Sidetrade wins Hackett innovation award for AI overhaul

Sidetrade has won The Hackett Group's 2026 Innovation Award in the Technology Operations category, recognising its use of AI agents in its operating model.

The French software company was recognised for measurable results from a redesign of its research and development function, rather than for plans or pilot projects. A feature that previously took 60 days to ship can now be delivered in three, while one pilot team of three completed work that had previously required six people.

At the centre of the change is an internal R&D model called PodFlow. The system restructures development into smaller teams that work with AI agents across the software delivery process, with controls at each stage from problem definition to documentation.

Sidetrade's 22 R&D teams now use the model as their standard way of working, and the programme paid back its costs within six months.

Internal overhaul

The changes began with internal tests to assess whether AI could contribute across the software development lifecycle, including code generation. Once code could be produced more quickly, delays shifted to other parts of the process, especially product definition, quality assurance and release management.

That prompted Sidetrade to extend AI beyond coding. Agents are now used to validate problems, draft specifications, write code, run tests and prepare documentation, while engineers remain responsible for checking and directing the output.

Two product lines, Deductions and Cash App, were used for the initial pilot to test whether the approach could work across different codebases before a wider rollout.

No feature enters Sidetrade's R&D pipeline without a validated problem, and none is released without full documentation. Those rules are intended to prevent speed gains from weakening oversight.

Kyle McNabb, principal and program leader for AI applied intelligence at The Hackett Group, said: "The leading organizations recognized in this year's Hackett Innovation Awards demonstrate that real AI value comes from prioritizing workforce and process transformation over technology adoption alone. By redesigning how work gets done and embedding AI into workflows, they are delivering measurable performance gains and sustainable ROI at scale."

Beyond engineering

Sidetrade is now extending the operating model beyond engineering into customer operations, sales, support and finance. Each phase is intended to fund the next through savings generated earlier in the programme.

The company is targeting productivity gains of up to 20% in 2026 and says any capacity released will be reinvested in customer service. It has also linked the overhaul to a broader financial target of reaching an EBITDA margin of 30% to 35% by 2030.

The move comes as software vendors face greater scrutiny over whether they use the AI systems they sell. Sidetrade argues that some enterprise buyers now expect vendors to show they run their own operations with the same technology they promote to customers.

Rob Harvey, chief product officer at Sidetrade, said: "As an AI-native company, we are our client zero. We drink our own champagne. Every day, our teams work with the same AI-first mindset that defines what we bring to market. The result is a continuous cycle of learning, innovation, and execution that directly benefits our customers. That is what The Hackett Group recognized."

Harvey's comments reflect a wider shift in the software industry, where investors and customers increasingly want proof that AI spending is producing operational returns. Sidetrade cited McKinsey research showing that while 88% of organisations are deploying AI, 81% report no meaningful bottom-line impact.

For Sidetrade, the distinction is between applying AI to an existing workflow and redesigning the workflow around AI. Its approach depends on changing team structures and decision points, rather than simply adding new tools to established processes.

Mark Sheldon, chief technology officer at Sidetrade, said: "We did not optimize individual developer productivity. We redesigned the system in which development happens. Agents now validate problems, generate specifications, write code, run tests, and prepare documentation. The result is features delivered faster, continuous product innovation, and an enhanced experience for our customers. Developers now direct, validate, and govern what AI and agents deliver."

Company-wide model

Sidetrade describes the operating model as the internal execution layer of its O2C Intelligence 2030 strategy, which aims to make the company AI-native across the business. The model now uses all six of The Hackett Group's AI enablers in daily production: predictive, conversational, insight, workflow, cognitive and content.

The company employs 450 people across Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific and serves customers in 85 countries. It focuses on order-to-cash software and says its data assets are built on USD $9 trillion in business-to-business transactions and 42.5 million buyer entities.

Anaïs Novasque, head of AI transformation at Sidetrade, said: "What started in engineering is now the new operating model across our company. We are redesigning how every function works, process by process, simplifying before automating, with people and AI agents collaborating. This is an operational transformation, not a technology deployment. The companies that lead over the next three years will be those that reinvent how work gets done through human-agent collaboration, not those that layer AI onto legacy processes."