Retail analytics leader builds the data foundation behind faster, higher-performing agentic AI, as the company invests in its East Coast presence

CLEVELAND, Oct. 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Robots & Pencils, an applied AI partner that deploys frontier AI for measurable business outcomes, today announced the appointment of Helen Vetrano as Vice President of Data and Decision Science.

Vetrano leads the company’s Data & Decision Science practice, which ties data quality and business intelligence to the velocity and performance of the agentic AI systems Robots & Pencils builds for clients. She brings 20 years of analytics experience, including agency work at Digitas and Cramer, followed by nearly 15 years in retail at Crocs, Talbots, J. Jill, and her own consultancy advising mid-market retailers on analytics and data strategy. Based in Boston, Vetrano anchors an investment in the East Coast that puts Robots & Pencils closer to clients in the region.

“Agentic AI is only as fast and as capable as the data underneath it,” said Len Pagon, CEO of Robots & Pencils. “You bring agents to the data party, not the other way around. Helen is wicked smart, brings deep domain expertise, and is practical. Every client starts at a different level of data maturity, and she knows it. She prescribes the right solution for where they are, and that is how they get the business outcomes they are seeking.”

Enterprise executives are under pressure to grow with flat budgets, optimize costs and keep security tight, all while delivering a platinum customer experience. Fall short and they risk handing market share to competitors. “Excelling in uncertainty requires great decisions, and great decisions are made with great insight,” said Vetrano. “This practice gives enterprise leaders the data foundations and intelligent systems to make confident, accelerated decisions.”

Enterprises move fast and need answers quickly, but data systems often can’t keep up. “I’ve seen this challenge from both the commercial and IT side; AI can help close that gap, but only if the platform underneath is built to support it,” said Vetrano. “Robots & Pencils delivers resilient engineering focused on business outcomes. It’s an offering I would buy, and I joined to help scale it.”

The practice meets the client at the point of their greatest need. “For some organizations that means surfacing critical context and a shared language across teams or developing the predictive models that matter,” said Vetrano. “For others it means just getting data into reports consistently. With a solid data foundation, clients can focus on outcomes, like planning where to spend the next marketing dollar, allocating resources where they are most needed, or intercepting a struggling student.”

The practice builds client data foundations on leading platforms, including AWS, Databricks, and Snowflake, so people and agents reach a working system of truth quickly.

“Helen brings a retail leader’s instinct for data, built on business outcomes,” said Jeff Kirk, EVP of Applied AI at Robots & Pencils. “She pairs that instinct with the business and data context platform work our clients depend on, so every agentic AI system we build starts on data clients can trust.”

About Robots & Pencils
Robots & Pencils is an applied AI partner that deploys frontier AI for measurable business outcomes. An AWS Advanced Tier Services Partner, AWS Pattern Partner, AWS Business Value Realization (BVR) Launch Partner, and Databricks Certified Partner, with delivery centers in the United States, Canada, Eastern Europe, and Latin America, the company combines world-class UX with elite engineering talent for rapid, enterprise-grade delivery. Founded in 2009, Robots & Pencils has earned the trust of leaders in Consumer Products and Retail, Utilities, Financial Services, Life Sciences, Manufacturing, Education, and more, with a reputation as a high-velocity alternative to traditional global systems integrators.

Contact: Christina Morello
christina.morello@robotsandpencils.com

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SOURCE Robots & Pencils

Leaders in the embedded analytics market include Google, Oracle, Progress Software (Domo), Salesforce, and ThoughtSpot.

MIAMI, Oct. 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Nucleus Research has published its 2026 Embedded Analytics Technology Value Matrix, examining how vendors are advancing headless architectures, agentic self-service, and multi-channel analytics delivery to address evolving customer requirements. As AI-assisted development accelerates the creation of dashboards and data products, organizations are prioritizing platforms that can distribute governed insights efficiently and scale deployments without increasing administrative complexity.

Customers are placing greater emphasis on natural language interaction, agentic self-service, and consistent analytics delivery across web, mobile, messaging tools, and AI assistants. These capabilities extend the reach of analytics investments while reducing the development effort required to support multiple user experiences.

“Faster application development creates value only when organizations can put those applications to productive use,” said Alexander Wurm, Principal Analyst at Nucleus Research. “The strongest returns from embedded analytics will come from reusing governed business logic across channels, reducing deployment overhead, and making insights accessible within the workflows where decisions are executed.”

Headless architectures and Model Context Protocol (MCP) support are enabling vendors to separate business logic from presentation and expose analytics capabilities to AI agents. Nearly every vendor evaluated has shipped or previewed an MCP server over the past year, reflecting the market’s shift toward agent-accessible analytics.

Multi-tenant management is also becoming a critical purchasing consideration. For software providers managing hundreds of customer environments, centralized configuration and governance can reduce administrative effort and the ongoing cost of maintaining deployments.

As adoption expands, the financial value of embedded analytics will depend on efficient distribution, reusable semantic models, and the ability to scale governed analytics without proportionally increasing operational costs.

Leaders in the Value Matrix excel in both functionality and usability, offering consolidated integration that delivers strong returns and supports adoption at scale. Leaders in this year’s Value Matrix are Google, Oracle, Progress Software (Domo), Salesforce, and ThoughtSpot.

Experts offer deep, specialized integration functionality suited to complex and technical requirements. Experts in this year’s Value Matrix are GoodData, Microsoft, Qrvey, Simba, and Strategy.

Accelerators focus on usability and ease of deployment, delivering integration that enables quick adoption. This year’s Accelerators are Hex, Omni, Plotly, Sigma, and Zoho.

Core Providers offer essential, reliable integration for organizations with focused needs. This year’s Core Providers are Embeddable, Luzmo, Posit, Sisense, and Yellowfin.

To download the 2026 Embedded Analytics Technology Value Matrix, click here.

About Nucleus Research

Nucleus Research is the recognized global leader in ROI technology research. Using a case-based approach, we provide research streams and advisory services that allow vendors and end users to quantify and maximize the return from their technology investments. For more information, visit NucleusResearch.com or follow our latest updates on LinkedIn.

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SOURCE Nucleus Research

MADISON, S.D., Oct. 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Nearly half of financial institution attendees polled at SBS CyberSecurity’s inaugural Converge Cyber + AI Conference said their board or executive team doesn’t include anyone with a cyber or technology background. In a live poll of attendees from banks, credit unions, and other regulated organizations, 45% reported that gap and another 8% weren’t sure.

The finding comes as AI changes the threats boards and executive teams are responsible for overseeing. “Cyber and AI risk eventually lands in front of the board,” SBS CyberSecurity President Jon Waldman said. “Having someone at the table who understands the technology makes it easier to ask the right questions.”

Over two days in Omaha, Nebraska, Oct. 6–7, nearly 200 attendees heard from speakers ranging from a nationally recognized security awareness expert and a former FDIC cyber fraud section chief to educators, bankers, and SBS practitioners. They learned that AI can now write the phishing email, clone the executive’s voice, and run the scam call from start to finish. What it still needs to succeed is a person who acts before they think. Five themes came up again and again:

1. You Can’t Patch Human Nature

“You can’t patch human nature, but you can train people to recognize when it’s being exploited,” said Erich Kron, CISO Advisor at KnowBe4. Closing keynote speaker Brian Brushwood, host of the social engineering series Scam Nation, said that recognition comes from practice: “Instinct runs on experience, not hypotheticals.”

2. Attendance Is Not Awareness

“Training measures participation. Testing measures behavior,” Waldman said, urging leaders to look past completion rates and reward the actions they want to see, like reporting phishing. While 63% of responding attendees said they build accountability into training and testing, only 44% said their organization rewards reporting phishing emails or other social engineering scams today.

3. AI Is Already Inside Your Institution

Vendors are adding AI features to existing products without updating contracts, and in some cases without notifying customers, leaving many institutions with AI tools they never knowingly purchased. Employees are also using AI tools, whether they’ve been approved or not.

4. Attackers Now Move at Machine Speed

AI agents can handle reconnaissance in a fraction of the time a human would need, and the cost of launching deepfake, voice-cloning, and business email compromise attacks has dropped to nearly zero for criminals.

5. The Talent Pipeline Needs Rethinking

A panel with leaders from Dakota State University, the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, BankTennessee, and SBS explored how institutions will build cyber and AI expertise as entry-level roles change. “As businesses become more efficient, some of the more entry-level positions are likely going to be more scarce,” SBS CyberSecurity CEO Chad Knutson said. “Wisdom comes from experience on top of the knowledge you have.”

Converge was designed around the idea that financial institutions can no longer treat cybersecurity and AI as separate conversations. Alongside 22 sessions across governance, technical, and AI tracks, attendees tested their skills in a hands-on Cyber Challenge, where 24 participants competed and every challenge on the board was solved.

Planning for Converge 2027 is underway. Learn more and sign up for updates at converge.sbscyber.com.

About SBS CyberSecurity

Cybersecurity isn’t a one-time decision. It’s an ongoing business priority, and the stakes keep rising. SBS CyberSecurity helps leaders navigate that challenge with confidence. Founded in 2004, SBS has been a trusted advisor and hands-on partner to thousands of organizations. Through expert services, AI governance, and TRAC, its proprietary GRC platform, SBS delivers not just answers but understanding and protection. Learn more at sbscyber.com.

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SOURCE SBS CyberSecurity