ISG Software Research Analyst Perspectives

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

The Evolution of AI for Data Operations

Posted by Matt Aslett on 23 December 2025

ISG recently published the 2025 ISG Buyers Guides for DataOps, providing an assessment of 51 software providers offering products used by data engineers, data scientists, and data and AI professionals to facilitate the use of data for analytics and AI needs. The DataOps Buyers Guide research generated three reports and five quadrants assessing providers in relation to overall DataOps, Data... Read More

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

Yugabyte Addresses AI Requirements for Operational Data Platforms

Posted by Matt Aslett on 17 December 2025

I recently wrote about the evolving requirements for operational data platforms to support artificial intelligence (AI) workloads. Operational data platforms providers are rapidly updating their products, driven by the development of intelligent applications infused with contextually relevant recommendations, predictions and forecasting that are in turn driven by machine learning (ML), generative... Read More

Topics: Data Platforms, Generative AI, AI & Technologies

A2A v. MCP: Why AI Agents Need Both

Posted by David Menninger on 16 December 2025

Agentic AI is moving from pilots to production systems that execute work across enterprise applications, data platforms and business processes. As I’ve argued before, the value of AI is realized in action, not just answers, and enterprises are investing accordingly. One of the key questions now is how to coordinate the actions among different agents. My colleague Matt Aslett’s perspective on... Read More

Topics: Governance, Generative AI, AI & Technologies

Challenges for CX Leadership Ahead

Posted by Keith Dawson on 11 December 2025

It’s clear that the contact center industry is experiencing a generational technological transformation. The effects of artificial intelligence (AI) and the automation it delivers have been extraordinary. But this isn’t the first time something like this has happened. People with long memories can recall the disruptive effects of CTI, for example, which enabled screen pops and integration of... Read More

Topics: Analytics, Contact Center, Customer Experience Management, Generative AI, Customers and CX - Business & Technologies

SAP Business Data Cloud Addresses Intelligent Data Products

Posted by Matt Aslett on 11 December 2025

A little over two years ago, I observed that the pendulum of fashion in the data management sector was swinging away from multiple best-of-breed tools and toward consolidated platforms. Enterprise software portfolios take time to evolve, but the trend toward consolidation has clearly been evident in the product strategies of large data management providers since then. Many providers have combined... Read More

Topics: Governance, Operations, Analytics, Data Platforms, Generative AI, Data Intelligence, AI & Technologies, AI and 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

DataOps.live Enables Data Engineering Acceleration

Posted by Matt Aslett on 26 November 2025

I have previously written about the critical importance of data management to the development of artificial intelligence (AI) applications and agentic AI. The importance of data management is nothing new, but automation of business processes and decision-making raises the stakes in terms of the expectations and the risks. The need for enterprises to have trust in their data governance and data... Read More

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

Why Data Software Providers Are Embracing Model Context Protocol

Posted by Matt Aslett on 19 November 2025

I have written several times this year about Model Context Protocol (MCP) and its importance in enabling agentic artificial intelligence (AI) use cases. Numerous data platform, data management, data operations and real-time data software providers have added support for MCP to their products in recent months. MCP has become so ubiquitous, in fact, that it is easy to forget the protocol was only... Read More

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

Rethinking Fundamental Contact Center Software

Posted by Keith Dawson on 19 November 2025

There is a shift underway in how enterprises structure their software stacks in relation to contact centers. Multiple factors have coalesced to reduce the importance of the traditional call handling infrastructure (i.e., the ACD) as the foundational element of the tech stack. It no longer has to be the focus of buying or deployment decisions. It’s been superseded by a more extensible (but... Read More

Topics: Analytics, Contact Center, agent management, CCaaS, ACD, Generative AI, Customers and CX - Business & Technologies

Tokenizing Working Capital to Improve Performance and Efficiency

Posted by Robert Kugel on 13 November 2025

Tokenization is an emerging topic for business software providers. Tokenization is the process of representing something valuable or complex with a simple computer-readable substitute to enhance security or improve the efficiency and usability of a system. Tokens are already widely used in commerce. It’s now common for sensitive data used in a transaction, such as a bank account number or credit... Read More

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

Oracle Shows Off AI Agents for Performance and Productivity

Posted by Robert Kugel on 05 November 2025

The recent Oracle AI World event did not unveil much that was stunning “new” news for its business applications, because much of what has been evolving was presented already and has been in front of analysts for some months. What was on display, though, was steady progress to its advancing capabilities coming out every quarter. The company has focused on the development of agents and an agentic... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Business Planning, ERP and Continuous Accounting, digital finance, Generative AI, Consolidate and Close Management, AI and Machine Learning

NetSuite Next: Productivity by a Thousand Cuts with AI

Posted by Robert Kugel on 28 October 2025

Oracle NetSuite’s presentations and announcements at its recent user group meeting, SuiteWorld, focused on an initiative called NetSuite Next, a set of artificial intelligence (AI), generative AI (GenAI) and agentic AI capabilities that will be an inherent part of the NetSuite suite of applications starting in 2026. The company’s objective is to facilitate customers’ transition to this AI-centric... Read More

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

AI-Infused Data Management Is Still Evolving

Posted by Matt Aslett on 23 October 2025

I recently explained the significance of data management as an enabler of strategic adoption of artificial intelligence. Data management enables enterprises to ensure that data is valid, consistent and trusted for operational use cases and analytic decision-making. Large volumes of data are required to train models, making data management and data governance critical to AI. Data quality and data... Read More

Topics: Data Management, Generative AI, Data Intelligence, AI & Technologies

Data Is the Structural Steel of Finance Departments

Posted by Robert Kugel on 15 October 2025

There's a saying among military historians that amateurs debate strategy while professionals talk about logistics. In a similar vein, those rooted deeply in the workings of information technology (IT) pay close attention to data because it is fundamental to the proficiency and effectiveness of any IT system. Visionaries speak of data being the oil or gold of the information economy; practitioners... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Business Planning, ERP and Continuous Accounting, Procure-to-Pay, Generative AI, Consolidate and Close Management, AI and Machine Learning, Order-to-Cash, Business & Technologies

Planning for Uncertainty with AI

Posted by Robert Kugel on 10 September 2025

We live in a time of uncertainty, not unpredictability. Planning charts the course of an enterprise through a sea of uncertainties, making fact-based predictions of potential outcomes to inform decision-making by executives and managers. Companies do a lot of planning—some formal but much of it informal. People in companies plan sales, they plan how to produce products and deliver services. They... Read More

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

How Contact Centers Will Use Agentic AI for CX

Posted by Keith Dawson on 27 August 2025

I am struck by the blizzard of software announcements this year describing new features for CX tools that are “agentic,” meaning autonomous tools take actions without (much) human intervention. Industry conversation about agentic AI has proceeded ahead of clarifying definitions and a sense of how it fits on a continuum of rapid AI development. I’m not sure that everything currently described as... Read More

Topics: Analytics, Contact Center, Personalization, Customer Experience Management, Generative AI, Customers and CX - Business & Technologies, Agentic AI, Transformation, Disruption

Minimize Costs with Supply Chain Agility and AI

Posted by Robert Kugel on 26 August 2025

The era of ever-liberalizing trade that began in earnest in the 1950s (albeit with periodic ups and downs) came to an epochal end in the 2010s. Over the past decade, the ever-more demanding environment for supply chain planning and execution has forced enterprises to take a more strategic approach to managing these processes. The need for resiliency and adaptability in a rapidly changing world... Read More

Topics: Supply Chain Planning, Business Planning, Enterprise Resource Planning, supply chain management, Manufacturing, Healthcare, Generative AI, AI and Machine Learning, Automotive, Business & Technologies, CPG & Retail, Supply Chain and Operations