Oracle NetSuite Next: 15 Questions to Ask Before Upgrading

Not right now. Existing customers can continue using their current NetSuite environment without moving to NetSuite Next.

However, staying with your current experience means you won’t have access to the additional functionality introduced with NetSuite Next. Even if you’re not ready to adopt it, evaluating Oracle NetSuite Next now can help you understand whether its new capabilities could benefit your business and give you time to prepare for a future transition.

Start by taking inventory of how your organization currently uses and extends NetSuite.

Review:

• Customizations and configurations
• Workflows and SuiteScripts
• Third-party integrations
• Reports and saved searches
• Dashboards and KPIs
• Roles and permissions

This review helps identify the areas that should be tested before making NetSuite Next available to users. It can also uncover outdated customizations or processes that may be worth addressing as part of your preparation.

NetSuite Next is being made available as part of a phased rollout rather than through one universal release date. NetSuite Next becomes available to request after your account has completed the NetSuite Release 2026.2 upgrade.

It’s important to distinguish between the regular NetSuite release cycle and NetSuite Next availability. Completing a regular NetSuite upgrade does not mean you have moved every user to the Oracle NetSuite Next experience.

Because availability can vary by account, organizations should look at their own NetSuite notifications and account status rather than assuming a single date applies to every customer.

Once your account is upgraded to 2026.2 and eligible, administrators can manage access to NetSuite Next. Organizations can use a preview environment to evaluate the new experience before making it available more broadly.

This gives your team an opportunity to test important processes, review the user experience, and identify potential issues before users begin working in NetSuite Next.

Administrators should also consider which users need access first. A phased approach can make it easier to gather feedback and address questions before expanding access throughout the organization.

NetSuite Next AI features bring AI capabilities directly into the ERP experience. These include conversational tools such as Ask Oracle, along with AI-powered insights, automation, and agentic capabilities.

The goal is to make it easier for users to interact with business information and complete tasks without relying exclusively on traditional navigation and manual processes.

For a deeper look at the available capabilities, see Terillium’s guide to NetSuite Next’s AI-native ERP features.

Ask Oracle is a conversational AI capability within NetSuite Next that allows users to interact with NetSuite using natural-language questions.

Instead of navigating through menus or manually pulling information together, users can ask questions about their business data and receive answers within NetSuite.

For example, employees could use Ask Oracle to explore business information, analyze data, or get answers to questions that would otherwise require multiple steps.

The biggest change is the way users can interact with their ERP. Employees can start with a question rather than needing to know exactly where to find the answer.

AI usage is tied to units or tokens, which are consumed based on the complexity of questions asked through Ask Oracle.

Each customer receives 1,000 tokens per month, per user for the length of the current contract, with the tokens granted upfront. If those tokens are used, additional tokens are available for purchase. NetSuite AI Units are used based on the complexity of questions asked of Ask Oracle.

Before rolling AI capabilities out to every user, consider which employees will benefit most and what they will use the tools for. Having defined use cases can help your organization make more effective use of its available AI resources.

Look for opportunities where AI could help with:

• Repetitive processes that take employees significant time
• Data analysis that requires pulling information from multiple places
• Employee productivity and access to business information
• Reporting and interpreting business data
• Operations where faster access to information could improve decisions

The goal is to identify the NetSuite Next AI features that can address a specific business need rather than adopting AI simply because it’s available.

Training should cover the new navigation and functionality, as well as how to write effective prompts and evaluate AI-generated responses.
Employees need to understand how NetSuite Next changes their daily work and how to use its AI capabilities appropriately.

A change management strategy is also important. Employees should understand that AI is a tool to support their work, not replace human judgment. Encourage users to review AI-generated information, understand its limitations, and maintain appropriate oversight.

Review your existing customizations, configurations, and UI modifications and identify which ones support critical business processes. While NetSuite Next is designed to work with existing NetSuite environments, every customer environment is different.

Rather than assuming everything will work exactly as it does today, test the customizations your employees rely on most. This can help identify potential issues before users encounter them in production.

Existing workflows, SuiteScripts, and other custom processes should also be included in your testing plan.

Start with the scripts and workflows that support your most important business processes. Pay particular attention to anything that depends on the user interface, roles, navigation, or specific record behavior.

Third-party integrations should be reviewed and tested before moving users to NetSuite Next.

Identify integrations that support critical processes or move data between NetSuite and other applications. Confirm that data continues to flow correctly and that the business processes dependent on those integrations still work as expected.

If an integration is particularly important to your operations, involve the integration provider or technical team in testing rather than waiting until after the transition.

Your existing reports, saved searches, dashboards, KPIs, and user-specific configurations should be included in your testing.

These existing capabilities should continue to work. However, because every NetSuite environment is different, it’s important to validate the reports and searches your teams use most.

Make a list of business-critical reports and dashboards and confirm that users can still access the information they need before making NetSuite Next broadly available.

Focus on five areas:

• Technical: Test customizations, workflows, SuiteScripts, integrations, and other custom processes.
• Functional: Test critical finance, operations, sales, purchasing, inventory, and other business processes.
• Reporting: Review reports, saved searches, dashboards, and KPIs.
• User experience: Test navigation, roles, permissions, and common user tasks. Identify training needs.
• AI: Evaluate potential use cases, accuracy, permissions, and expected usage or costs.

Now is a good time to start preparing for Oracle NetSuite Next, even if you’re not ready to make it available to everyone.

Evaluate your current environment, review customizations and integrations, test important processes, and identify where the new AI capabilities could provide value.

The key is to avoid waiting until the last minute. Understanding your environment and preparing your users now can make the transition much smoother.