The Next Generation (NextGen) of ExtendInsights for Excel Data Management is now fully released and in production. This article explains why we built NextGen, what’s improved, and what users get today.

Why we built the NextGen version?

Put simply, you asked, and we listened. We’ve collected tons of feedback from you, our users, and we’ve taken that feedback to build an improved version of our application with improvements to all areas of the application.

Over time, users asked for:

Better performance with large datasets
Easier template creation and management
Improved sharing across teams
Fewer limitations tied to legacy NetSuite login behavior
One unified experience across all ExtendInsights capabilities

NextGen addresses these needs while laying the foundation for faster innovation going forward.

What’s in it for you?

Glad you asked…here's a short list (a full comparison can be found in this article).

Faster, More Powerful Template Builder

The template builder now allows users to build templates faster by selecting more than one field at a time

All fields, not just the first 100, are available in the UI
Re-arranging fields is easier than ever. Previously, to move a field from the bottom to the top meant that a user had to drag it up to the top of the screen, stop, and start again, repeating until complete. Now users can drag, and the screen will scroll with them to wherever they wish.

Improved template sharing

Customers have asked for the ability to have a corporate template repository. Users can now save (or use) templates in their corporate template repository. Pretty cool!

Multiple NetSuite Accounts, One Login

You'll no longer be tied down to a single NetSuite account and will be able to access multiple production, sandbox, and test drive accounts, all from the same NetSuite login. You're welcome!

Feature parity with legacy SmartClient

All features of both our legacy and current production app are now available in one place.
- Update item pricing
- Manage transactions with serialized and lot numbered inventory as well as bins

Login with Google or Microsoft 365 (CloudExtend Federated Identity)

In the current app, the user’s identity is tied to his/her NetSuite login and if the user had to switch a role or use a different NS account, they had to sign out each time. In the latest version, we have improved this. Users can now login once with their Microsoft Office 365 account and CloudExtend would create a user’s identity in the background. Once done, the user can add as many NetSuite connections as they want and use the add-in in that connection’s context.

Performance & UX Improvements

Faster UI: Moving around the UI is markedly faster.
Multi-select fields are now supported
Emptying a field value is easier (improvements to the UI to make it easier to set field values to null)
Burst Mode for everyone: All users will have access to Burst Mode
Improved picklist: The pick list pane is now moved to the bottom of the Excel task pane and can be expanded upward to see more values.
Theme Support: Support for dark mode

What Happened to Legacy Templates?

Templates from the legacy version were automatically migrated
Existing workbooks with templates continue to function in NextGen
Templates are now managed centrally through the NextGen interface

There is no legacy version to switch back to.

Current State

NextGen is the only supported version of ExtendInsights for Data Management
All users access the app through the NextGen Excel add-in
No additional licenses or trials are required

How do I give feedback?

We continue to refine NextGen based on real usage.

You can share feedback by:

Using the in-app chat
Emailing cloudextend-support@celigo.com

How to Install the ExtendInsights for Data Management NetSuite?

For new installations:
1. Open Excel and confirm you’re signed in to Microsoft 365.
2. Go to Home → Add-ins → Get Add-ins.
3. Search for CloudExtend.
4. Install CloudExtend for NetSuite.
👉 See the full installation guide for details.