AI moves from vision to reality across Pronto Software’s ERP suite as the company celebrates 50 years of innovation

Australian owned Pronto Software embeds practical, secure AI into Pronto Xi as it marks 50 years of enterprise technology innovation

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – 8 SEPTEMBER 2026: Leading Australian enterprise resource planning (ERP) and analytics software provider Pronto Software has unveiled its expanding AI roadmap, embedding generative, predictive and agentic AI capabilities directly into Pronto Xi to automate business processes, predict operational outcomes and allow users to interact with enterprise data using natural language.

The announcement comes as Pronto Software marks 50 years in business and enters its next phase of investment in AI, cloud infrastructure, rapid delivery, product development and customer experience.

New and enhanced AI capabilities being introduced across Pronto Xi include natural language interaction, predictive inventory demand and fulfillment forecasting, voice enabled BI reporting and dashboards, machine learning predictions for service and maintenance, agentic assisted purchase order approval, automated inventory checks and stock recommendations, and intelligent B2B eCommerce agents.

Unlike standalone AI tools that require separate integrations, Pronto Software’s AI capabilities are designed to operate natively inside Pronto Xi, using customers’ existing operational data and inheriting Pronto Xi role-based permissions.

Pronto Software has also invested directly in GPU computing infrastructure within Pronto Cloud to support its AI environment. AI is hosted on Pronto Cloud with strict access controls, encryption and data isolation, and customer data is never used to train shared or public models.

“AI has moved from curiosity to expectation in an extraordinarily short time,” said Chad Gates, Managing Director of Pronto Software.

“Our approach is practical, secure and trusted. We are not implementing AI as a marketing exercise. Every capability we introduce is designed to solve a real problem for a real business user, reducing manual effort, improving a decision or eliminating a bottleneck.”

Mr Gates said AI represents a fundamental shift in the role ERP systems will play inside businesses. “We’re using AI to elevate workers, not replace them. ERP is moving from being a system of record to a system of insight and action, interpreting data, predicting outcomes and, in some cases, taking autonomous action with the right guardrails in place.

“Our approach is to not only leverage and protect enterprise data, but to facilitate interaction with a broad ecosystem of evolving AI capability to ensure our customers have access to every opportunity.”

Pronto Software’s AI roadmap is set to quickly expand further into financials, manufacturing, project and industry-specific modules through 2026 and beyond, continuing the focus on accessible, governed intelligence.

The company believes the rapid development of generative and agentic AI is increasing the value of integrated ERP platforms because effective AI depends on clean, connected and well-governed data.

After five decades of developing ERP technology, Pronto Xi holds structured operational data across areas including finance, supply chain and manufacturing.

“AI is only as useful as what it can see,” Mr Gates said. “After fifty years of building that foundation, the technology has moved so rapidly that some think it’s more about the tech than the data, but the opposite is true. Our platform is technology agnostic and evolves with the times.”

50 years of Australian enterprise technology

The AI investment coincides with Pronto Software’s 50th anniversary, marking five decades as one of Australia’s enduring enterprise technology businesses.

Founded in Melbourne in 1976 as Prometheus Software Developments, Pronto Software has remained independent, Australian owned and employee owned while competing through five decades of profound change in enterprise technology.

Today, more than 1,500 organisations have leveraged Pronto Software’s industry experience and innovation. Its longest continuing customer is 38 years strong, while 71 customers have been with Pronto Software for 30 years or more.

“Fifty years is an extraordinary achievement in any industry, but in enterprise software it is genuinely rare,” said Mr Gates.

“Reaching this milestone as an independent, Australian owned, employee owned company makes it all the more meaningful. It proves that a disciplined, customer first approach, combined with a culture of continuous reinvention, is a viable and enduring business model.

Pronto Software traces its roots to a small Melbourne startup working in collaboration with local computer manufacturer CMAD. In the 1980s, the team rewrote its core platform and called it Pronto, giving the business a technology foundation it could control, extend and evolve on its own terms.

A defining moment came in the early 2000s when the management team facilitated a staff buyout. Employee ownership created a fundamentally different culture, with people invested financially and emotionally in the success of the business, a structure that has endured and continues to shape Pronto Software Ltd today as a growing, unlisted public entity.

Australian owned, locally focused

In March 2025, Pronto Software achieved official Australian Owned certification, recognising its deep roots in the Australian business community and continued investment in local innovation, job creation and customer success.

The depth of employee tenure is also exceptionally rare in the technology industry, with a dynamic mix of new starters to long term employees who have been with the business for more than 20 or 30 years.

“Our employees are not just a part of the story, they are the story,” Mr Gates said. “Their expertise, commitment and genuine care for our customers is what makes Pronto Software different. Fifty years is their achievement, and the next fifty will be built by the people here today and the people who join us along the way.”

Built around customers

Customers have helped shape Pronto Software’s development throughout its history. Customer workshops, focus groups and feedback programs have influenced product decisions and expansion into industries including manufacturing, wholesale distribution, retail, mining, building and construction, and facilities management.

“This anniversary belongs to our customers as much as it belongs to us. Every product improvement we have made and every capability we have added has been driven by what our customers needed. They shaped this company, and this milestone is a reflection of the partnerships we have built together, Mr Gates said.

“As we enter the next 50 years, that partnership only deepens. We are investing more than ever in the tools that will help businesses operate with greater clarity, speed and confidence. The technology is changing rapidly, but our commitment to our customers is unchanged.”

Pronto Software’s purpose as it enters its next chapter remains clear: to keep businesses running on a rock-solid foundation so they grow with certainty.