ISG Software Research Analyst Perspectives

Teradata Advances Autonomous Knowledge Platform for Agentic AI

Posted by Mukesh Ranjan on 21 May 2026

A core challenge faced by enterprises due to the rapid rise of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) and agentic AI is how to operationalize AI systems that rely on vast volumes of unstructured and multimodal data without compromising governance, scalability or performance. While early retrieval‑augmented generation (RAG) experiments fuelled interest in vector databases, many organizations... Read More

Topics: Data Platforms, Generative AI, AI & Technologies, AI & Machine Learning

Oracle Addresses Combined AI and Data Platform Requirements

Posted by Matt Aslett on 13 May 2026

To mitigate cost and complexity, artificial intelligence (AI) and data initiatives must be aligned. Enterprises cannot afford fragmented approaches that duplicate effort or slow deployment, particularly as competitive pressure increases. Many providers have offered both AI platform and data platform capabilities for some time, but they have often addressed requirements with dedicated products... Read More

Topics: Analytics, Data Platforms, AI & Technologies, AI & Machine Learning

Salesforce Tackles the Entire Agent Development Lifecycle

Posted by David Menninger on 05 May 2026

Agentic AI is rapidly emerging as the next phase of enterprise automation, moving beyond static workflows and copilots toward systems capable of autonomous reasoning, decision-making and action. Enterprises are increasingly experimenting with AI agents to augment customer service, IT operations and business processes, yet many struggle to operationalize these systems at scale. The challenge is no... Read More

Topics: Governance, Generative AI, AI & Technologies, AI & Machine Learning

Becoming a Predictive Finance Department

Posted by Robert Kugel on 21 April 2026

By now it should be obvious that artificial Intelligence (AI) and agents in all of their forms are on the brink of changing how finance and accounting departments operate. The basic outlines are already in place, but it’s not clear how or how rapidly day-to-day operations will evolve, as well as (by definition) what surprises are in store. One of the most profound impacts of AI will be on the... Read More

Topics: Governance, Office of Finance, Analytics, Business Planning, digital finance, Generative AI, Data Intelligence, AI & Machine Learning

The Value of Combined AI and Data Platforms

Posted by Matt Aslett on 15 April 2026

I have previously explained the critical importance of data to successful artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives, including generative and agentic AI. While enterprises have demonstrated the value of AI through small-scale initiatives, scaling these efforts has highlighted the need to coordinate AI and data programs more effectively. Providers that can address the full combination of AI and... Read More

Topics: Governance, Analytics, Data Platforms, Generative AI, AI & Technologies, AI & Machine Learning

Three Questions to Evaluate AI-Powered IT Software

Posted by Jeff Orr on 02 April 2026

Enterprise IT leaders are committing seven-figure budgets to "AI-powered" platforms across ITSM, security and cloud management categories. These contracts promise autonomous remediation, intelligent triage and predictive insights. The problem: most CIOs and CISOs can't articulate what the embedded AI actually does or whether it delivers measurable ROI beyond the software provider's deck. The... Read More

Topics: procurement, Generative AI, IT & Technologies, Platforms, Bias, AI & Machine Learning, Due Diligence, Autonomous Decision, Training Data, Time-to-Value

The Potential Benefits and Challenges of Vibe Analytics

Posted by Matt Aslett on 25 March 2026

I previously wrote about the potential for generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) to change the face of analytics and facilitate data literacy and data democratization by enabling business users without specialist analytic skills to discover and analyze data. At the time of writing, GenAI-based interfaces were already being adopted by business intelligence (BI) software providers to... Read More

Topics: Analytics, Data Platforms, Generative AI, AI & Technologies, AI & Machine Learning

Semantic Layers Provide Business Context for BI and AI Agents

Posted by Matt Aslett on 17 March 2026

As I previously described, context is everything for generative (GenAI) and agentic AI. Enterprises moved in large numbers to adopt foundational GenAI since its emergence into mainstream consciousness during 2023. As they did so, it quickly became clear that establishing trust in GenAI output would require enterprises to augment the realistic content generated by foundation models with real-world... Read More

Topics: Analytics, Generative AI, Data Intelligence, AI & Technologies, AI & Machine Learning

Alation Provides AI Agents With Governed Knowledge

Posted by Matt Aslett on 06 March 2026

I have previously described the critical importance of context for enterprise adoption of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) and agentic AI. Establishing trust in the content generated by GenAI is facilitated by grounding the models with real-world context from enterprise content and data, while AI agents designed to make context-aware decisions and take automated actions based on... Read More

Topics: Governance, Analytics, Generative AI, Data Intelligence, AI & Technologies, AI & Machine Learning

Alteryx Has a Unified Approach to Analytics and Data

Posted by Matt Aslett on 03 March 2026

Since Alteryx was acquired by Clearlake Capital and Insight Partners in March 2024, the company has taken the opportunity to revamp its product portfolio and refresh its executive team. Alteryx has always offered a combination of functionality that spans the data and analytics lifecycle, including data integration, data preparation and data quality, as well as the development of analytics... Read More

Topics: Operations, Analytics, Generative AI, AI & Technologies, AI & Machine Learning

Autonomy Is Key for Effective Sovereign AI and Data Strategies

Posted by Matt Aslett on 26 February 2026

The term “sovereign AI and data” became increasingly prevalent in recent years, initially driven by cloud infrastructure providers responding to the need to support regional regulations with sovereign cloud offerings. However, the use of sovereign cloud infrastructure is not required to deliver compliance with data sovereignty regulations. In fact, our research indicates that having the autonomy... Read More

Topics: Governance, Operations, Analytics, Data Platforms, Generative AI, IT & Technologies, AI & Technologies, Cloud Infrastructure, Platforms, AI & Machine Learning

A Data Pantry is the Foundation of AI-Enabled Business Software

Posted by Robert Kugel on 04 February 2026

I have been using the term “data pantry” (somewhat tongue in cheek) to describe a curated, governed and readily accessible collection of enterprise data that business users can draw on to support the use of core business software. This includes ERP, CRM and supply chain management software, as well as essential business processes such as analytics, forecasting and planning. This form of data... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Analytics, Digital Business, digital finance, Generative AI, Customers and CX - Business & Technologies, Employees & HCM - Business & Technologies, Office of Revenue - Business Technologies, Supply Chain and Operations, AI & Machine Learning

Assessing Organizational Approaches to Data and Analytics

Posted by Matt Aslett on 03 February 2026

I previously stated that too many enterprises allow the IT department to be wholly responsible for data and analytics, with the risk that strategies become divorced from business objectives and KPIs. I also stated that a pragmatic approach to organizing and operating data, analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives is essential to treating data as a business discipline. There are... Read More

Topics: Governance, Operations, Analytics, Data Platforms, Generative AI, Data Intelligence, AI & Technologies, Streaming & Events, AI & Machine Learning

Reimagining Procure-to-Pay With AI

Posted by Robert Kugel on 27 January 2026

Digitally transforming finance operations has been a priority since 2020. Especially with the application of artificial intelligence in all its forms, software can streamline purchasing and the procure-to-pay (P2P) cycle, shorten process times, reduce unnecessary costs, provide greater visibility into cash flows, increase control and improve results. The application of AI will increasingly... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, ERP and Continuous Accounting, Procure-to-Pay, Generative AI, Business & Technologies, AI & Machine Learning

AI Forecasting and Predictions are a Matter of Time With InfluxData

Posted by Matt Aslett on 22 January 2026

Time is a critical element in business decision-making. To make decisions at the speed of business, it is fundamentally important that enterprises have access to relevant data in a timely manner. It is also essential, however, that data is processed and analyzed in the correct time sequence. In order to decide when to buy or sell, a trader needs to be sure that the price data they are analyzing... Read More

Topics: Data Platforms, AI & Technologies, AI & Machine Learning

Prophix Offers Large Enterprise Capabilities to Midsize Enterprises

Posted by Robert Kugel on 21 January 2026

Prophix One is a finance and accounting platform that provides enterprises a single point of entry and common authentication for financial applications. It uses in-memory cube technology to enable enterprises to handle complex planning tasks built on very large datasets to eliminate barriers to integrated business planning. The platform and its dedicated data store support the use of artificial... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Analytics, Business Planning, digital finance, Generative AI, Consolidate and Close Management, Business & Technologies, AI & Machine Learning

Actian Combines Data Intelligence and Observability

Posted by Matt Aslett on 20 January 2026

I previously described data intelligence as fundamental to providing data analysts and business users with governed self-service access to data across an enterprise by delivering information about how data is produced and consumed across the organization. Data intelligence relies on a combination of technical and business metadata and functionality for knowledge graph, data inventory, data... Read More

Topics: Governance, Operations, Data Platforms, Generative AI, Data Intelligence, AI & Technologies, AI & Machine Learning

You Can’t Spell ERP Without AI

Posted by Robert Kugel on 15 January 2026

The reason why artificial intelligence (AI) has been the focus of endless keynote speeches, product roadmap announcements by ERP providers and development efforts across all categories of business software is that AI-embedded systems promise (and will ultimately deliver) software that more closely molds its operation to the needs of a specific enterprise and individual user. The technology is... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, ERP and Continuous Accounting, digital finance, Generative AI, Order-to-Cash, Business & Technologies, AI & Machine Learning

IBM Moves for Confluent to Add Event-Driven Context for AI

Posted by Matt Aslett on 07 January 2026

As I previously stated, although most enterprises are reliant on batch data processing, it is an artificial construct driven by the historical limitations of computing capabilities to generate and process data at the same time without impacting performance. While real-time data processing has previously been seen as a niche requirement for low-latency applications, it is increasingly being... Read More

Topics: Governance, Generative AI, AI & Technologies, Streaming & Events, AI & Machine Learning

AI Is Coming for the Tax Department (Good!)

Posted by Robert Kugel on 04 December 2025

Managing corporate income taxes effectively is important since these represent the second or third biggest expense for many enterprises. However attractive minimizing them might be, following all applicable tax laws and regulations is equally as important because failure to pay what the laws require can result in significant monetary fines and, potentially, reputational risk. Since there can be... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Tax, ERP and Continuous Accounting, digital finance, Generative AI, Business & Technologies, AI & Machine Learning, Tax Provision, Tax Avoidance