New Delhi, Dec. 23 -- The next battle in enterprise software is no longer about moving enterprise resource planning (ERP) to the cloud-it is about making it intelligent by default. Oracle NetSuite is betting that the future of ERP lies in systems that don't just record transactions, but actively analyse data, flag issues, and execute work on their own.
At its annual SuiteWorld conference in October, NetSuite unveiled NetSuite Next, a new wave of AI-driven capabilities designed to embed intelligence directly into finance, supply chain and operational workflows. "With innovations like autonomous close, finance teams can move away from manual, time-intensive processes and rely on the system to handle repetitive closing activities continuously-every moment of every day," Craig Sullivan, senior vice president of enterprise and international products at US-based ERP software company NetSuite, told TechCircle in an interview. "That allows CFOs and finance leaders to focus on analysis and strategic decision-making, supported by real-time insights such as in-flight variance and flux reports."
The company reports that early adopters are already experiencing significant productivity gains, particularly in finance. Traditionally, finance teams have been constrained by month- and quarter-end bottlenecks, with reconciliations and checks piling up in a narrow window. NetSuite's autonomous close shifts that workload to an ongoing, always-on process, improving both speed and accuracy, said Sullivan.
The same logic is now being applied across operations. Through its Business 360 capabilities, NetSuite Next surfaces AI insights directly inside the ERP interface. As users log in, the system adapts dynamically, allowing them to ask questions about specific records, seek explanations for anomalies and trigger agentic workflows that can recommend-and even execute-actions.
"What we're really doing with NetSuite Next is bringing the benefit of AI into the application in a built-in way," Sullivan said. "Customers don't have to adopt something new. It's instantly part of the experience." According to Sullivan, this shift reflects a broader expectation change among enterprises. "We don't expect people in the future will want an ERP that doesn't have AI at its core," he said. "Why would you have an ERP if you can't get analytics?"
That thinking underpins how NetSuite defines the "intelligent enterprise" in the AI era. For the company, intelligence is not just about automation or speed, but about trust and transparency. Built on Oracle's cloud infrastructure and a unified financial data foundation, NetSuite's AI is designed to show users where insights come from and why specific recommendations are made.
"Our vision of an intelligent enterprise is centred on trust, transparency and proactive intelligence," Sullivan said. "AI in NetSuite doesn't just deliver answers; it shows users how those answers were determined, so they can validate results and build confidence."
Through conversational tools such as Ask Oracle, users can explore data, refine prompts and even ask the system to explain its reasoning. "This human-in-the-loop approach ensures that control always remains with the user," Sullivan added. Scaling this strategy globally depends heavily on NetSuite's partner ecosystem, especially in India and the wider Asia-Pacific region. System integrators and developers are building industry-specific AI extensions for manufacturing, services and export-led businesses, using NetSuite's rebuilt cloud platform.
"Our partner ecosystem is a core part of how we bring AI-powered innovation to customers," Sullivan said. "They're implementing and extending NetSuite, which gives us real insight into what's working and where AI is creating measurable impact."
The platform is now "instantly AI-enabled," making it easier for partners to develop extensions that are embedded directly into business workflows. "That's a tremendous boon for both existing partners and new ones," Sullivan said, adding that NetSuite's focus in Asia-Pacific is on supporting regional trade and cross-border growth. That said, as ERP continues to evolve, NetSuite is positioning itself around a clear message - intelligence is no longer an add-on-it is becoming the operating fabric of the enterprise.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from TechCircle.