Board Reimagines Planner Role with AI Agents

Board, a leading Enterprise Planning Platform, has unveiled a transformed planner experience aimed at aligning with modern planning methodologies, which are real-time, collaborative, and responsive to continuous changes. The company's new release introduces three significant features: intuitive self-service upgrades in Board 14.3, a robust foundation for continuous planning, and a preview of AI-powered Board Agents. Board 14.3 Enhancements: Board 14.3 represents the latest version of the company's Enterprise Planning Platform, significantly improving data handling and user experience. Key enhancements include faster performance in data entry, export, and visualization processes, making the platform more user-friendly and efficient. The new version also introduces advanced self-service tools for scenario modeling and analysis, enabling teams to swiftly transition from identifying challenges to finding solutions. These features allow for a smoother workflow, reducing the time and effort required to manage data and facilitating quicker decision-making. Continuous Planning Integration: One of the most groundbreaking aspects of the new release is the full integration of continuous planning capabilities. Traditionally, planning was a static process revisited quarterly, but Board's latest updates aim to make it dynamic and adaptable. With the introduction of Board Foresight, users can integrate external economic signals directly into their models and update forecasts with a single click. This real-time integration ensures that planners can compare predicted outcomes with actual results, test various scenarios, and make adjustments as conditions evolve. The flexibility provided by continuous planning helps organizations stay agile and responsive to market changes, ultimately leading to more informed and effective decision-making. AI-Powered Board Agents: Another highlight of the release is the debut of Board Agents, an AI layer designed to assist in planning and decision-making. Board Agents specialize in different areas, including Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A), commercial planning, and supply chain planning. These agents offer contextual interpretations of internal and external data, tailoring insights to each user's role and priorities. By utilizing this context, Board Agents can identify root causes of issues, highlight potential risks, and recommend next steps. Importantly, these AI tools are not meant to replace human expertise but to enhance it, providing planners with additional intelligence and support to make better-informed decisions. David Marmer, SVP of Product at Board, emphasized the importance of these changes: "Planning shouldn’t fall apart the moment something unexpected happens, and it can’t be something you revisit once a quarter. It needs to reflect what’s happening now. With this release, we’re giving planners the tools to keep up with change by combining internal and external signals, real-time collaboration, and self-service simulations that make continuous planning a reality. This is about putting intelligence directly into the hands of the people making decisions every day." Industry Insights and Company Profile: Robert Kugel, Executive Director of Business Research at ISG, praised the integration of external and internal data, noting that modern planning software's strength lies in its ability to incorporate external information to create more practical forecasts and plans. He stated, "By connecting external indicators and internal performance data on a single platform, organizations can think probabilistically, plan for contingencies, understand a likely outcome, and forecast with greater accuracy. The introduction of Board’s persona-based AI Agents with domain expertise facilitates continuous planning that can drive real business advantage." Board is widely trusted by global leaders such as H&M, BASF, Burberry, Toyota, Coca-Cola, and HSBC, among thousands of others. The company's platform accelerates business performance by providing real-time visibility into enterprise and external data, unifying finance and operations under a single source of truth. With AI-augmented experiences for every role, teams can make smarter, continuous decisions, leading to predictable and profitable business outcomes. The new planner experience and upcoming features are accessible on Board’s launch website, where users can explore demonstrations and further information about the platform's capabilities. In summary, Board's latest release addresses the need for more flexible and adaptive planning processes in a rapidly changing business environment. By integrating key functionalities into a single platform, Board enhances planners' abilities to work with data efficiently, collaborate in real-time, and make informed decisions. The AI-driven Board Agents further augment these capabilities, ensuring that planners have the necessary tools to navigate uncertainty and drive business success. Industry experts commend the platform's advancements, highlighting its potential to transform planning practices and provide a significant competitive edge.