Dive Brief:

• Financial planning and analysis software maker Vena, a Microsoft partner, is rolling out a new artificial intelligent agent that has been able to cut budgeting cycles by more than 60% among private preview customers, according to a Monday announcement.
• The newly unveiled “planning agent” is designed to help speed up budgeting, predictive forecasting and scenario modeling efforts by FP&A teams, as it works “seamlessly” across Excel and other Microsoft products, Vena said in a press release.
• “The Planning Agent is just our latest innovation that delivers the confidence to make bold, decisive moves that capitalize on the opportunities in economic volatility,” Vena Chief Technology Officer Hugh Cumming said in the release. “It gives decision makers the ability to simulate outcomes, adjust strategies and act with confidence — without the weeks or months traditional planning requires.”

Dive Insight:

Toronto, Ontario-based Vena is one of many vendors competing in the worldwide “office of the CFO software market,” which is expected to grow from $71 billion in 2023 to $131 billion in 2028, according to global investment bank Carlsquare.

The market is benefiting from several tailwinds as finance chiefs look to boost their efficiency and adapt to “evolving expectations,” the firm said in a report released earlier this year.

“As CFOs become more strategic in responsibility and less siloed, the need for forward-looking analysis tools enabling usage of unstructured and structured data has become more relevant,” the report said.

Uncertainty in the current economic environment has only escalated the need for such tools, according to Cumming.

“If you’re a manufacturer that imports a lot of goods from different countries, you’re now constantly having to re-forecast what your cost structure looks like based on tariffs and trade agreements that are constantly changing,” he said in an interview.

Vena, like many other companies in the software business, has been investing heavily in AI, with a growing focus on agents. The company says it aims to become the most widely adopted planning platform within the Microsoft ecosystem.

Vena’s planning agent went into the private preview phase with selected customers on Aug. 22 and is expected to enter “general availability” during the first half of November, according to Cumming.

The company typically provides a product to as many as 10 customers during the private preview stage of a rollout, he said.