SugarAI has undergone a transformation this year. Formerly known as SugarCRM, the company rebranded in April 2026 to reflect a new strategy focused on implementing AI for precision selling. The company wanted to change its approach to the market and how it supports customers—not only from an internal support and customer experience perspective, but from a product perspective.
The company's highly anticipated new software release, was launched in October. At IMTS 2026 in Chicago, Kevin Kerston, senior account executive at SugarAI, said the update will “change the face and experience for our customers and how they leverage SugarAI.”
The software offers advanced AI purposely built for sellers. Kerston said it’s “not using AI for AI's sake, but very targeted and strategic intelligence to help sellers do their jobs better.” The new capabilities move sellers from an overwhelming 360-degree view of the customer to the 36-degree view of what matters, and ultimately to the 3.6-degree view that guides the next action. AI mines signals across territories, accounts, and opportunities from an integrated view of CRM and ERP data. This gives sellers focused, actionable account guidance to identify revenue opportunities and risks, focus on the right accounts, and take the next best action.
“We view AI as more pragmatic and directional rather than giving our customers the keys to the kingdom of all AI,” Kerston said. “Our customers are looking for very specific use cases around AI, and using it to better understand their customers, identify where they can provide additional support, and then direct them how to provide more value.”
Kerston said manufacturing industry sales reps and account managers typically don’t have access to ERP data and order history. They are often in the field, proactively taking orders, and they don't have the time or resources to look behind the scenes and notice if a customer’s business has fallen over the last six-to-12 months. In the new rollout, these insights are presented directly to the seller as a recommendation. For example, a sales rep will know if a customer’s spend has dropped by 15% over the last six months, triggering a follow-up.
Sugar uses AI and machine learning to digest all ERP data, including order history, trends and analysis to identify new or missed opportunities and detect changes in customer buying behavior.
“Within Sugar, you're able to build parameters around the data that you want your sellers to see,” Kerston said about the platform’s configurability. “From a management or leadership perspective, it’s like business intelligence for sales. Your managers and leaders can go into the analytics and look at the analysis and the trends, and then build parameters around what metrics they want their sales team to see.”
Prior to the rollout, Sugar worked with customers, large and small, in beta programs, and the response has been encouraging. “This is what they've been asking for,” Kerston said. “We’re unlocking the power of ERP and CRM data and customer insights and putting in in the hands of industrial sellers.”
Even small incremental sales improvements from Sugar’s insights can have incredible growth potential in a manufacturer’s book of business. “Even if they're at the very low end of getting a 5% increase on products they typically don't sell within certain accounts, that’s a massive difference over a 12-month period,” Kerston said.
Founded in 2004, Sugar has been around for a very long time, serving more than 4,000 clients with some 1 million users and with more than 180 global ERP integrations. Kerston sees this next step as a generational and visionary one for the organization and its customers.” We're meeting customers where they are and letting them scale and grow as they become more familiar with AI, so they can really leverage its benefits. We've done it in a very methodical, practical way that is really going to make an impact.”
