ServiceNow buys Pyramid Analytics to streamline access to business intelligence – News

ServiceNow Inc. is expanding into the realm of “generative business intelligence” through the acquisition of an Israeli big-data startup called Pyramid Analytics B.V.

The specifics of the deal announced today were not disclosed, but Globes reported that the acquisition price is estimated at around a “few hundred million dollars.” If true, that would mean Pyramid’s backers are getting a relatively small return on their investment.

Nonetheless, ServiceNow looks to be getting a useful asset. Pyramid Analytics, founded back in 2008 by its Chief Executive Officer Omri Kohl, is the creator of a “decision intelligence” platform that unifies artificial intelligence with traditional business analytics, data science and data preparation tools. The idea is to consolidate all of the steps involved in big data work into a single platform that gathers and sifts through information, runs predictive models and delivers useful insights to business teams.

More recently, Pyramid has emerged as one of the pioneers of generative BI, as part of an effort to make business intelligence more accessible. By integrating generative AI chat capabilities with traditional analytics, it allows employees to ask questions in their natural language and generate immediate actionable insights and automate tasks such as creating dashboards and analyzing trends.

It’s a powerful capability because traditional BI tools require knowledge of Structured Query Language, which means most business users have to wait on data teams for answers. For instance, an employee who wants to analyze customer behavior or sales trends would typically have to file a request for a report from their company’s information technology department. They might have to wait days or even weeks for the report to be delivered if there’s a backlog of requests.

Pyramid’s generative BI tool blasts through that bottleneck. Users can just ask questions such as “Which suppliers pose the highest risk?” or “Where are we seeing the most customer churn?” and the platform will deliver an instant response.

Gaurav Rewari, ServiceNow’s senior vice president and general manager of data and analytics, said in a blog post that the company wants to integrate Pyramid’s capabilities directly with its customer’s work systems. When it does, users will be able to ask questions and receive answers on almost any kind of business matter in real time, he explained. There will be no waiting for data teams and no switching between systems, he said.

Pyramid can also help to accelerate agentic automation, Rewari believes. That’s because it’s not only humans that can access Pyramid’s generative BI insights. AI agents will also be able to tap into it and take actions based on the answers it surfaces. For instance, an AI agent could automatically surface a technical problem, open and route a case, recommend a solution, and then implement the resolution in a single connected workflow, he said.

“We’ll use Pyramid Analytics to deliver high-value solutions across IT, HR, supply chain and other areas, combining data connectivity, AI-powered queries, workflow automation and trusted governance,” Rewari explained. “Our aim is to deliver analytics that are deeply integrated with the enterprise-wide workflows where work actually happens, all powered by trusted data and deployed as solutions that solve business problems.”

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