WBSRocks: Scaling Growth with AI, Enterprise Software, and Digital Transformation

Sam Gupta
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WBSRocks podcast features in-depth conversations on AI-enabled business models, customer experience, digital transformation, supply chain, eCommerce, industry 4.0, and enterprise software categories such as CRM, ERP, or analytics suites. The purpose of the show is to help CFOs, COOs, CEOs, and business owners with their daily commercial, operational, or financial challenges by taking a deep dive into business cases and processes, technology strategy and architecture, transformation initiatives, and business models. The show also offers an independent analysis of technology trends, various enterprise software vendors and solutions, and their mergers and acquisitions. Subscribe today to stay on top of digital transformation trends!

  1. WBSP816: Scale Growth by Learning from Enterprise Software Stories - Oct 2025, Ep 37, an Objective Panel Discussion

    4D AGO

    WBSP816: Scale Growth by Learning from Enterprise Software Stories - Oct 2025, Ep 37, an Objective Panel Discussion

    Send a text This week’s enterprise software headlines highlight a market simultaneously accelerating into agentic AI while still wrestling with the structural and legal fallout of past transformation failures. On the innovation front, Genstore’s $10M seed round, Tray.ai’s launch of the Tray Agent Hub, and new agentic releases from Mendix and OutSystems underscore how aggressively vendors are repositioning around autonomous workflows and AI-first orchestration layers. ServiceNow’s unveiling of its AI Experience and Plex’s connected worker integration push the same narrative into IT service management and manufacturing operations, signaling that agentic concepts are no longer confined to experimental edges of the stack. At the same time, a parallel storyline of governance and execution risk is playing out, with Zimmer Biomet’s $172M ERP lawsuit against Deloitte, Europe’s continued delays fixing a troubled Oracle system, Daedong USA’s faltering ERP injunction, and the EU Commission’s investigation into SAP’s practices reinforcing how fragile large-scale enterprise transformations remain. Together, these developments paint a bifurcated 2026 landscape: rapid platform innovation driven by AI ambition on one side, and unresolved accountability, regulatory scrutiny, and implementation risk on the other. In today's episode, we invited a panel of industry analysts for a live discussion on LinkedIn to analyze current enterprise software stories. We covered many grounds including the direction and roadmaps of each enterprise software vendors. Finally, we analyzed future trends and how they might shape the enterprise software industry. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3VmbEsy5uQ Questions for Panelists? 🔗Sam Gupta: linkedin.com/in/samguptausa/ 🔗Robert Kramer: linkedin.com/in/robert-kramer-58239b22/ 🔗Kenneth ("Kengon") Gonzalez: linkedin.com/in/kengon/ 🔗Thomas Wieberneit: linkedin.com/in/thomaswieberneit/ 🔗Charles Brennan: linkedin.com/in/charles-brennan-048901132/ Background Soundtrack: Away From You – Mauro Somm For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs. rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform.

    1h 1m
  2. WBSP815: Scale Growth by Learning the Top Marketing Automation Systems In 2026 w/ Sam Gupta

    5D AGO

    WBSP815: Scale Growth by Learning the Top Marketing Automation Systems In 2026 w/ Sam Gupta

    Send us a text While most modern CRMs offer basic marketing automation, those native modules are typically optimized for simple campaign execution and lead nurturing and often lack the depth, specialization, and innovation velocity of dedicated platforms. This list therefore prioritizes best-of-breed systems that function as a true operational hub for marketing teams and demonstrate meaningful ecosystem penetration across data platforms, content systems, ad-tech tools, and analytics layers. Because integration complexity in this category is generally lower than in core transactional systems, a best-of-breed strategy is structurally viable, ensuring the platforms included are tightly aligned with the real-world needs of modern marketing organizations rather than serving as secondary feature sets within sales- or service-centric suites. In this episode, our host Sam Gupta discusses the top marketing automation systems in 2026. He also discusses several variables that influence the rankings of these marketing automation systems. Finally, he shares the pros and cons of each marketing automation system. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88hYJ_rw3v4 Read: https://www.elevatiq.com/post/top-marketing-automation-systems/ Questions for Panelists? 🔗Sam Gupta: linkedin.com/in/samguptausa/r-58239b22/ Background Soundtrack: Away From You – Mauro Somm For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs. rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform.

    20 min
  3. WBSP814: Scale Growth by Understanding DualEntry’s Capabilities, an Objective Panel Review - Part I

    FEB 4

    WBSP814: Scale Growth by Understanding DualEntry’s Capabilities, an Objective Panel Review - Part I

    Send us a text AI-native ERP platforms are fundamentally redefining what buyers should expect from enterprise systems, not just in how they automate work, but in how they are architected, implemented, and governed over time. In this independent, evidence-based review of DualEntry—one of the most visible AI-first ERP platforms—we move beyond vendor marketing to evaluate its data model, product design philosophy, investor alignment, market positioning, customer narratives, and community discourse, all through the lens of a real-world ERP selection project. The analysis then benchmarks DualEntry against both AI-native peers and traditional ERP platforms to surface where these systems deliver material advantages, where structural tradeoffs emerge, and what long-term risks may be accumulating beneath the innovation narrative. Designed for executives and ERP selection teams, the session provides a selection-ready framework to determine whether AI-native ERP platforms like DualEntry genuinely fit your business model, industry complexity, and growth trajectory. In this episode, Sam Gupta and Shrestha Dash from ElevatIQ, Andy Pratico from Essential Software Solutions, and Phil Coerper from Ringling Business Solutions conduct an in-depth independent review of a leading AI-native platform DualEntry. Video: https://www.elevatiq.com/events-and-webinars/dualentry-an-ai-native-erp-platform-an-independent-in-depth-review/ Questions for Panelists? 🔗Sam Gupta: linkedin.com/in/samguptausa/ 🔗Phil Coerper: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philcoerper09/ 🔗Andy Pratico: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andy-pratico-80175410/ 🔗Shrestha Dash: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shrestha-dash-662b00204/ Background Soundtrack: Away From You – Mauro Somm For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs. rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform.

    1h 4m
  4. WBSP813: Scale Growth by Learning from Enterprise Software Stories - Oct 2025, Ep 36, an Objective Panel Discussion

    FEB 3

    WBSP813: Scale Growth by Learning from Enterprise Software Stories - Oct 2025, Ep 36, an Objective Panel Discussion

    Send us a text This week’s enterprise software news highlights a widening gap between glossy innovation narratives and the hard operational and governance realities shaping buyer risk. On the innovation side, BlackLine’s launch of Verity for the Office of the CFO, Tray.ai’s Agent Hub, Genstore’s $10M seed round, and Blue Yonder’s new TMS features underscore the accelerating push toward AI-enabled automation and orchestration layers across finance, integration, and supply chain. Versori’s partnership with Fluent Commerce and Acumatica’s 2025 R2 update further signal growing emphasis on ecosystem connectivity and incremental platform modernization. At the same time, the darker counterpoint is impossible to ignore: Zimmer Biomet’s $172M ERP lawsuit against Deloitte, a major European city council’s continued delays in fixing a failed Oracle system, and the EU Commission’s investigation into SAP’s practices reinforce how execution risk, vendor governance, and regulatory scrutiny are now front-and-center issues for enterprise buyers. Taken together, these developments reflect a market bifurcating between rapid AI-driven experimentation and escalating consequences for large-scale ERP missteps—raising the strategic stakes for both technology selection and transformation leadership. In today's episode, we invited a panel of industry analysts for a live discussion on LinkedIn to analyze current enterprise software stories. We covered many grounds including the direction and roadmaps of each enterprise software vendors. Finally, we analyzed future trends and how they might shape the enterprise software industry. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tFlYu6W_iw Questions for Panelists? 🔗Sam Gupta: linkedin.com/in/samguptausa/ 🔗Robert Kramer: linkedin.com/in/robert-kramer-58239b22/ 🔗Michael Fauscette: linkedin.com/in/mfauscette/ 🔗Blair Pleasant: linkedin.com/in/blairpleasant/ 🔗Kenneth ("Kengon") Gonzalez: linkedin.com/in/kengon/ Background Soundtrack: Away From You – Mauro Somm For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs. rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform.

    1h 1m
  5. WBSP812: Scale Growth by Learning the Top Retail Digital Transformation Trends In 2026 w/ Sam Gupta

    FEB 2

    WBSP812: Scale Growth by Learning the Top Retail Digital Transformation Trends In 2026 w/ Sam Gupta

    Send us a text The top retail digital transformation trends for 2026 capture a fundamental shift from incremental modernization to structural re-architecture, driven by the collision of macroeconomic headwinds and on-the-ground operational strain. Geopolitical volatility, persistent inflation, and a cooling global economy are tightening capital discipline and reshaping risk tolerance, while margin compression, rising fulfillment complexity, and escalating customer expectations are forcing retailers to reengineer how work actually gets executed across merchandising, supply chain, and customer operations. This framework is intentionally practical, not theoretical: it helps retail buyers diagnose architectural fragility and sequence modernization investments with economic reality in mind; it signals to software vendors where R&D will generate durable market pull rather than novelty-driven noise; and it gives executives a forward-looking map of which platforms, data strategies, and functional ecosystems are accumulating strategic gravity as the industry resets. In this episode, our host Sam Gupta discusses the top 10 retail digital transformation trends in 2026. He also discusses how these trends would impact business models and the specific steps executives need to take as they plan their retail transformation initiatives. Finally, he shares the advantages for these strategies and how they would help navigate current macroeconomic headwinds. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aN8BupegUZ4 Read: https://www.elevatiq.com/post/top-retail-digital-transformation-trends/ Questions for Panelists? 🔗Sam Gupta: linkedin.com/in/samguptausa/r-58239b22/ Background Soundtrack: Away From You – Mauro Somm For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs. rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform.

    25 min
  6. WBSP811: Grow Your Business by Learning from Enterprise Software Stories - Oct 2025, Ep 35, an Objective Panel Discussion

    JAN 27

    WBSP811: Grow Your Business by Learning from Enterprise Software Stories - Oct 2025, Ep 35, an Objective Panel Discussion

    Send us a text This cluster of announcements illustrates how enterprise software vendors are converging on monetizable AI, composable ecosystems, and domain-specific depth rather than headline platform reinvention. Product expansions such as BillingPlatform’s RevenueIQ suite, Epicor’s outcomes-based ERP AI agent, and BlackLine’s Verity for the CFO signal a shift toward AI that is tightly anchored to measurable financial and operational outcomes. At the same time, M&A and alliances—including IFS acquiring 7bridges, Salesforce’s planned acquisition of Regrello, QAD partnering with Esker, and Versori partnering with Fluent Commerce—reinforce a strategy of filling execution gaps through targeted capabilities rather than broad-suite sprawl. Underpinning much of this activity, Oracle’s deployment of GPT-5 across its database and SaaS portfolio underscores how foundational AI services are becoming embedded infrastructure, while workforce and go-to-market expansions from ActivTrak and Capacity’s acquisition of KLaunch highlight continued investment in productivity, adoption, and execution at the edges of the enterprise stack. In today's episode, we invited a panel of industry analysts for a live discussion on LinkedIn to analyze current enterprise software stories. We covered many grounds, including the direction and roadmaps of each enterprise software vendor. Finally, we analyzed future trends and how they might shape the enterprise software industry. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdCqxl1NXBI Questions for Panelists? 🔗Sam Gupta: linkedin.com/in/samguptausa/ 🔗Robert Kramer: linkedin.com/in/robert-kramer-58239b22/ 🔗Brian Jackson: linkedin.com/in/urbanpaddler/ 🔗Kenneth ("Kengon") Gonzalez: linkedin.com/in/kengon/ 🔗Michael Fauscette: linkedin.com/in/mfauscette/ Background Soundtrack: Away From You – Mauro Somm For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs. rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform.

    1 hr
  7. WBSP810: Grow Your Business by Learning the Top 10 CRM Systems In 2026 w/ Sam Gupta

    JAN 26

    WBSP810: Grow Your Business by Learning the Top 10 CRM Systems In 2026 w/ Sam Gupta

    Send us a text When evaluating the CRM category, our analysis intentionally moves beyond CRM modules embedded within ERP systems and instead focuses on best-of-breed CRM platforms and the full spectrum of capabilities that define modern customer engagement. This includes not only core operational CRM functions such as sales force automation and pipeline management, but also upstream marketing automation, downstream customer experience and service workflows, contact center operations, events, search, and the increasing convergence with CMS and website capabilities that anchor the digital customer journey. While vendors may brand these pillars as Sales Cloud, Marketing Cloud, or reposition them around AI- and agentic-workflow narratives, the underlying architecture remains consistent, and strategic orientation matters: some platforms are designed for specific micro-verticals with tightly integrated suites, while others pursue broad horizontal coverage. These choices materially affect extensibility, process design, and long-term fit, particularly across B2B versus B2C use cases, where many CRM systems struggle with complex B2B sales cycles—driving continued demand for low-code and no-code customization and deeper integration across CRM, eCommerce, and CMS ecosystems. In this episode, our host Sam Gupta discusses the top 10 CRM systems in 2026. He also discusses several variables that influence the rankings of these CRM systems. Finally, he shares the pros and cons of each CRM system. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBLUBdDuWQc Read: https://www.elevatiq.com/post/top-erp-systems/ Questions for Panelists? 🔗Sam Gupta: linkedin.com/in/samguptausa/r-58239b22/ Background Soundtrack: Away From You – Mauro Somm For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs. rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform.

    20 min
  8. WBSP809: Grow Your Business by Learning from Enterprise Software Stories - Sep 2025, Ep 34, an Objective Panel Discussion

    JAN 20

    WBSP809: Grow Your Business by Learning from Enterprise Software Stories - Sep 2025, Ep 34, an Objective Panel Discussion

    Send us a text Enterprise software vendors are tightening execution around AI enablement, workflow depth, and operational recovery rather than pursuing broad platform reinvention. Acquisition activity—from Sage moving to acquire Fyle, to SYSPRO acquiring DATASCOPE, Zendesk completing its acquisition of HyperArc, and Contentsquare acquiring Loris AI—signals a continued emphasis on capability-led expansion tightly aligned to core use cases. In parallel, AI product announcements from NetSuite, Sage Intacct, Zoho, and Zendesk emphasize connectors, agents, and embedded intelligence designed to improve productivity within existing workflows rather than displace them. Finally, the case of AAON underscores the operational reality behind these trends: ERP value is ultimately realized not through announcements or AI features alone, but through disciplined execution, stabilization, and long-term operational turnarounds—particularly in complex manufacturing environments where recovery often matters more than rapid transformation. In today's episode, we invited a panel of industry analysts for a live discussion on LinkedIn to analyze current enterprise software stories. We covered many grounds including the direction and roadmaps of each enterprise software vendors. Finally, we analyzed future trends and how they might shape the enterprise software industry. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOdEBRue0MM Questions for Panelists? 🔗Sam Gupta: linkedin.com/in/samguptausa/ 🔗Robert Kramer: linkedin.com/in/robert-kramer-58239b22/ 🔗Thomas Wieberneit: linkedin.com/in/thomaswieberneit/ 🔗Kenneth ("Kengon") Gonzalez: linkedin.com/in/kengon/ 🔗Jon Reed: linkedin.com/in/jonerp/ Background Soundtrack: Away From You – Mauro Somm For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs. rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform.

    1h 2m
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WBSRocks podcast features in-depth conversations on AI-enabled business models, customer experience, digital transformation, supply chain, eCommerce, industry 4.0, and enterprise software categories such as CRM, ERP, or analytics suites. The purpose of the show is to help CFOs, COOs, CEOs, and business owners with their daily commercial, operational, or financial challenges by taking a deep dive into business cases and processes, technology strategy and architecture, transformation initiatives, and business models. The show also offers an independent analysis of technology trends, various enterprise software vendors and solutions, and their mergers and acquisitions. Subscribe today to stay on top of digital transformation trends!

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