehouse (ADW), it combines the power of a modern data warehouse with advanced business intelligence capabilities.
By automatically pulling data from NetSuite ERP and other external platforms, NSAW enables teams to analyze financial and operational metrics across the entire organization. Many implementation partners, including system integrators, also help businesses connect third-party tools such as Salesforce, Shopify, and custom applications, ensuring a single source of truth for reporting and KPIs.
As more companies adopt NSAW, a set of recurring questions tends to come up. Below are the 10 most frequently asked questions that businesses ask when evaluating or implementing NetSuite Analytics Warehouse.
1. Is NetSuite required to use NetSuite Analytics Warehouse?
Yes. NSAW is available only to NetSuite ERP customers. NetSuite must be your core ERP system to use NSAW.
2. Can users without NetSuite access view NSAW reports and dashboards?
Yes. While users need NSAW access to interact with dashboards directly, visualizations can be exported as PDFs and shared via email with stakeholders who do not have NetSuite or NSAW logins.
3. Do users need technical or development skills to use NSAW?
Not at all. NSAW is designed for business users as well as analysts. Prebuilt analytics and data models can be explored through a simple, intuitive interface, and custom reports can be created using drag-and-drop tools. Even non-technical users can become productive very quickly.
4. Can historical QuickBooks data be brought into NSAW?
Yes. Historical data from QuickBooks can be integrated into NSAW, allowing companies that migrated from QuickBooks to NetSuite to retain and analyze legacy financial data.
5. Are NSAW data updates real-time or scheduled?
Data refreshes from NetSuite are typically scheduled (often nightly) or triggered on demand. For non-NetSuite systems, refresh frequency can be real-time or near-real-time, depending on the integration method and tools used.
6. Can NSAW combine NetSuite data with external data sources?
Absolutely. NSAW is open and extensible. You can load data from external systems into custom schemas within the Oracle database and seamlessly blend it with NetSuite data for unified analysis and reporting.
7. Is it possible to analyze multiple NetSuite transaction types together?
Yes. NSAW makes it easy to blend data across multiple NetSuite transaction types. The platform automatically joins related datasets using shared dimensions, allowing for richer cross-functional analysis.
8. What tools are used to load external data into NSAW?
NSAW is an integration tool agnostic. Any SQL-based or cloud data integration tool that can write to an Oracle database can be used. Many organizations rely on third-party cloud integration platforms with hundreds of prebuilt connectors.
9. How does NSAW differ from SuiteAnalytics?
NSAW complements and extends SuiteAnalytics. While SuiteAnalytics focuses on operational reporting within NetSuite, NSAW enables:
Blending of multiple NetSuite and non-NetSuite data sources
Advanced visualizations
Scalable data warehousing
Built-in machine learning and predictive analytics
Together, they provide a more complete analytics ecosystem.
10. What is required to connect external systems to NSAW?
To load data into NSAW, an external system must use a SQL-based tool capable of writing data to an Oracle database via a secure cloud wallet connection. Similarly, reading data from NSAW also requires SQL access through the same secure connection method.
Final Thoughts
NetSuite Analytics Warehouse empowers organizations to move beyond basic reporting and toward enterprise-wide, insight-driven decision-making. By unifying NetSuite data with external sources and offering powerful analytics in an easy-to-use platform, NSAW helps businesses unlock the full value of their data without heavy technical overhead.
If you’re considering NSAW or preparing for its implementation, having a clear grasp of the basics will help you move forward with confidence. Here’s a practical guide to NetSuite Analytics Warehouse to get you started the right way.
