ISG Software Research Analyst Perspectives (11)

Progress Enables Knowledge Graphs for Semantic AI

Posted by Matt Aslett on 24 April 2025

As enterprises embrace the potential opportunities presented by artificial intelligence (AI), they are quickly finding that good data management is a prerequisite. As was explained in ISG’s State of Generative AI Market Report, AI requires data that is clean, well-organized and compliant with regulatory standards. There are multiple challenges to delivering AI-ready data, including combining... Read More

Topics: Machine Learning, Analytics, IT, AI, Data Platforms, ADM, DevOps

Kinaxis Demonstrates Accessible AI-Enabled Supply Chains

Posted by Robert Kugel on 23 April 2025

I recently attended Kinaxis’ annual user group meeting, Kinexions. The most important theme of the event was the trifecta of artificial intelligence (AI), generative AI (GenAI) and agents. Supply chain planning and execution software are the business software domains that are going to be major beneficiaries of AI and agentic AI automation. However, they also are going to be two of the more... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Supply Chain Planning, Business Planning, Supply Chain, supply chain management

HCM Suites and Workforces: Engagement and AI Strategies

Posted by Matthew Brown on 23 April 2025

For years, HR technology has been seen primarily as an administrative tool—handling records, payroll and compliance. But what if its real power lies in shaping workforce strategy, building community and driving transformation? HCM suites are often implemented with a “set it and forget it” mindset, treated as digital filing cabinets—useful, but not transformative. Many leaders still rely on... Read More

Topics: HCM, HCM Suites

AI Cybersecurity Lessons: Insights from the DeepSeek Incident

Posted by Jeff Orr on 22 April 2025

In a defining moment for the artificial intelligence (AI) sector, the recent breach involving Chinese company Liang Wenfeng (makers of DeepSeek AI) has shed light on the emerging cyber threats that challenge the industry. The reported incident revealed that DeepSeek AI had left its ClickHouse database accessible to the public, exposing over one million lines of log entry data. This data included... Read More

Topics: Digital Technology, Cybersecurity, Generative AI, DeepSeek, OpenAI

NICE Orchestrates AI and Automation for Customer Journeys

Posted by Keith Dawson on 22 April 2025

One way to think about the change in service and support in the current dynamic technological environment is to see it as a transition from managing interactions as they happen to managing the overall customer journey. It’s a lot harder to optimize a journey than an interaction. More people are involved, with different systems, key performance indicators and data sources, to cite just a few... Read More

Topics: Customer Experience, Contact Center, Orchestration, Customer Journey

Achieve a Faster Tax Provision Process for a Faster Close

Posted by Robert Kugel on 17 April 2025

Managing corporate income taxes is a challenge for chief financial officers and their tax department professionals. Tax codes are often complex, so tax accounting as well as the data required for tax provisions and tax compliance are different enough from statutory accounting to create significant workloads for the tax department. The provision for income tax expense and, for public companies,... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, ERP and Continuous Accounting, tax; tax provision; transfer pricing, digital finance, Consolidate and Close Management

Workforce Planning Reimagined: AI Makes Forecasting Smarter

Posted by Matthew Brown on 17 April 2025

Workforce planning has long been a cornerstone of business strategy, yet many enterprises still approach it with outdated methods. Traditionally, it has been rigid, reactive, subjective and often siloed. But as industries evolve—especially those with high turnover and a large frontline workforce, like retail, healthcare and hospitality—companies must rethink how they forecast talent needs.... Read More

Topics: HCM, Human Capital Management, Employee Engagement, Learning Management, Talent Management, Workforce Management, Total Compensation Management

isolved’s Bold Vision for HR Tech and Services: After the Summit

Posted by Matthew Brown on 15 April 2025

Attending isolved’s first Analyst Summit was more than just an opportunity to hear about their latest innovations—it was a front-row seat to their vision for the future of HR technology and services. A central theme emerged quickly—they are deeply committed to supporting small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs), not just with technology but also with robust services and an ecosystem of partners that... Read More

Topics: Human Capital Management, Employee Engagement, Learning Management, Talent Management, Workforce Management, Payroll Management, Total Compensation Management

Board Goes All-In for External Data and AI to Improve Performance

Posted by Robert Kugel on 15 April 2025

ISG Research recently announced the results of its Business Planning Buyers Guide for 2025. We rated Board Exemplary and a leader in customer experience and in reliability. Board recently launched two external data offerings that significantly strengthen the capabilities of its planning software. Its Board Foresight is designed to support more effective and potentially more accurate forecasting... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Business Planning, digital finance, Consolidate and Close Management

Human Meets Machine with AI: How to Manage Technology with Workforce

Posted by Matthew Brown on 01 April 2025

In the rush to embrace AI and automation, organizations are making a critical misstep: they are treating technology as a replacement for HR rather than as an enabler of its evolution. While AI, machine learning and automation offer powerful efficiencies, HR's core mission has always been about people. The challenge today is ensuring that technology amplifies—not replaces—the human touch in HR.... Read More

Topics: Human Capital Management, employee experience

Buyer Beware: The Evolution of Agentic AI in Business Software

Posted by Robert Kugel on 27 March 2025

Agents and “agentic AI” are all the rage now, eclipsing last year’s focus on artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI (GenAI). They are a way to automate work almost effortlessly so that repetitive and boring tasks get done with the least amount of effort and perhaps, more consistently. In business software, a broad range of software providers are claiming agents to be a panacea that can... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Digital Business, AgenticAI

Skills vs. Jobs: Using Tech to Power Talent and Workforce Development

Posted by Matthew Brown on 26 March 2025

If you’ve ever held the same job title at two different companies, you know firsthand how misleading job-based approaches to work can be. I’ve had the same title across different organizations, and the roles couldn’t have been more different. The responsibilities, expectations and even the skills required varied so significantly that it made me question why we continue to define work through the... Read More

Topics: Human Capital Management, Employee Engagement, Learning Management, Talent Management, Workforce Management, Total Compensation Management

The EU Scaling Back Sustainability Reporting Mandates

Posted by Robert Kugel on 25 March 2025

The recent recommendation by the European Commission to scale back the scope, granularity and timeline for sustainability reporting represents a sea change in this form of corporate disclosure requirements. If enacted, it will substantially reduce or eliminate the reporting requirements for many enterprises, especially small to midsize establishments, as well as provide more time for compliance.... Read More

Topics: Operations, Supply Chain Planning, Business Planning, Supply Chain, Sustainability Management

SAP Unleashes Business Data Cloud for Unified AI Strategy

Posted by David Menninger on 20 March 2025

SAP was formed in 1972 to create standardized business software that would integrate all business processes and enable data processing in real time. Following the success of the initial release and subsequent R/2, the company went public in 1988 and has grown into one of the world’s largest software companies, reporting more than $37 billion in revenues in its most recent annual report. Through... Read More

Topics: Machine Learning, Analytics, AI, Data Intelligence

Demystifying APIs: What Every HR Buyer Needs to Know

Posted by Matthew Brown on 18 March 2025

If you’re an HR professional, the term “API” might make you want to hand things off to IT and move on with your day. After all, you’re here to focus on people, not tech jargon, right? But here’s the thing—APIs play a major role in making sure your HR technology works for you. And no, you don’t need to be an engineer to understand why they matter. APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) might... Read More

Topics: Human Capital Management, Learning Management, Talent Management, Workforce Management, Payroll Management, Total Compensation Management, employee experience

Alteryx Refines AI Platform for Analytics

Posted by Matt Aslett on 13 March 2025

Increased enterprise focus on artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI (GenAI) has served to sharpen the focus on the need for trusted data and reliable analytics and data operations. The ISG State of Generative AI Market Report highlighted that elevated expectations and demands associated with AI are a forcing function for enterprises to take long-overdue steps to improve data and... Read More

Topics: Analytics, AI, data operations, Analytics and Data

What Analysts Should Do When Anyone Can Analyze with AI

Posted by Robert Kugel on 12 March 2025

One of the promised benefits of artificial intelligence (AI), Generative AI (GenAI) and agents is that they can make everyone their own financial and business analyst. It’s true that these technologies can make it possible for everyone to access once hard-to-reach data (with suitable permissions), unleash agents to assemble the data into useful tables and charts along with commentary describing... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Business Planning, ERP and Continuous Accounting, AI, AI and Machine Learning

Actian Enables Data Discovery and Data Intelligence

Posted by Matt Aslett on 11 March 2025

Data catalogs provide an inventory of data assets that surface metadata from data platforms, analytics tools and applications that can be used to facilitate data discovery and data usage across an enterprise. As I recently explained, however, there are actually multiple types of data catalogs that offer functionality to address specific use cases and user roles, including data inventory, data... Read More

Topics: Governance, Operations

The State of Conversational Software Using Automation and AI

Posted by Jeff Orr on 06 March 2025

Conversational automation leverages artificial intelligence (AI)-powered agents, chatbots and virtual assistants to automate both customer interactions and internal processes. These systems understand natural language, sentiment and intent, generating relevant responses and executing actions based on user input. The software provider landscape is analyzed in the ISG Buyers Guide for... Read More

Topics: Self-service, natural language processing, Chatbots, Conversational Automation

Domo Enables Data Integration, Analytics and AI

Posted by Matt Aslett on 05 March 2025

As enterprises seek to expand and accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) many are finding that longstanding analytics and data challenges are a barrier to success. As was explained in ISG’s State of Generative AI Market Report, AI requires data that is clean, well-organized and compliant with regulatory standards. The need for good data management is by no means new, but the... Read More

Topics: Machine Learning, Analytics, Data, Artificial intelligence, natural language processing