Presented by Oracle NetSuite
When Evan Goldberg launched NetSuite in 1998, his vision was fundamentally simple: give entrepreneurs access to their business data anytime, anywhere. At the time, most enterprise software resided on local servers.
As an entrepreneur himself, Goldberg understood frustration intimately. "I had fragmented systems. They all said something different," He recalls his early days.
NetSuite was the first company to integrate CRM, ERP, and e-commerce into a unified platform, delivering enterprise applications entirely through web browsers. This breakthrough idea ushered in the era of cloud computing and software-as-a-service (SaaS) and led to supersonic growth, a 2007 IPO, and an acquisition by Oracle in 2016.
Still innovating on the leading edge
That founding passion—turning fragmented data into accessible, integrated, actionable intelligence—is driving NetSuite as it reshapes the next generation of enterprise software.
at Sweet World 2025 Last month, the Austin-based firm unveiled netsuite next. Goldberg called him "The biggest product evolution in the company’s history. That’s because while NetSuite has embedded AI capabilities for years, he said, Next becomes a quantum, interactive, composable extension of AI operations, not separate tools.
AI is woven into everyday business operations
Most enterprise AI today is bolted on by APIs and conversational interfaces.
NETSUITE works next differently. Intelligence runs deep into workflows rather than sitting on the surface. It autonomously reconciles accounts, optimizes payment timing, predicts cash crunches, and levels its reasoning at every step. It doesn’t just advise on business processes—it transparently executes them within human-defined buffers.
"We created NetSuite for entrepreneurs to get great information about their business," Goldberg explains. "I think the next step is to be able to get deep insights and analysis without becoming an expert in analytics. AI turned out to be a really good data scientist."
This architectural divergence reflects competing philosophies about enterprise technology adoption. Microsoft and SAP have rapidly deployed through add-on assistants. NetSuite’s five-year development cycle for Next represents a more fundamental reform: making AI an everyday tool built into business operations, not a separate application that requires constant context changes.
AI echoes and deepens cloud innovation
Goldberg sees a clear through line connecting today’s AI adoption and the era of cloud computing that ushered it in. "He says there is an infinite sense of limitless possibility in the world of technology."
When NetSuite was starting up, he continues, "We had to come to customers with the cloud and say, ‘This is not going to disrupt your operations. It’s going to 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.
New transformational capabilities
NetSuite’s latest AI capabilities enhance business operations, while blurring (in a good way) the lines between human and machine intervention:
Context-Aware Intelligence. Ask Oracle adapts answers based on the user’s role, existing workflow, and business context. A CFO receiving a request for point-of-sale data receives financial analytics. A warehouse manager looking at inventory insights is asking the same question.
Collaborative workflow design. AI Canvas serves as a scenario-planning workspace where business users describe processes in natural language. A finance director may specify approval ratings for capital expenditures."For amounts over $50,000, I need department head approval, then CFO sign-off." – Which the system translates into actionable workflows with appropriate controls and audit trails.
Ruled over autonomous operations. Autonomous workflows work with defined parameters, reconcile accounts, generate payment runs, forecast cash flow. When the system recommends expediting payment to a supplier, it shows which factors influence the decision – transparent logic users can accept, modify or override.
Open AI architecture. Built to support model context protocols, the NetSuite AI Connector service enables enterprises to integrate external big-language models while supporting governance.
Critically, NetSuite adds AI capabilities at no additional cost – embedded directly into the workflows employees already use every day.
Security and Privacy from Oracle Infrastructure
Built-in AI requires a robust infrastructure that reaches bolt-on sidestep. Here, tight integration within Oracle technology provides operational and competitive advantages, particularly security and compliance peace of mind, according to NetSuite.
That’s because NetSuite is supported by Oracle’s full stack, engineers say. From databases to applications to analytics, the system makes better decisions using data from multiple sources in real time.
"That’s why I started NetSuite. I could not find the required data," Goldberg reflects. "This is one of the most differentiating aspects of NetSuite. When you’re doing your financials, and you’re thinking about what reserves you’re going to take, you can look at your sales data, because that’s also in NetSuite. With Netsuite Uglie, AI can help you make these kinds of decisions as well."
And performance improves with use. As the platform learns from millions of transactions across thousands of users, its embedded intelligence improves in ways that bolt-on assistants adjacent to core systems can’t match.
NetSuite’s customer base reflects this scalability advantage – from startups that have grown to global enterprises including Reddit, Shopify and Dodish. Along with promising newcomers such as actor Tom Holland, Chomps Meat Snacks, PeteLab, and non-alcoholic beer brewers founded by Kaiser Australia. A unified platform grows with businesses rather than requiring migration at scale.
Stomach fire after three decades
How does a nearly 30-year-old company maintain modern capability, especially as part of a larger corporate ecosystem? Goldberg credits the parent company’s culture of constant innovation.
"I don’t know if you’ve heard of this guy, Larry Ellison." He smiled. "Every time one of them comes up with a technological revolution, he apparently manages to nudge himself. That hunger, that curiosity, that desire to constantly improve things makes all of Oracle better."
For Goldberg, NetSuite users face integration complexity and trust centers. NetSuite Next addresses this by embedding AI into existing workflows rather than requiring a separate system.
In addition, updates to the Suite Cloud Platform—an extensibility and customization environment—help organizations adapt NetSuite to their unique business needs. Built on open standards, it lets businesses mix and match AI models for different functions. Sotagent frameworks enable partners to build specialized automation directly into NetSuite. AI Studios gives administrators control over how AI works in specific industry needs.
"This takes the flexibility of NetSuite to a new level," Enables customers and partners, says Goldberg "Quickly and easily build AI agents, integrate external AI assistants, and orchestrate AI processes."
“AI execution fabric” delivers measurable business impact
Industry analysts are increasingly arguing that embedded AI features deliver superior results compared to the add-on model. FUTORUM GROUP SEES NETSUITE AS THE NEXT ONE "AI hanging fabric" Instead of a layer of conversation – intelligence that runs deep into the workflow rather than sitting on the surface.
For mid-market enterprises to compete with talent shortages, complex compliance frameworks, and digital native companies, there is an economic gap between consulting and execution.
Built-in AI doesn’t just inform better decisions. It makes these decisions, transparently and autonomously, within humanly defined safeguards.
For businesses making ERP decisions today, the choice has long-term implications. Bolt-on AI can provide immediate value for access to information and basic automation. But built-in AI promises to transform operations with intelligence in every transaction and workflow.
NetSuite began rolling out to North American customers the following year.
Why 2026 will be an AI-first business
EntSuite’s biggest bet: Reorganizing ERP operations around embedded intelligence will improve the way enterprises add bolt-on conversational support to existing systems.
Early cloud computing adopters, Goldberg noted, gained competitive advantages that grew over time. The same logic likely applies to AI-first platforms.
Simplicity and ease of use are two major advantages. "You don’t need to dig through a lot of menus and understand all the analytics capabilities," Goldberg says. "It will quickly bring you the analysis, and then you can communicate in natural language to control what you understand."
Tools now think alongside users and take intelligent action. For mid-market and enterprise companies, there is a difference between to be Information and Acting on it Could be the difference between success and failure, such autonomous execution could determine which businesses thrive in the first era of AI.
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