People vs Software: Lessons from the SuiteWorld Showfloor

In business we tend to talk about opportunities and threats. You might expect that, at the world’s largest software expo, AI would dominate both assessments. As the show draws to a close, it turns out that wasn’t the case.

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How ‘smart’ software is, or will become, is not the most pressing issue. The key question is whether technology is helping, or hindering us.  Not just as ‘workers’ but as people.

This year, NetSuite’s SuiteWorld event commanded its largest ever audience, who flew in from around the world to talk about the business of software.

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It began with the grandeur that only a $7.3 billion group can deliver. Over 7,000 people gathered in a custom-built tent, large enough to serve as an aircraft hangar, as Evan Goldberg, co-founder and Executive Vice President, presented his epic, two-hour keynote speech.

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The air-conditioned marquee was built because even Las Vegas didn’t have a suitable venue big enough for a presentation of this scale. It’s notable that in an era where most interactions can be undertaken digitally, so many people felt compelled to gather together.

With intricate animations projected on the huge, arched end wall, pounding music, and a troupe of acrobats and dancers on the stage, the event opened with the energy and spectacle of an Olympiad.

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In contrast to the hundreds of sponsors’ stands in the vast expo hall, widely extolling the virtues of ‘APIs’,  ‘integration’ and ‘automation’, the keynote was firmly rooted in the themes of growth and ecosystems.

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Imagery of oceans and trees provided a constant backdrop, and interdependency in the natural world was repeatedly used as a metaphor for collaboration in the world of business.

But amid announcements squarely aimed at investors and analysts, about new data centres, new products and new partnerships, there was an underlying thread that seemed, at times, overshadowed by forestry analogies.

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Put simply,  when software works well, it helps people. It helps colleagues and customers to work together and it makes them not just more productive, but also more connected.

But for business leaders, there is an expensive paradox. Too much software can create fresh new problems. With multiple stakeholders, more software can make even the simplest interactions unduly complex.

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The inconvenient truth is that ‘digital bloat’ arising from businesses acquiring more and more software is proven to reduce productivity. And for those of us with a soul, there’s a more worrying effect of too much software. It makes it more difficult for us to work together. Today, even basic tasks typically require us to jump between at least seven different apps.

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So, amid talk of integrating systems and reconciling datasets,  the most uplifting anecdotes in the keynote were those that demonstrated how we can unite people and make work not just more productive, but also less stressful.

Because, certainly for the foreseeable future, the primary components in any business are humans: the employees, partners, vendors, and customers.

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Brian Brasch, founder and CEO of sports equipment manufacturer PRx Performance, talked of his own company’s growth journey over the last decade. Using NetSuite had - of course - made his business more efficient. But he also talked about how, during periods of peak demand, the software enabled efficiencies that in turn enabled the team to gather together, in person, to physically ship products. He recalled with relish about how people from around his business would unite to fulfil orders during their post-Covid boom.

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Jess Wijesekera, SVP of Global Accounting at Vytalize Health, riffed on similar themes. Certainly, using NetSuite to reconcile thousands of bank accounts on a daily basis was an achievement that must surely have played a part in the meteoric growth of Vytalize.  But Jess evidently got greater satisfaction from telling stories of how her finance people solved problems and found smarter ways of working together.

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Notably, throughout his barnstorming speech, Goldberg repeatedly referred to complexity arising from multiple systems, and the clear benefits of a more cohesive tech stack. And yet, the net effect on people and the ‘interoperability’ of humans was largely implied.

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Walking through the enormous labyrinth of beechwood-veneered booths, the focus was principally on tech n’ tools. Few stands featured any imagery of actual people. The narrative was largely about abstract and inert subjects. You could be forgiven for assuming that humans were a peripheral consideration.

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What became clear when our team spoke with delegates was, as is always the case, it’s the personal and interpersonal challenges that triggered the most profound responses.

Sure, the spreadsheets and schematics are important. Certainly, the pursuit of profitability and growth is imperative. But what keeps people awake at night is invariably more personal and more palpable. We worry about being informed and being in control.

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Do I have the latest version of this document? Have these changes been approved? Are my customer’s requirements reflected in the order consignment? Has Bob from Sales promised the moon on a stick to a client  in an email that I haven’t actually seen and can’t find?

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We struggle to reach agreements, make decisions and simply get stuff done. 

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When software helps us to do this, it serves us as a valuable tool. When it adds complexity, we end up subservient and stressed out.

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At Workiro, we relentlessly pursue the former. Our guiding principle is to give people that control, to give them a singular view of their business that gives them fewer tools to check and fewer things to worry about. It was inspiring, both in Goldberg’s keynote and walking the SuiteWorld showfloor, to see the others striving for the same goals, and the benefits it can bring. But it also showed we need to keep bringing it back to the people - the humans that sit down to use our software every day - and make sure that they’re always the most important thing in everything we do.

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