Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the future of professional services, and at BigTime, we’re not just along for the ride—we’re out front. Our AI Hackathon is a great example of how pivotal AI is to our strategy, both as a powerful internal tool and a tangible source of value for our customers. It reflects how deeply AI is embedded in the way we think, build, and innovate every day.
BigTime Hackathon – What Is It All About?
Our Hackathon was created to fast-cycle product development innovation and ensure that BigTime continues to explore every angle of how we can bring automation to the professional services industry. This inaugural event is a bold step in bringing our AI culture to life—not just in our product, but across every function of our business.
From March 26–27, teams across BigTime, came together for two days of focused ideation and rapid development. During this time, the teams showcased their talent, creativity, and collaborative spirit that defines BigTime, all while tackling real use cases tied to our company strategy. They explored how AI can streamline operations for our customers, while discovering new paths of software development in the process.
Turning Real Use Cases Into Actionable Innovation
Our recent Hackathon went beyond general exploration of AI. To directly deliver practical, profitable innovations for our customers, we focused on three high-impact use cases:
- Time Agent – AI-powered time entry suggestions to eliminate the manual effort that comes with timesheets
- Collections Agent – Smart, adaptive invoice follow-up and proactive collections activities to accelerate payments
- Code Generation Co-Pilot – Experimentation with advanced coding tools such as Cursor and Windsurf to modernize and streamline our development practices – i.e., getting new enhancements in our customers’ hands faster..
These challenges pushed teams to experiment with the latest AI tools, drive creative thinking, and deliver proof-of-concept solutions in less than 48 hours – with some amazing results.
Meet the Winners of The BigTime Hackathon!
After thoughtful deliberation, the panel of judges selected the winners of BigTime’s AI Hackathon – a challenging task given the exceptional quality of every submission.
The winners were:
- For the Best Hack Overall: Focused on the Time Agent use case, this team delivered the AI-First Timesheet Experience with intelligent automation, conversational interfaces, and predictive analytics integrated directly into the BigTime platform. By streamlining time capture, validation, and insight generation, their AI-powered solution turns timesheets from a manual burden into a smart, value-driving process – enhancing both user experience and business outcomes.
- For the Highest Value: Also tackling the Time Agent use case, this team introduced an Automated Time Tracking Experience with a calendar integration that leverages AI to generate time entries. Direct connection to calendar events enables scalable, on-demand time capture, reducing administrative overhead while significantly improving timesheet accuracy.
- For the Most Innovative Use of New Technology: Working on the Code Generation Co-Pilot use case, this team created the Cursor-Powered BigTime AI Issue Hunter, a cutting-edge solution designed to streamline debugging and accelerate issue resolution. By reducing time spent on solving escalations, their innovation promises improved productivity, customer satisfaction, and long-term scalability.
From Now to Future-Forward: Why Hackathons Are Part of BigTime’s DNA
We launched this Hackathon with a clear purpose: to ignite AI experimentation, foster hands-on learning and tackle real business challenges with AI-powered solutions – and we delivered.
However, this Hackathon is not just a one-off event. It also marks the activation of a broader, long-term vision for AI at BigTime. It’s one of three key pillars guiding our approach to AI adoption that include:
- Hackathons – Fueling grassroots innovation through focused, time-boxed experimentation
- AI Champion Program – Empowering internal advocates to lead adoption and mentor teams
- AI Tool Adoption Acceleration – Scaling the use of AI tools across our organization
As Don India, the CEO of BigTime, perfectly put it, “This isn’t just about code—it’s about creativity, problem-solving, and impact. Let’s build something amazing—together.”
Looking Forward Towards AI-Powered Excellence
The excitement and outcomes of our first AI Innovation Hackathon are only the beginning. We’ll be hosting these events twice a year, continually encouraging our teams to stretch their thinking, explore new tech, and solve meaningful problems. As part of our commitment to turning ideas into impact, we’ll now begin exploring how to integrate the most promising solutions into our roadmap—bringing Hackathon innovation one step closer to real-world application.
Want to learn more about our AI journey? Explore how BigTime is accelerating AI adoption across the industry.
