What 2017 holds for enterprise software

In addition, “many CRM vendors are enriching their platforms with AI,” says Chris Matty, CEO, Versium. “CRM vendors are betting that with AI, businesses will be able to deliver more predictive and personalized customer experiences across sales, service, marketing, commerce and more. In 2017, AI will have a substantial impact on the CRM marketplace as a whole,” he predicts. “As customers start to examine each vendor’s specific AI and data analytics capabilities as part of their selection criteria, vendors are likely to win or lose customers and revenue based on their unique implementation of data analytics and machine learning.”

ERP

Embedded analytics. “In 2017, ERP applications will provide an embedded analytics engine to address the heavy lifting required to manage operational data,” says Colleen Smith, vice president & general manager, OpenEdge, Progress. “These engines must be able to parse data, present it clearly and include data from a multitude of sources. Many companies will need to add an embedded analytics engine to their existing infrastructure, as the ERP apps they’re using were likely built over a decade ago.”

[ Related: 8 ways to get the most out of your ERP system ]

Data visualization. “Visualization is becoming a more significant feature, as large ERP providers acquire or develop external hardware-software integrated systems that can visualize team analytics on dashboards,” says Monica Georgieff, head of marketing, Kanbanize.

More mobility.“The modern workplace has staff working remotely and outside of traditional work hours,” says Sheila Lindner, president,Octacom. As a result, “there will be a huge emphasis on implementing mobile capabilities for ERP solutions in 2017, [with] many ERP solutions decreasing in size, without compromising on output or storage capacity, to allow employees easy access to all information and functions through mobile devices.”

Marketing automation

One solution to rule them all? “In 2017, through the help of embedded predictive and AI technologies, marketing automation will evolve into the self-driving car of the enterprise, anticipating buyer behaviors, automating outreach, prescribing for the business who to engage, when to engage and what to engage with,” says Andy MacMillan, CEO, Act-On Software.

[ Related: CIO's guide to marketing automation software ]

Because of that, he predicts that “marketing automation [software] will claim a bigger seat at the table, transforming the way companies communicate and engage all together with stakeholders (from press, analysts and employees, to buyers and prospects, to customers and partners) – and become enterprises’ de facto engagement database of record.”