Presented by Oracle NetSuite
When Evan Goldberg founded NetSuite in 1998, his vision was radically basic: give entrepreneurs access to their business data anywhere, anytime. At that time, most enterprise software was hosted on on-premises servers.
As an entrepreneur, Goldberg understood this frustration all too well. “I had fragmented systems. Everyone said something different,” he recalls of his beginnings.
NetSuite was the first company to deliver enterprise applications entirely through web browsers, combining CRM, ERP and e-commerce into one unified platform. This breakthrough idea ushered in the era of cloud computing and software as a service (SaaS) and led to supersonic growth, an initial public offering in 2007, and acquisition by Oracle in 2016.
Still at the forefront of pioneering solutions
This founding obsession – transforming distributed data into accessible, consistent and actionable intelligence – is driving NetSuite as it transforms the next generation of enterprise software.
On World Suite 2025 last month, the Austin-based company unveiled its solution Next NetSuite. Goldberg calls it “the largest product evolution in the company’s history.” Reason? While NetSuite has been incorporating AI capabilities into workflows for years, he explains, Next represents a quantum leap — contextual, conversational, agentic, and composable AI becomes an extension of operations, rather than separate tools.
Artificial intelligence woven into everyday business operations
Most enterprise AI is currently powered through APIs and conversational interfaces.
NetSuite Next works differently. Intelligence reaches deep into workflows rather than sitting on the surface. It autonomously reconciles accounts, optimizes payment deadlines, predicts cash problems and reveals its reasoning at every step. It not only advises on business processes – it implements them transparently, within human-defined limits.
“We created NetSuite for entrepreneurs to get useful information about their company,” explains Goldberg. “I think the next step will be to get deeper insights and analytics without having to be an analytics expert. AI is proving to be a really good data scientist.”
This architectural divergence reflects competing philosophies on enterprise technology implementation. Microsoft and SAP aimed for rapid implementation with additional assistants. NetSuite for Next’s five-year development cycle represents a more fundamental rethink: making AI an everyday tool woven into business operations, rather than a separate application requiring constant context switching.
Artificial intelligence reflects and deepens innovation in the cloud
Goldberg sees a clear line from today’s adoption of artificial intelligence to the cloud computing era he pioneered. “There is an endless sense of possibility in the world of technology,” he says. “Everyone is thinking about how they can use it and how they can get involved.”
When NetSuite started, he continues, “We had to come to our cloud customers and say, ‘This won’t disrupt your operations. It’ll make them better.'” Today, evangelizing enterprise leaders on advanced AI requires a similar approach – demonstrating immediate value while minimizing implementation risk.
For NetSuite, continuous innovation around maximizing customer data for growth is an undeniable theme that connects both eras.
Modern transformation opportunities
NetSuite’s latest AI capabilities span business operations, blurring (in a good way) the lines between human and machine intervention:
Context-aware intelligence. Ask Oracle tailors responses based on your role, current workflow, and business context. The CFO requesting data from the point of sale receives financial analysis. When a warehouse manager asks the same question, he sees inventory statistics.
Collaborative workflow design. AI Canvas functions as a scenario planning workspace where business users express processes in natural language. The CFO may describe capital expenditure approval hierarchies –“For amounts over $50,000, I need approval from the department head followed by the signature of the CFO.” — which the system translates into executable workflows with appropriate controls and audit trails.
Managed autonomous operations. Autonomous workflows operate within defined parameters, reconciling accounts, generating payment runs, forecasting cash flows. When the system recommends expediting a supplier’s payment, it shows what factors influenced that decision – users with clear logic can accept, modify or override.
Open AI architecture. Built to support the Model Context Protocol, the NetSuite AI Connector Service enables enterprises to integrate external multilingual models while supporting management.
Most importantly, NetSuite adds AI capabilities at no additional cost – built directly into the workflows employees already apply every day.
Security and privacy with Oracle infrastructure
Embedded AI requires a solid infrastructure that can easily be bypassed. According to NetSuite, tight integration with Oracle technology provides operational and competitive advantages, especially security and peace of mind.
Engineers say this is because NetSuite is powered by the complete Oracle stack. From the database, through applications, to analytics, the system optimizes decisions using data from many sources in real time.
“That’s why I started NetSuite. I couldn’t get the data I needed,” Goldberg reflects. “This is one of the most diverse aspects of NetSuite. When you’re closing out your financial situation and wondering what reserves you’ll take, you can check your sales data because it’s also available in NetSuite. With NetSuite Next, AI can also help you make these types of decisions.”
Performance improves with apply. As the platform learns from millions of transactions made by thousands of customers, its built-in intelligence improves to a degree that additional assistants running alongside core systems cannot match.
NetSuite’s customer base demonstrates this scalability advantage – from startups turned global enterprises including Reddit, Shopify and DoorDash; as well as promising newcomers such as BERO, the non-alcoholic beer brewery founded by actor Tom Holland, Chomps Meat Snakes, PetLab and Kieser Australia. A unified platform grows with your business, rather than requiring migration as it scales.
Keeping the fire burning in the belly after three decades
How does a nearly 30-year-old company maintain its innovation potential, especially within a gigantic corporate ecosystem? Goldberg credits the parent company’s culture with constant reinvention.
“I don’t know if you’ve heard of this guy, Larry Ellison,” he smiles. “He manages to seemingly reinvent himself every time one of these technological revolutions comes along. That hunger, that curiosity, that desire to constantly make things better permeates throughout Oracle.”
For Goldberg, the biggest challenge facing NetSuite customers centers on integration complexity and trust. NetSuite Next solves this problem by embedding AI into existing workflows rather than requiring separate systems.
Additionally, updates to the SuiteCloud platform – an extensibility and customization environment – aid organizations tailor NetSuite to their unique business needs. Built on open standards, it enables enterprises to mix and match AI models for different functions. SuiteAgent frameworks enable partners to build specialized automation directly in NetSuite. AI Studios give administrators control over how AI works within specific industry needs.
“This takes NetSuite’s agility to a new level,” says Goldberg, enabling customers and partners to “quickly and easily create AI agents, connect third-party AI assistants, and orchestrate AI processes.”
“AI Execution Framework” delivers measurable business impact
Industry analysts increasingly argue that built-in AI features provide better results compared to add-on models. Futurum Group sees NetSuite Next as “AI fabrication” rather than a conversational layer — intelligence that digs deep into workflows rather than sitting on the surface.
For mid-market companies struggling with talent shortages, intricate compliance frameworks, and competition from digitally native companies, the distinction between consulting and execution makes economic sense.
Built-in AI doesn’t just make better decisions. It makes these decisions transparently and autonomously, within human-defined limits.
For companies making ERP decisions today, this choice has long-term consequences. Embedded AI can provide immediate value in terms of access to information and basic automation. However, embedded AI promises to transform operations with intelligence permeating every transaction and workflow.
NetSuite Next will begin rolling out to customers in North America next year.
Why 2026 will be the year of the industry based on artificial intelligence
The assumption behind NetSuite Next: Enterprises that reimagine ERP operations based on built-in intelligence will outperform enterprises that simply add additional conversational support to existing systems.
Goldberg notes that early adopters of cloud computing gained a competitive advantage that deepened over time. The same logic appears to apply to AI-based platforms.
Simplicity and ease of apply are two massive advantages. “You don’t have to dig through a lot of menus and understand all the analytical possibilities,” says Goldberg. “It will quickly display the analysis, and then you can talk in natural language to refine what you think is most important.”
Tools now think together with users and take intelligently considered actions. For mid-sized and entrepreneurial companies where there is a gap in between having information and acting on it can be the difference between growth and failure, this type of autonomous execution could determine which companies will thrive in the AI-driven era.
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