From presentation to conversation: How A.I. will transform enterprise apps

Enterprise apps, from CRM to ERP to marketing automation, have long had a common structure. Whether in the cloud or on-premise they are anchored by a database layer, responsible for storing records concerning customers, products, and other entities. At the top is a presentation layer, responsible for displaying lists or summaries of the underlying records, and facilitating the entry of new records. Between these two layers is business logic that determines how to aggregate records, what restrictions to put on record entry, and the like. As a user of these apps you predominantly use the app itself: You log in and manipulate the presentation layer directly to enter or see the information that's relevant to the task at hand.