Oracle’s AI-Driven Analytics: Interview with T.K. Anand, Oracle

In this exclusive conversation with Dataquest, T.K. Anand, EVP, Oracle Health & Analytics, discusses how Oracle Analytics is transforming enterprise decision-making through AI-driven insights, NLP, and predictive analytics. He also elaborates on Fusion Data Intelligence, Oracle’s purpose-built data intelligence platform, and how businesses can ensure secure and regulatory-compliant data-driven growth. 

Excerpts:

DQ: What role does AI play in Oracle’s analytics solutions, and how does it enhance predictive modeling, automation, and decision-making for enterprises?

 T.K. Anand: AI is embedded across our entire analytics stack in multiple ways. For instance, we use AI to provide natural language-based conversational interfaces so that business users who are not technically savvy with data tools can query data using natural language and get responses in the form of visualizations or even English-language narratives. If you're familiar with tools like ChatGPT, you’ll know how conversational AI works. We apply the same concept to analytics. We also use AI for data cleansing. Often, analytics require clean data, and if addresses and zip codes aren’t aligned properly, it can cause inconsistencies. Traditionally, this was a very manual process, but now we use AI to clean data automatically, allowing for better analytics. In areas such as Fusion and health, we also employ more purpose-built AI solutions tailored for specific analytic use cases.

DQ: How has Oracle embedded NLP in its analytics platforms to make them more user-friendly for non-technical users?

 T.K. Anand: We have a feature called “Ask”, which is available right on the Oracle Analytics homepage. Users can start typing in questions about their data just like they would in a search engine. For example, if someone wants to see sales trends in the Northwest region of the United States and compare year-over-year sales, they can simply type that in. The system will then generate a response explaining the trends and provide relevant visualizations. Additionally, we have voice interaction capabilities. In our mobile app, users can use their voice to interact with the system, making it even more accessible. We also generate narratives instead of just displaying charts. Some users struggle with interpreting dashboards and visualizations, so the system explains key insights in text form, such as identifying reasons for declining sales in a region.

DQ: How is Fusion Data Intelligence different from other data intelligence platforms, and how does it help businesses unify different functions?

 T.K. Anand: Fusion Data Intelligence is not just another general-purpose analytics platform. Unlike other platforms, it is specifically designed for Oracle applications. It automatically brings together HCM, ERP, and CRM data and ensures that it is curated, cleansed, and structured properly. Without good data, AI and analytics don’t work well. The first thing Fusion Data Intelligence does is provide businesses with clean, ready-to-use data. Additionally, it offers pre-built analytics. Instead of having IT departments or system integrators build custom analytics from scratch, businesses get out-of-the-box solutions for tracking employee retention, salesperson productivity, procurement efficiency, and more. There are also predictive analytics capabilities built in, allowing organizations to anticipate workforce attrition or predict trends in customer engagement. This eliminates the complexity of manual data preparation and customization, making analytics more efficient.

DQ: How does Oracle make advanced analytics accessible for business leaders, especially non-technical users, through no-code/low-code features?

 T.K. Anand: Oracle Analytics is built with a data visualization experience at its core. The entire interface is a no-code experience where users simply drag and drop data elements. Think of it like Excel—one of the oldest analytics tools. If you’ve used Excel, you’ve already performed data analysis to some extent. However, our analytics tools are much more sophisticated, allowing users to handle large-scale data and perform advanced analysis with ease. The system is designed to work in a low-code environment, meaning users do not need programming knowledge. Additionally, we integrate with Oracle APEX, which is a low-code development tool that allows users to build applications quickly and embed analytics seamlessly.

DQ: How can enterprises ensure that insights derived from analytics translate into business improvements and ROI?

 T.K. Anand: The way we do this is by embedding best-practice KPIs directly into the product. Since Oracle Fusion Applications form the backbone of many enterprises—whether in finance, HR, sales, or service—we provide pre-defined success metrics to track an organization's performance. These KPIs are built right into the product, ensuring that organizations can measure their business health effectively. Of course, every company has different ways of defining success, and the system is flexible enough to allow modifications. Organizations can define their own business logic and create custom metrics. This ensures that enterprises can continuously track their performance against their unique goals, ensuring that analytics drive measurable business improvements.

DQ: How does Oracle ensure data security and compliance with different regulatory frameworks across industries?

 T.K. Anand: Security and compliance are fundamental to everything we do. All Oracle applications, including our analytics solutions, have built-in security frameworks. Whenever we process data, we inherit all the security policies from the underlying applications. For highly regulated industries like banking, financial services, and healthcare, our solutions go through rigorous compliance checks for standards such as GDPR, HIPAA, and SOX. Every time we introduce a new feature or update, it must pass regulatory approvals before it is made available to customers. Data encryption and access controls are also enforced to ensure that sensitive business information is protected and only accessible to authorized personnel. By maintaining strict security standards, we provide enterprises with a safe environment to manage their analytics workflows without regulatory concerns.