Unit4 has announced the launch of Ava, an Advanced Virtual Agent that connects users through Microsoft Teams to the Unit4 ERPx platform. The agent provides a natural language interface for users to ask questions and automate daily tasks. Ava is generally available today for ERPx; there is an inference that it may be available for other Unit4 solutions in the future as well.
There was no information in the announcement about pricing. Enterprise Times asked Unit4 about it. The response was, “Basic Ava functionality, including task management, is included with the ERP license. Additional use cases will be reviewed individually; premium use cases will be priced based on customer usage and value delivered.”
What is Ava?
Ava is more than just a chatbot. It can start a user’s day by providing a clear view of tasks, approvals, invoices, and deadlines. Tasks that might have needed the user to switch screens frequently. Such as approving purchase orders, reviewing timesheets, or managing workflows can be completed from within Teams with no extra steps. When a user has a question, rather than switching to the relevant screen or functional area of ERPx, they can ask a question in natural language.
Ava is already able to assist with tasks that include:
- Absences and Timesheets
- Travel requests and Expenses
- Requisitions, Purchase orders and Goods receipts
- Invoices
When users ask a question, the agent understands information about the user to draw answers from the ERP solution that is in contact. The solution is already available on the Microsoft Appsource marketplace alongside its original chatbot application, Wanda.
Claus Jepsen, Chief Technology Officer, Unit4, said, “It is clear AI is going to dramatically change how users interact with ERP systems, as it will enable people to focus on more meaningful and rewarding work. Ava isn’t just smart – it’s pragmatic, purposeful and deeply attuned to the real challenges people face.
“That’s why we have built Ava as one interface and agent, as this will create an integrated platform, making it easier to add functionality and avoid siloed AI Agents.”
Ava was made available approximately two weeks ago for early adopters, and several customers have already signed up. There is, however, no comprehensive feedback from those organisations yet.
Ava moves Unit4 through Agentic AI maturity levels
The adoption of AI is becoming commonplace. This is mainly due to the latest solutions becoming easier to adopt, with less friction and greater usability. There is a growing sentiment that AI can help workers reduce their repetitive manual work. And help them deliver better value to their organisations.
Last year, Unit4 published research it commissioned from IDC that argued that AI isn’t just technology-focused. Organisations must consider the technical, ethical, and human perspectives, which become more important as AI evolves through three maturity levels.
The first phase of AI Adoption involves agents completing basic functions such as contextual help, data searches, and task management. The second phase involves the AI agent becoming proactive, highlighting anomalies across finance systems such as payroll or purchase ledgers. The agent suggests invoice approvals and helps with project creation.
The third phase is true agentic, where Ava will act autonomously. Unit4 sees Ava will ultimately provide the following capabilities:
- Centralise orchestration by integrating and co-ordinating workflows within ERPx and Microsoft Teams
- Deliver intelligent automation where routine tasks are autonomously managed to reduce manual workloads
- Enhance augmentation with actionable insights and personalised recommendations to augment specialised tasks
- Offer pro-active and predictive capabilities to identify issues, predict needs and dynamically adapt workflows to achieve business objectives efficiently.
Mickey North Rizza, Group Vice President, Enterprise Software at IDC, commented, “The journey into the digital world is neither stale nor stagnant—AI has brought a greater urgency to modernise and transform quickly.
“IDC finds that 47% of organisations are creating an AI-ready workforce that uses AI assistants, advisors, and agents to boost business success. With AI coming to the forefront, organisations must understand where their journey is headed and the various pathways to success. The journey is multidimensional, but the promise of a new digitally savvy enterprise is at the heart of modernisation and transformation.”
First Teams, is Slack next?
Ava was initially developed to work with Microsoft Teams. However, Unit4 intend to take advantage of the microservices architecture that Unit4 ERP is built on to provide capabilities across other collaboration platforms.
Unit4 ERPx was built to be open. With APIs that will enable Unit4 to develop and take advantage of modern interfaces and push the boundaries of what the future of user interfaces will look like. It will be interesting to see how it develops these capabilities.
Enterprise Times asked Unit4 about the timescales for other integrations. The company replied, “Microsoft Teams has become a go-to platform for collaboration, bringing together over 320 million daily users worldwide. With a 32.29% share of the global video conferencing market, it’s a major player in the industry.” (Microsoft Teams Statistics (2025): Users, Revenue, & Market Share)
“Currently, the majority of our customers use Microsoft Teams as their primary collaboration tool. We are actively monitoring adoption rates for other tools, such as Google Workspace and Slack. Should we observe a significant increase in usage among our customers, we plan to prioritize integrations, with potential development for Slack under consideration for Q4.”
What is on the roadmap?
Enterprise Times also asked Unit4 what is on the roadmap for Ava. The firm will continue to invest in Ava over the coming months. With specific features it hopes to make available include:
- Conversation-Enhanced Feedback and Review: Ava will assist HR professionals and managers by analysing employee feedback, goal achievements, and awards. This AI-driven insight will identify strengths, contributions, and growth opportunities to support more effective performance reviews.
- Timesheet Management: Simplifying the time-tracking process, Ava will help users log and submit their timesheets effortlessly, reducing administrative burdens.
- Smart Project Creation: Leveraging historical data and predefined criteria, Ava will guide users in setting up new projects with precision and efficiency, ensuring teams hit the ground running.
Enterprise Times: What does this mean?
Unit4 is often at the forefront of delivering the latest user interfaces to its clients to improve efficiency for the uses of its ERP software. With Ava, it has yet again pushed the boundaries of what is available. Through Teams, users can now interact with their ERP without having to switch context to a new window. For those users who work within their collaboration platforms, it not only makes sense it should also increase their efficiency significantly.
The true test of Ava, however, is hearing how many users are adopting the new interface or whether many of the users prefer the data entry screens of the more traditional ERP system. However, when coupled with automated document processing and other automations, firms may find an increasing number of users just working within Teams.
