Presented by Oracle NetSuite
When Evan Goldberg started NetSuite in 1998, his vision was simple: to give entrepreneurs access to their business data anytime, anywhere. At that time, most enterprise software resided on local servers.
As an entrepreneur, Goldberg understood frustration deeply. "I had broken systems. They all said something different," He recalls his early days.
NetSuite was the first company to deliver enterprise applications entirely through the web browser, combining CRM, ERP, and eCommerce into a single integrated platform. That breakthrough idea ushered in the cloud computing and software-as-a-service (SaaS) eras and led to supersonic growth, a 2007 IPO, and acquisition by Oracle in 2016.
Still innovating on the cutting edge
That founding passion – transforming scattered data into accessible, coherent, actionable intelligence – is driving NetSuite as it reshapes the next generation of enterprise software.
Last month at SuiteWorld 2025, the Austin-based firm unveiled NetSuite Next. Goldberg calls it "The largest product development in the company’s history.” The reason? While NetSuite has embedded AI capabilities into workflows for years, he explains, Next represents a quantum leap — contextual, conversational, agentic, composable AI has become an extension of operations, not a separate tool.
AI is woven into everyday business operations
Today most enterprise AI operates through APIs and conversational interfaces.
NetSuite Next works differently. Intelligence runs deep into the workflow rather than sitting on the surface. It autonomously reconciles accounts, optimizes payment timing, predicts cash crunches, and presents its own logic every step of the way. It doesn’t just advise on business processes – it executes them transparently, within human-defined guardrails.
"We created NetSuite for entrepreneurs so they can gain insight into their business," Goldberg explains. "I think the next step is to be able to get deep insights and analysis without being an expert in analytics. AI has become a really good data scientist."
This architectural divergence reflects competing philosophies about enterprise technology adoption. Microsoft and SAP have enabled rapid deployment through add-on assistants. NetSuite’s five-year development cycle for NeXT represents a more fundamental reimagining: making AI an everyday tool woven into business operations, not a separate application that requires constant context-switching.
AI resonates and deepens cloud innovation
Goldberg sees a clear line connecting today’s AI adoption and the cloud computing era he ushered in. "“There’s an infinite sense of possibility in the technology world,” he says. “Everyone is thinking about how they can take advantage of it, how they can get involved."
When NetSuite was starting out, he adds, "We had to come to customers with the cloud and say, ‘This is not going to disrupt your operations. This will make them better." Today, promoting enterprise leaders on advanced AI requires a similar approach – demonstrating immediate value while minimizing implementation risk.
For NetSuite, continued innovation around maximizing customer data for growth is an undeniable theme that connects both eras.
new transformative capabilities
NetSuite’s latest AI capabilities extend business operations, blurring the lines between human and machine intervention (in a good way):
Context-aware intelligence. Ask Oracle customizes responses based on the user’s role, current workflow, and business context. The CFO requesting point-of-sale data receives financial analysis. A warehouse manager asking the same questions looks at inventory insights.
Collaborative Workflow Design. The AI canvas serves as a scenario-planning workspace where business users explain processes in natural language. A finance director can describe the approval hierarchy for capital expenditure as –"For amounts over $50,000, I need the approval of the department head, then the signature of the CFO." – which the system converts into executable workflows with appropriate controls and audit trails.
governed autonomous operationsAutonomous workflows operate within set parameters, reconciling accounts, generating payment runs, forecasting cash flows, When the system recommends expediting payment to a supplier, it shows what factors influenced the decision – transparent logic users can accept, modify or override,
Open AI Architecture. Built to support the Model Context Protocol, the NetSuite AI Connector service enables enterprises to integrate external large language models while supporting governance.
Critically, NetSuite adds AI capabilities at no additional cost – embedded directly into the workflows employees already use daily.
Security and Privacy from Oracle Infrastructure
Built-in AI requires robust infrastructure that approaches bolt-on sidesteps. Here, according to NetSuite, tight integration within Oracle technology provides peace of mind operationally and competitive advantages, particularly security and compliance.
Engineers say this is because NetSuite is supported by Oracle’s full stack. From databases to applications to analytics, systems optimize decisions using data from multiple sources in real time.
"That’s why I started NetSuite. I couldn’t get the data I wanted," Goldberg shows. "This is one of the most unique aspects of NetSuite. When you’re doing your financial close, and you’re wondering how much you’re going to reserve, you can look at your sales data, because that’s in NetSuite as well. With NetSuite Next, AI can help you make these types of decisions, too."
And performance improves with use. As the platform learns from millions of transactions from thousands of customers, its embedded intelligence improves in ways that bolt-on assistants working closer to the core system can’t match.
NetSuite’s customer base reflects this scalability advantage – from startups that became global enterprises, including Reddit, Shopify, and DoorDash; Also included are promising newcomers such as BERO, Chomps Meat Snacks, PetLab and Keyser Australia, the non-alcoholic beer maker founded by actor Tom Holland. The integrated platform grows as businesses grow, rather than requiring migration as they get larger.
Even after three decades the fire in the stomach remains
How does a nearly 30-year-old company maintain innovative capabilities, especially as part of a huge corporate ecosystem? Goldberg credits the parent company’s culture of constant reinvention.
"I don’t know if you’ve heard of this guy Larry Ellison," He smiles. "Whenever any of these technological revolutions comes, it succeeds in reinventing itself. That hunger, that curiosity, that desire to continually make things better drives all of Oracle."
For Goldberg, the biggest challenges facing NetSuite customers center around integration complexity and trust. NetSuite Next solves this by embedding AI within existing workflows rather than requiring a separate system.
Additionally, updates to the SuiteCloud platform – an extensibility and customization environment – help organizations tailor NetSuite to their specific business needs. Built on open standards, it lets enterprises mix and match AI models for different tasks. The SuiteAgent Framework enables partners to create specialized automation directly in NetSuite. AI Studio gives administrators control over how AI works within specific industry requirements.
"It takes the flexibility of NetSuite to a new level," Enabling customers and partners, says Goldberg "Quickly and easily create AI agents, add external AI assistants, and streamline AI processes."
“AI Execution Fabric” Delivers Measurable Business Impact
Industry analysts are increasingly arguing that embedded AI features deliver better results than add-on models. Futurum Group sees NetSuite Next as a "AI Performance Fabric" Instead of a conversation layer – intelligence that runs deep into the workflow rather than sitting on the surface.
For midmarket enterprises dealing with talent shortages, complex compliance frameworks and competition from digital-native companies, the gap between advice and execution matters financially.
Built-in AI doesn’t just inform better decisions. It makes decisions transparently and autonomously, within human-defined guardrails.
For enterprises making ERP decisions today, this choice has long-term implications. Bolt-on AI can provide immediate value for information access and basic automation. But underlying AI promises to transform operations with intelligence permeating every transaction and workflow.
NetSuite Next is rolling out to North American customers next year.
Why 2026 will be AI-first for business?
The underlying bet in NetSuite Next: Enterprises that reimagine ERP operations around embedded intelligence will outperform those that add bolt-on conversational support to existing systems.
Goldberg says early adopters of cloud computing gained a competitive advantage that grew over time. The same logic is likely to apply to AI-first platforms as well.
Simplicity and ease of use are two big advantages. "You don’t have to dig through a lot of menus and understand all the analysis capabilities," Goldberg says. "This will immediately bring you an analysis, and then you can have a conversation in natural language to consider what you think is most important."
Tools now think together with users and take intelligently informed actions. For midmarket and entrepreneurial companies, where the difference lies between Happen information and action on this That kind of autonomous execution could be the difference between growth and failure and determine which enterprises thrive in an AI-first era.
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