A NetSuite Sandbox is a separate test account in which you can configure and assess customisations without affecting your main production account.
We all like playing in a sandbox (or a sandpit, as it’s known on this side of the pond), and software developers are no exception. However, if you’re new to the world of ERP & CRM systems, you may have heard the term without fully understanding what it is. Here we will discuss the NetSuite Sandbox in more detail.
– Rodney Dangerfield
The NetSuite sandbox is essentially a test area – a replica of your main account where you can play around with customisations, code and third-party bundles without any risk to your real-time working ‘production’ environment. If you make any alterations that don’t have the desired effect, they won’t impact on your live system, so you can roll-back the changes and refresh, thereby returning the sandbox to its original state. It is also a useful risk-free place to train new users without worrying about them upsetting the live system. During the implementation of NetSuite, a sandbox can be used for User Acceptance Testing, Development, Training and other testing.
Without one, the typical way to develop software is to have a development staging area where separate hardware is needed to create a safe environment for testing. However, with many businesses now moving to cloud ERP software, the need for separate hardware is now eliminated.
It’s not uncommon to deploy more than one sandbox. The exact number decided upon is dependent on several factors, such as budget, timescales, phasing, integrations and the number of people involved in the project. It is quite common to have two or more sandbox accounts alongside the production environment for larger projects where there can be a lot of testing, integration and development work – such as creating large SuiteScript applications or integrations with other systems – in this case multiple sandbox accounts allow software developers to work within a separate environment, with separate data, and test customisations autonomously.
The NetSuite Premium Sandbox is only available to customers who are on a Premium Service Tier.
With the NetSuite Premium Sandbox, your sandbox account is faster, and sandbox refreshes are processed quicker with a higher priority.
When you refresh your NetSuite Sandbox account it will create a replica of your production account at that point in time. Therefore, all the configuration, data and customisations from your production account will be mirrored. It is important to remember that all data and configuration in a sandbox will be lost after a refresh. If you need to maintain your customisations between refresh cycles, then you can use SuiteBuilder or the SuiteCloud Developer Framework to bundle up functionality and copy it from sandbox to production, or vice versa.
A sandbox refresh typically takes less than 24 hours; however, it can take up to 3 days, you should bear that in mind when planning sandbox refreshes at critical junctures in your NetSuite implementation project.
The price of the NetSuite Sandbox is calculated at 10% of the sum total of the NetSuite modules and users purchased. The NetSuite premium sandbox is calculated at 20% of the sum total of the NetSuite modules and users purchased. There are minimum prices which apply to both, so if you have a high discount level on your modules and users then the same discount might not apply to the sandbox, if the discounted price is below the minimum price level.
You don’t have to use the NetSuite Sandbox – however, most implementation projects require rigorous testing, and it is better to err on the side of caution and opt for a sandpit – sorry, ‘sandbox’!
For more information about the NetSuite sandbox or any other questions you have about NetSuite please feel free to get in touch.
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