ISG Software Research Analyst Perspectives

Making Purchasing Departments AI-Ready

Posted by Robert Kugel on 01 May 2024

There have been a multitude of potential use cases for artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI (GenAI) dreamed up over the past 18 months. ISG-Ventana Research describes AI as the development of systems and software capable of automating tasks that have previously required human intelligence. It encompasses machine learning (ML), deep learning and GenAI to deliver capabilities including... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance

Sage Intacct Enhances Its Roadmap for AI and Generative AI

Posted by Robert Kugel on 15 April 2024

Sage Intacct recently held its annual user conference, and while there were plenty of product announcements and roadmap presentations, my focus here is on the artificial intelligence elements. AI–both predictive and generative–is the most important capability and differentiator in software aimed at finance and accounting departments. Ventana Research asserts that by 2027, almost all vendors of... Read More

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

AI Makes Accounts Receivable a Customer-Facing Organization

Posted by Robert Kugel on 20 March 2024

Artificial intelligence seems poised to change everything, although naturally a great deal of attention tends to be paid to the cool things it makes possible. AI can also make the humdrum less tedious and even transform the dullest of back-office operations into something more meaningful. For example, AI can take accounts receivable automation to the next level. Infusing AI into managing the... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, AI, AI and Machine Learning, Order-to-Cash

Zoho’s Roadmap Addresses Evolving Enterprise Needs

Posted by Robert Kugel on 12 March 2024

Zoho recently held its annual analyst day to communicate its strategy, objectives and product roadmap. The privately held company, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, has an unconventional approach to the software market. Its self-described corporate philosophy emphasizes making bold moves that challenge assumptions. Its design engineering approach stresses simplicity and cost while... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Voice of the Customer, Digital Commerce, ERP and Continuous Accounting, Order-to-Cash

Productivity by 1,000 Cuts: Building AI Feasibility From the Bottom Up

Posted by Robert Kugel on 05 March 2024

After a year of near-constant AI chatter, the broad strokes of how the technology will roll out in business over the next three to five years are coming into place. It’s almost trite but worth repeating that artificial intelligence will drive a substantial boost in productivity as it’s adopted. Rather than making large swathes of jobs obsolete, it will take the robotic work out of those job... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Business Planning, ERP and Continuous Accounting, AI, Order-to-Cash

Why AI Should Be a Focus for the Office of Finance

Posted by Robert Kugel on 28 February 2024

With a year of AI-everywhere-all-the-time chatter now in the rearview mirror, finance and accounting department executives appear to be in a state of apprehension and well-tuned skepticism about the impact this technology will have on their organization. There are solid reasons to believe that the next few years will be transformative, making it important for departments to adopt a fast-follower... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Business Planning, ERP and Continuous Accounting, Order-to-Cash

Planning to Get Ahead of What’s Next in the 21st Century

Posted by Robert Kugel on 22 February 2024

We live in an era of uncertainty, not unpredictability. Managing in uncertain times is always difficult, but tools are available to improve the odds for success by making it easier and faster to plan for contingencies and scenarios. Software makes it possible to manage ahead of any future event, connecting the tactical trees to the strategic forest. The purpose of planning is not just to create a... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Continuous Planning, Data Management, Business Planning, data operations, AI and Machine Learning

Technology Makes Purchasing More Effective

Posted by Robert Kugel on 20 February 2024

Digitally transforming finance operations has been a priority since 2020. For purchasing and the procure-to-pay cycle, software can streamline processes, shorten process times, reduce unnecessary costs, provide greater visibility into cash flows, increase control and improve results. Digitizing operations helps attract and retain the best talent because professionals spend less time on... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Continuous Planning, Business Planning, Supplier Relationship Management, Continuous Supply Chain & ERP

Office of Finance 2024 Market Agenda: AI Begins Boosting Productivity

Posted by Robert Kugel on 24 January 2024

Ventana Research recently announced its 2024 Market Agenda for the Office of Finance, continuing the guidance we have provided since 2004 on the practical use of technology for the finance and accounting department. Our insights and best practices aim to enable enterprises to operate with agility and resiliency, improving performance and delivering greater value as a strategic partner. We craft... Read More

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

2024 Market Agenda: Innovation in AI and Digital Modernization

Posted by Mark Smith on 23 January 2024

Ventana Research has announced its market agenda for 2024, continuing a 20-year tradition of credibility and trust in our objective efforts to educate and guide the technology industry. Our research and insights are backed by our expertise and independence, and we do not share our Market Agenda or our market research, including analyst and market perspectives, with any external party before it is... Read More

Topics: Customer Experience, Human Capital Management, Marketing, Office of Finance, Digital Technology, Operations & Supply Chain, AI, Analytics and Data

Risk Management is Essential for AI and Generative Development

Posted by Robert Kugel on 04 January 2024

The recent launch of the AI Alliance, a coalition of more than 50 corporations and research institutions engaged in artificial intelligence (AI) development (including AMD, CERN, Cornell University, Dell Technologies, IBM, Intel, Linux Foundation, Meta, NASA, Oracle, ServiceNow and Sony Group), aims to achieve the following objectives: Provide independent benchmarks and evaluation standards,... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Business Planning, Enterprise Resource Planning, ERP and Continuous Accounting, Continuous Supply Chain & ERP

Billtrust Automates Receivables to Speed the Cash Cycle

Posted by Robert Kugel on 20 December 2023

Billtrust software manages the full accounts receivable (A/R) cycle, from invoicing to payments, to increase the productivity of the A/R staff while providing customers with a better experience and reducing frictions in their order-to-pay motions. The company’s unified A/R software supports credit application automation, invoice delivery, collections, cash application, payment management and a... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance

Tap Into AI To Do More by Doing Less

Posted by Robert Kugel on 14 December 2023

Doing more by doing less means using artificial intelligence and related technologies to make financial planning and analysis organizations more productive. By eliminating low-value and unproductive work, AI enables FP&A teams to free up considerable time for more useful and consequential forecasting, planning, budgeting, analysis and reporting. AI isn’t some far-off capability. It’s already... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Continuous Planning, Business Planning

Research Reveals the Importance of Technology in Shortening the Close

Posted by Robert Kugel on 12 December 2023

We conducted our recent Smart Financial Close Dynamic Insights Research in part to assess to what extent the substantial disruptions of the pandemic have impacted the accounting close. When office lockdowns began in the first quarter of 2020, many finance departments were challenged to conduct the quarterly close remotely without face-to-face interactions. In the United States, the Securities and... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Financial Performance Management, ERP and Continuous Accounting, Smart Financial Close

insightsoftware’s Portfolio Boosts Office of Finance Productivity

Posted by Robert Kugel on 08 December 2023

insightsoftware offers a portfolio of software designed mainly for the office of finance to handle reporting, budgeting and planning, consolidation and close management, business intelligence (BI) and analytics, as well as compliance. The company’s applications directly address a core issue confronting many finance department executives today: Productivity. The U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Business Planning, ERP and Continuous Accounting, analytic data platforms

Board Enables High-Performing FP&A Organizations

Posted by Robert Kugel on 29 November 2023

Board offers a platform that enables financial planning and analysis (FP&A) groups to forecast, plan, budget, analyze and report, using a consistent set of data from across the business to speed these processes, improve forecast and planning accuracy, and accelerate analysis and reporting. Board was categorized as an Exemplary Vendor in our Ventana Research Business Planning Value Index, with... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Continuous Planning, Business Planning, Operations & Supply Chain, Enterprise Resource Planning

A Practical Approach to Managing ESG

Posted by Robert Kugel on 22 November 2023

The emphasis on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues has been growing for some time. I participated in the development of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) as a software industry expert more than a decade ago. The rise of ESG’s profile in corporate reporting is the latest evolution of “responsible investing,” a topic that goes back centuries in the west. The modern... Read More

Topics: Governance, Office of Finance, Business Planning, ERP and Continuous Accounting, ESG, Environmental, Inclusion

NetSuite Emphasizes AI and Expanded Capabilities at SuiteWorld

Posted by Robert Kugel on 16 November 2023

SuiteWorld, the annual user conference from Oracle NetSuite, focused on three topics: artificial intelligence, a reimagination of the role NetSuite can play in managing an organization and emphasizing the value to existing customers of using more of what NetSuite has to offer. AI has been a major theme in this year’s business software user group meetings, spurred by ChatGPT’s brilliant... Read More

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

Workday Rising Highlights Responsible AI

Posted by Robert Kugel on 02 November 2023

Because artificial intelligence is top-of-mind, Workday spent a great deal of time on the topic at its recent Workday Rising annual user group meeting in San Francisco. It was front and center in the general sessions, in the announcements made at the event and in the product roadmaps. The sudden attention paid to AI and generative AI in the media has provoked alarmists to warn of potential... Read More

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

The Buyers Guide for Business Planning Classifies and Rates Vendors

Posted by Robert Kugel on 19 October 2023

I am happy to share insights gleaned from our latest Buyers Guide, an assessment of how well vendors’ offerings meet buyers’ requirements. The Ventana Research 2023 Business Planning Buyers Guide is the distillation of a year of market and product research by Ventana Research. Drawing on our Benchmark Research, we apply a structured methodology built on evaluation categories that reflect the... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Business Planning