Exclusive: How NetSuite is leaning into AI to help firms grow efficiently

NetSuite's vision remains rooted in a simple idea: help businesses grow by providing a single, unified system to manage their operations.

But as digital transformation accelerates, artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming the engine behind that ambition.

"What we're trying to do for companies hasn't changed from 27 years ago," Evan Goldberg, Founder and Executive Vice President of NetSuite explained during an interview.

"We want to give them great insight and the tools they need to grow."

Speaking at SuiteConnect in Sydney, Goldberg described how AI is taking centre stage in NetSuite's mission to act as a company's "centralised source of truth".

The goal, he said, is for the system to not only reveal trends within a business, but also help users respond strategically.

"We want the system to help advise you about trends, and then assist you in responding to those trends," he said.

Productivity over process

As enterprise resource planning (ERP) software becomes the backbone of digital transformation, Goldberg outlined NetSuite's next chapter: enabling organisations to do more while spending less.

"We see NetSuite as providing you with great insight, helping you control your business as it grows and spreads - giving you that agility to adapt," he said.

"You're not spending a lot of time on manual, labour-intensive processes. You're spending your time on strategic things that help you grow."

Goldberg also emphasised collaboration as being a major benefit.

Business basics amid uncertainty

Scott Wiltshire, Vice President for ANZ at NetSuite, said customers are more focused than ever on the fundamentals of good business, particularly in a climate of economic uncertainty.

"There's always some uncertainty," he said, referencing global tariffs, interest rates and supply chain disruptions.

"It's so important for customers who want to grow... that they have visibility across their business and the controls in place to make good financial decisions."

Wiltshire said businesses are shifting their focus from the theoretical potential of AI to practical, everyday use cases.

"We've shifted from 'AI is around the corner' to, 'What can I do in my business today?'" he said. "There's a bit of FOMO going on, I'm pretty sure every business I talk to is using AI to some extent."

Customise with care

Another clear shift Wiltshire has observed is the move away from "over-customised systems."

"We even spoke to a customer today who said they customised another system to a very high degree and they're like, 'We don't want to do that again,'" he said. "We want to adopt leading practices."

NetSuite's approach, Wiltshire highlighted, is to encourage businesses to start with proven processes and only tailor what he called the "secret sauce" - the unique 10 to 20 percent that sets a business apart.

Trust earned over decades

Trust was a recurring theme throughout the event, with several customers on stage highlighting their confidence in NetSuite. Goldberg said that trust has been earned through years of learning and consistency.

"We've seen so many different situations and we try to learn from every single one of those," he said. "Your data is your lifeblood. That's what you're going to be making decisions on."

He added, "We take every company - no matter how small or how big - extremely seriously. They want to spend their time building their business, not on the computer in the system."

One reason for that trust, Goldberg believes, is that NetSuite itself runs on its own platform. "We often talk about ourselves as a business that uses NetSuite. That provides a level of trust, because we're not just talking the talk."

What makes NetSuite a good fit for Australia?

Australia has long been a stronghold for NetSuite, Goldberg said, noting that local businesses tend to scale quickly and think globally.

"It's always been a great market for us," he said. "Australian customers go global really quickly. They have a lot of opportunity in the region, and in the US, so it's a really good fit."

NetSuite's customer base spans sectors - from not-for-profits and retailers to manufacturers and service firms. That diversity, Goldberg said, puts NetSuite in a strong position as industry lines blur.

"If you're starting a service, can you provide hardware? If you're a product company, can you offer it as a service?" he said.

"Modern companies don't put themselves into categories. They want to deliver an experience."

Events, ecosystems and engagement

SuiteConnect Sydney is part of NetSuite's global event calendar, including its annual flagship conference in Las Vegas.

"We have 800 people here today," Goldberg said proudly.

"The business community here in Sydney and across ANZ is incredibly dynamic."

According to him, the event also reflected "NetSuite's growing ecosystem of partners."

Wiltshire said that expanding these partnerships - especially with industry associations and advisory firms - helps customers stay informed.

"We've partnered with the National Retail Association and the Supply Chain and Logistics Association," he said. "We need to take a leadership position, and make sure we're working with the breadth of partners that add value."

Wiltshire added that these events create an opportunity for knowledge sharing between businesses.

"I hear this time and time again, how open and honest and transparent people are with each other," he said. "You'd think competitors wouldn't want to share - but it's not the case."

An enduring edge

Goldberg admitted that NetSuite's greatest advantage lies in its "longevity" and the backing of its parent company, Oracle, since 2016.

"Oracle has this vast experience and data from so many different types of companies," he said. "We can harness those best practices, and put it into our products."

After 27 years, that experience continues to inform NetSuite's development.

"We've listened to our customers for 27 years," Goldberg said. "We have maintained that long-term commitment that's led to where we are today."