Annexa: NetSuite Next is a flick of a switch. Rewiring the CFO takes longer

ERP upgrades have a reputation, and it isn't a good one: weekends lost, scripts broken, users muttering about where the old button went, and the cause of more than it's fair share of lost or greyed out hair. So when a NetSuite partner says moving to NetSuite Next involves "Really, nothing more than flicking a switch," it is worth asking twice. And then asking what finance is doing with all that AI.

That much emerged from a discussion with Melbourne-based NetSuite partner Annexa's Matthew Owens. The kick off was the most recent announcements out of NetSuite, which includes wide availability of its AI-powered 'Next' upgrade.

Owens is impressed. "This is the most product and feature releases that we've seen in many years," he said. "It's good to see that NetSuite have made a decision to invest not only in AI and their products, but invest heavily in AI around their products. For a partner, that means we can tap into different LLMs and different models, and not be kind of bound just by the core."

Annexa has been around for more than 30 years and claims more than 200 NetSuite implementations. Bedding and homewares retailer Linen House has been a customer for a decade. "They're actually live with some agentic AI services that we've built for them," Owens said, with agents that span finance, commerce and warehouse systems. "Our agents are able to work across all of the systems."

Keys to the kingdom

Asked if customers appreciate that AI rewards integration, even as connections add risk, Owens didn't hedge. "Security is paramount in finance systems. It's a non-negotiable." The Model Context Protocol (MCP), which lets AI models reach into business systems, is a particular worry. "You don't know where they're flinging data to. That's a problem."

Oracle's own MCP server applies role and user governance, he acknowledged, but administrators can still switch things on. "You've got people activating MCP connectors with keys to the kingdom in their enterprise data," Owens warned. The risk isn't new, " But now that it's so easy, you can get into trouble much faster." There is, of course, considerable incentive behind what does look like risky behaviour. We've always known that integration has value; with AI, that value is practically immediate. But integrations in days gone by weren't driven personally or by individuals acting independently of IT or finance controls.

Faster, but not plug and play

TechDay asked how a partner's value proposition changes when machines can do more of the work. "The reality is we're busier than ever, and there's more opportunity than ever because there's a new toolset and it's uncharted," he said. And the advisory role of a partner has never been more necessary. "Customers are a little confused. They'll go, 'Hey, I've got an AI strategy,' and that's invest in an Anthropic licence." It's fair observation; with so much going on in AI, many feel it is passing them by.

On that same line of questioning, and building on its proven SuiteSuccess rapid-deployment model, NetSuite's has also introduced SuiteExpress, an agent-powered implementation toolset (initially for US and Canadian software companies). SuiteExpress runs on two knowledge bases. One holds the customer's own material, such as meeting notes, documents, spreadsheets and recordings. The other holds NetSuite's product and industry expertise. The AI uses both to capture requirements, prepare and validate migrated data, map NetSuite features to what the business needs, run workflow tests and build in-app guided learning.

Consultants still oversee the key decisions and exceptions, and after go-live it also suggests ways to use NetSuite better, and helps when a customer adds a subsidiary or a new market - functions typically performed by a partner, not the software itself.

The promise is that an ERP implementation could move to a matter of weeks or even days. Could that put NetSuite within reach of smaller businesses, given that much of the costs involved surround the deployment?

Not necessarily. Few businesses, Owens said, are a clean slate and it again goes back to integration. Except in the case of many organisations moving into ERP for the first time, it's the typical 'hodge podge' of an accounting package cobbled together with various other point solutions. "You pull one bit out, and then unfortunately, it's not as easy as plugging one bit in because the bit that you're plugging in crosses over with four other things," he explained; the old 'bowl of spaghetti' analogy. His verdict: "It's rare that we can get a situation where it's a plug and play in a week. But it's nice to be able to go faster. That's for sure."

NetSuite Next is a different matter. Owens said that while it is indeed available. And the upgrade itself: a flick of the switch? As a SuiteCloud Developer Network partner, he said Annexa has been toggling between the two for a while. "You click on it, and you can swap to NetSuite Next, and it literally reloads, and you're in the new system. It's the same data model," Owens said. "It's effectively a new UI on the same data model and database."

Scripts, workflows and MCP connectors carried over, he added. However, Owens' experience in delivering complex systems shines through. "I'm sure there will be niggles, no doubt about it. It is, after all, enterprise software."

Finance comes last

Change management is always crucial to any ERP success, whether an upgrade or a move to a new system. Asked about CFO sentiment in ANZ, Owens was blunt: "While there has probably never been a better time to be a CFO, few have a strategy for agents that do actual work; it's really just 'how do I forecast better'? How do I report better? How do I close my books faster?'"

Gartner agrees. Its 2025 AI in Finance survey of 183 finance leaders found 59% of finance functions using AI, barely up from 58% a year earlier, and just 7% reporting a high or very high impact.

Still, Owens acknowledges that many CFOs are close to ERP spec and select, implementation, and often own the system. As such, he expects the AI wave to change and influence this key office, essnetially elevating finance to move away from 'risk mitigator' and into the 'driver of innovation' seat. Not, then, too different from the elevated status of the CTO and CIO. "With agentic AI all roads lead back to a commercial transaction to run a business," he pointed out. "Executive teams understand that AI is not an IT initiative, and the finance function can't slow the business down. More than that, it can start enabling the business.

A flick of the switch for the software, then. The CFO may take a little longer to get on board, but seeing is believing - and Owens reckons once the penny drops, there's no going back.