SuiteWorld 2024 live: All the news and updates as they happen

Welcome to ITPro ’s live coverage of Oracle SuiteWorld 2024 from Las Vegas, Nevada.

Held in parallel to Oracle CloudWorld 2024, we've got a packed agenda for both conferences over the next few days, starting with the opening SuiteWorld keynote at Caesar's Forum at 3pm today.

NetSuite’s Executive Vice President Evan Goldberg will open proceedings this afternoon, giving us a run down of all the latest news and announcements at the company.

The theme for the keynote is ' All Systems Grow ' and will focus on looking at “fresh strategies” to fuel growth, including information on NetSuite’s AI capabilities straight from the experts who helped design them.

While we wait, why not check out some of our other recent NetSuite coverage:

NetSuite doubles down on localized AI with UK, EMEA product launches

The firm introduced new features to address ESG reporting problems and surface more data insights for EMEA customers. A suite-wide generative AI tool was also unveiled, so expect today’s keynote to talk about the technology some more.

Netsuite also talked up generative AI at its last SuiteWorld conference which you can read up on here:

NetSuite's approach to AI is unlike any other, but will its customers follow?

Like its owner, Oracle, Netsuite feels like it’s well-placed to deliver quality generative AI tools that are integrated right into the platform.

Today’s NetSuite keynote is taking place at Caesar’s Palace, a hotel and casino well known on the strip.

We’re heading over to the media and analyst lounge now, ahead of the keynote.

At last years SuiteWorld, NetSuite unveiled a cross platform generative AI tool for producing context-driven anywhere on the platform. This works for creating emails, product documentation, or reports. Have a more in depth read of our coverage about this tool here:

SuiteWorld 2023: NetSuite unveils new cross-platform generative AI tools

It’s time to head over, via golf cart of all things!

It’s already getting busy as attendees gather to hear Goldberg’s address to the audience.

The stage is quite the spectacle!

The screen has been getting gradually greener as the audience awaits the start of the keynote.

Goldberg will have to wait, it seems - first to hit the stage is a group of neon-clad dancers performing in front of an impressive promotional video featuring some stunning visuals.

It’s time for the show to kick off now. Goldberg hits the stage with loud applause from the audience and begins to talk about how much SuiteWorld has grown as an event (hence a bigger venue). He talks about NetSuite’s global expansion before thanking some of the sponsors of the event.

Now he moves on to the theme of the talk, which is all about growth.

“You want you’re growing business to be like the redwood trees,” he says, explaining that the NetSuite is essentially the “root system” of your business (which is the redwood above ground in this analogy).

Unsurprisingly, AI gets a mention not far into the keynote, which Goldberg says will also help power this mission of growth.

Now, Goldberg brings out Hillel Cooperman, senior vice president of user experience design at Oracle, to talk about - you guessed it - user experience. Cooperman talks about how the standard of software has “gone up” since people have started using smartphones.

The focus here is on the importance of making enterprise software as enjoyable to use as consumer software, despite its complexity. Users also need a seamless experience to get the most out of their enterprises.

Software should adapt to a user's needs, rather than the other way around, Cooperman says.

“Another thing is making search work amazingly,” Cooperman adds. Instead of having to navigate various complex searches, software should make searching for things simple in an enterprise setting.

On the AI front, it’s the same story - the technology can be used to make everything more accessible and easier to use for humans, with AI helping to sift through the jargon and get to the focus point of a task more easily.

Now the pair get up some examples of this in NetSuite’s ‘Redwood’ product (hence the tree analogy earlier.) Cooperman talks the audience through an onscreen demo, highlighting the simplicity of using the tool.

Redwood is now available, Goldberg says after Cooperman leaves the stage, and the tool will be available across the platform. It’s also making its debut in the 'Customer 360' dashboard.

Another announcement now, with Goldberg unveiling some of the new features for the firm’s Netsuite Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) platform. Now, this tool uses AI to automatically generate ‘financial narratives', which help simplify and streamline complex information. You can read some of our more in-depth reporting on this announcement here:

NetSuite expands AI to enhance performance management, analytics offerings

The firm is also bringing ‘Ask Oracle’ into NetSuite, as well as a new first AI assistant for SuiteAnalytics. Goldberg brings up a video to show off these new tools. In the demo, an employee asks the tool why a spike in sales has occurred, with the AI tools delivering insights in response.

The employee asks NetSuite questions, such as whether or not the business has enough inventory to deliver a campaign, or how much the business should order if demand suddenly goes up. The employee can also ask the assistant to share insights with colleagues.

Goldberg then mentions ‘Text Enhance,’ a tool announced at last year's SuiteWorld. This tool has been expanded to many different platforms, he adds. The next level, though, is `NetSuite Prompt Studio.’ According to another demo video, Prompt Studio allows users to deploy prompts across records via plain language instructions.

Next up, Goldberg invites Jan Arendtsz, founder and CEO of Celigo. He talks about using NetSuite’s products to power Celigo, which is focused on automating business processes. Celigo is also using AI, deploying agents and bots to automate knowledge processes and help businesses gain access to insights. Drafting emails or answering questions about health benefits are two use cases Arendtsz lists.

Arendtsz leaves the stage now and Goldberg moves swiftly on to the next announcement, ‘Oracle Code Assist for SuiteScript.’ This is essentially a coding assistant, targeted at developers to make their lives easier.

Now, Goldberg introduces ‘Netsuite Guided Learning Managed Service.’ This allows users to create customized guided interfaces for staff if they need to learn how to perform certain processes within NetSuite.

In a similar vein, ‘NetSuite Learning Cloud support,’ provides users with 1,000s of hours of online learning courses to help users utilize everything within the NetSuite platform.

He talks up ‘NetSuite Connector,’ introducing ‘NetSuite Connector for Salesforce.’ This will help businesses “sell more and spend less,” Goldberg assures the crowds. The firm also has similar 'Connectors' with other big names in the tech space.

Now it’s time for Goldber’s “favorite” part of the talk - customer success stories. First up, it’s Jess Wijesekera from Vytalize Health. Wijesekera explains a bit about the company, saying that it provides services to give doctors more time in their roles.

Wijesekera talks about automation via NetSuite, which has helped the firm drive efficiency. Vytalize has 37 bank accounts with 1,000s of transactions and NetSuite has been hugely helpful in this area.

The firm also makes its payments through NetSuite, which helps Vytalize maintain a level of control over its financials. One staff member apparently “automated” themselves right out of a job, only to - phew - move over to another part of the business.

Next up is customer number 2, PRx Performance (a gym equipment company that got its break on the US version of Dragons Den, Shark Tank). CEO Brian Brasch hits the stage, talking about the company’s sales before and after the Shark Tank deal.

PRx outgrew its ERP system, Brasch says, which was a huge problem in COVID when people were ordering PRx’s products en masse. The firm moved to NetSuite as a result and saw huge improvements.

After Brasch leaves the stage, it’s time to end the keynote. Goldberg explains that there’s a packed schedule ahead over the next few days before thanking everyone for attending. Once he’s left the stage, the crowds begin to filter out.