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NetSuite ERP gets Redwood UX, more AI and procurement
At SuiteWorld, Oracle NetSuite showed a new Redwood Design System UX, as well as AI embedded across applications, a new procurement application and data sharing with Salesforce.
Oracle NetSuite ERP is aiming for growth and better user experiences as evidenced by a flurry of new capabilities.
Unveiled at the SuiteWorld 2024 this week, NetSuite ERP is adopting the Oracle Redwood Design System, which is slated to roll out to the entire NetSuite application suite and is a significant change for the vendor. Other developments include the infusion of more AI capabilities across NetSuite ERP applications including NetSuite Enterprise Performance Management (EPM); the introduction of SuiteProcurement, an indirect procurement application; and the debut of NetSuite Connector for Salesforce, which enables customers to share real-time data between NetSuite and Salesforce.
Redwood Design System, which Oracle introduced in 2019 to modernize its UX, is already in use for NetSuite EPM and NetSuite Analytics Warehouse. It will eventually roll out to the entire NetSuite application suite starting with commonly used areas such as dashboards, lists and forms, according to the company.
Built and residing on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), NetSuite is a cloud suite of ERP applications designed to integrate and automate core business processes including finance, sales, HR, warehouse management and supply chain. NetSuite ERP is aimed primarily at SMBs, competing with offerings from Acumatica, Microsoft Dynamics, Sage and Unit4.
Reimagined NetSuite ERP UX
The NetSuite ERP UX has been "reimagined" to help users be more productive, said Evan Goldberg, NetSuite founder and executive vice president at Oracle NetSuite, during SuiteWorld's opening keynote.
NetSuite brought in Hillel Cooperman, senior vice president for UX design at Oracle, to adapt the Redwood Design System for NetSuite.
The goal is to make NetSuite's UX as intuitive as consumer applications such as Uber. This involved mapping all the points of friction in NetSuite applications and improving search functionality, Copperman said during the keynote.
AI is also changing the approach to modernizing the UX, he said. Generative AI has helped designers better understand how people speak and translate that into the application functionality.
NetSuite ERP -- along with Oracle applications -- will soon include an "Ask Oracle" prompt, where users can type in natural language queries.
"That's going to become an anchor in our AI-forward user interface across all of our applications and especially NetSuite, which is a leader in terms of jumping on this stuff quickly at Oracle," Cooperman said.
NetSuite is also embedding AI throughout its ERP applications in an effort to automate processes and provide better insights from data.
As an example, Goldberg pointed to new AI capabilities in NetSuite EPM, a group of applications for financial planning and analysis (FP&A), simplified account reconciliation and close, as well as advanced reporting.
"It considers data from every department across the business to improve decision-making," he said. "Now EPM can help get insights even more efficiently because it's infused with more AI."
NetSuite has grown in the past year, Goldberg said. The company now has more than 40,000 customers globally and because it's based on OCI, NetSuite ERP is hosted at 36 data centers in 17 OCI regions around the world.
Redwood UX for NetSuite 'major news'
NetSuite ERP's new capabilities and integrations are likely to be welcomed by users, according to analysts.
The move to the Redwood Design System is "major news," Predrag Jakovljevic, principal industry analyst at Technology Evaluation Centers.
Redwood offers users immediate benefits, such as a modern UX that will allow users to customize workflows and processes that IT developers would probably never prioritize or complete, Jakovljevic said. It can also serve as the delivery vehicle for new generative AI capabilities.
Other new NetSuite capabilities are potentially valuable for customers and should position NetSuite well against competitors, he said. For example, SuiteProcurement now provides an indirect buying experience that could compete with procurement heavyweights SAP Ariba and Coupa.
The NetSuite EPM functions for FP&A could provide an advantage over cloud ERP competitors such as Acumatica or Microsoft Dynamics, Jakovljevic said.
The renewed focus on UX and employee experience is notable, as SMBs that comprise the bulk of NetSuite's customer base tend to lack tech savvy employees, said Katie Evans, senior director of worldwide SMB research at IDC.
"NetSuite definitely seems to be leveraging its big brother Oracle more to bring the capabilities to their platform rapidly," she said. "[It's] taking more Oracle tech and scaling it down sometimes directly into NetSuite and simply embedding it."
While NetSuite is building AI into its applications, there is no clarity around pricing, which will lead to customer questions, Evans said.
"SMBs need to budget for AI and they need answers to this," she said. "I would also like more clarity on shifting resources to building AI into apps -- do [customers] need new AI-specific tech expertise?"
One new capability, NetSuite Advanced Customer Support AI Playbooks, is a smart move, Evans said, as SMBs are always looking for help on where to start with AI. NetSuite's partners will be key in supporting customers with the playbooks and new AI features and capabilities.
"This is also true for many ERPs as SMB leaders don't have time or staff available to explore the platforms as they are so busy running their businesses that they don't take full advantage of useful tools and features," she said. "Evangelizing features and functionality can also boost revenue for NetSuite."
The NetSuite Connector for Salesforce looks like a play against Certinia and Rootstock, cloud ERPs built in the Salesforce platform, Evans said, pointing to her own research that indicates being built on Salesforce was an important factor for SMBs that selected Certinia for their ERP.
NetSuite is pushing capabilities across the board, with AI being front and center, and now reaping the benefits from being on OCI, said Holger Mueller, an analyst at Constellation Research.
Developments in procurement, EPM and project management are making NetSuite the most advanced SMB ERP system, with the most glaring gaps on the HCM side, Mueller said.
"Now with the endorsement and adoption of the Redwood Design System, there may even be a heterogenous future of using Oracle Cloud Fusion apps and NetSuite side by side with the same UX," he said. "It's the customer and users that win here."
Jim O'Donnell is a senior news writer for TechTarget Editorial who covers ERP and other enterprise applications.
