NetSuite CEO Zach Nelson tried to dispel some of the common myths about Software as a Service technology during his keynote address at the company’s partner conference in San Francisco on Thursday.

Zach Nelson

Nelson addressed a crowd of over 200 resellers and technology partners here at the Suite Cloud 2010 conference, stating that NetSuite is out to dispel the common myths about cloud computing and add opportunities for more kinds of channel partners  to work with NetSuite.

First addressing claims that most SaaS solutions are not customizable, Nelson claimed that there are currently 6,600 users utilizing NetSuite’s enterprise resource planning functions, the majority of which are customizable features.

Second, referring to the claim that complex processes can’t run well in the cloud, Nelson said, “Right now the Internet allows you to be more flexible and deal with complex processes than any client server will, and now multinational companies simply don’t need multiple databases either.”

Nelson also took issue with the idea that channel partners cannot do well selling cloud-based solutions, to which he responded, “In fact, there is more innovation and new business opportunities within the channel than ever before. We have over 200 partners in our network now and have grown 40 percent year on year since the program started.”

NetSuite has traditionally had independent software vendors, original equipment manufacturers and traditional value-added resellers as its channel partners. Nelson announced that it is moving into other areas, looking to add systems integrators and consultants – particularly CPAs – as well as business process outsourcing companies, to its channel.