Paul Esherwood
Former editor
157 Articles Published
Will SAP Rise or Fall?
SAP's five year search for a solution to S/4 adoption has culminated in the launch of a new bundle of services called RISE with SAP. It is essentially a repackaging of existing products and services combined with some new capability that will be offered ‘as a Service’ to drive digital transformation.
AO.com beat retail blues
AO.com, an online retailer that has thrived during the pandemic, is boldly transitioning into physical retail by partnering with Tesco to open five stores, leveraging its e-commerce experience to enhance customer service despite the challenges of entering the brick-and-mortar space.
SAP to sell Qualtrics, sort of
Just over two years after being acquired by SAP, Qualtrics has filed for an initial public offering (IPO)...
The time is NOW for Kevin Samuelson and INFOR
When we last wrote about Infor all the talk was around an IPO – and who doesn’t love a big IPO? I wrote bullishly about the expectation of Infor floating and becoming one of the biggest software IPOs of all time. It seemed certain that the prospect of raising a load of new cash coupled with the lure of being catapulted into the limelight would be too much for Infor (and their VC partners) to resist. Thank God it didn’t happen...
The thin veneer of differentiation
I wrote to each of the ERP vendors and asked them to send me a few words on what set them apart from the competition - the results were depressingly vague. I hate to break it to you but ‘putting customers first’...
Another new dawn for Epicor
Epicor has been sold, again – this time to CD&R, a venture capital house with plans to double the business in five years. Paul Esherwood sat down (virtually) with Steve Murphy, CEO, to discuss what the new ownership means...
Editor’s Words – The opening thoughts in the latest issue
This issue of ERP Today has been the most challenging to produce so far. But, as I put the finishing touches...
Editor’s Words.
Many high-performing businesses have discovered the fragility of their systems and processes...
Is this the reckoning humanity needed?
t’s obvious to conclude that humanity doesn’t work. Our purpose in this world seems unclear and we have stumbled from century to century without direction or reason. Like a rudderless ship cast into the vast oceans, we have tried many ideas over several thousand years and none have delivered peace, purpose or paradise.
The importance of leadership, purpose and wellbeing in a crisis
When I interviewed Mike Ettling back in April 2019 he had just taken the hot seat at Unit4. He inherited a mixed bag of fortunes but told me about a bold plan to transform the company into a contemporary ERP vendor...
Is now a good time for an ERP project?
As we slowly start to see the easing of restrictions on the UK economy business leaders are faced with a dichotomy; the sudden shift to new ways of working has highlighted the fragilities in many business systems...
Paul Esherwood with an alternative review of Oracle OpenWorld Europe 2020
It’s true to say that if you are an Oracle partner, customer or even a casual user – OpenWorld is a great place to connect and collaborate....
It’s OK to be confused – just know that you are and embrace it.
Tom Peters famously said “if you’re not confused, you’re not paying attention.” Nothing could be closer to the truth when considering one’s options in the modern technological era..
Mihir Shukla / Automation Anywhere CEO & Co-Founder
There’s a storm coming and it’s called RPA.
Mihir Shukla is the CEO and co-founder of Automation Anywhere. By the end of this year his company will have over three million digital workers deployed in the world’s largest organisations. RPA is likely to be the most transformative technology to emerge from the digital revolution and Automation Anywhere is at the head of the field when it comes to capitalising on the burgeoning demands...
Journey to the Oracle cloud. First in a four part series following M Group Services.
Throughout 2020, ERP Today will be tracking the fortunes of M Group Services as they transition from a multitude of legacy systems to the Oracle cloud. With unprecedented access to the inner-workings of an enterprise level project...
Sage is Resurgent and taking on the mid-market with Intacct. Sabby Gill speaks to Paul Esherwood
Sage is a brand that we all know. It is one of the most iconic British companies and has more than 600,000 customers in the UK – more than any other tech company by far. Known for its small business accounting software, Sage recently acquired Intacct for a cool $850m and has set its sights firmly on the mid-market opportunity...
Speed wins out over size. Anton Chilton discusses how manufacturers can become adaptive enterprises
Paul Esherwood sat down with Anton Chilton, CEO at QAD to discuss their new Adaptive ERP and how it works with global manufacturers to ensure they have the tools to be competitive in a highly disrupted sector...
Digital transformation 2.0. ADNOC takes enterprise agility to new levels with SAP S/4HANA
ADNOC (Abu Dhabi National Oil Company) has been one of the key drivers for the UAE’s economy for the last 40 years. It is the twelfth largest oil producer in the world generating in excess of 3 million barrels...
BP leveraging SAP technology to tackle the world’s hardest energy problems
As you drive into the BP village in Sunbury you start to get a feel for the scale of the company. Of course, BP is one of the world’s most recognised brands and it goes without saying that most people already know...
Melissa Di Donato
Melissa Di Donato – how far have we really come?
Melissa Di Donato dares to be different. And she is daring you to be the same. The new CEO of SUSE is unashamedly taking aim at the issue of gender-bias and diversity while hatching a plan to grow SUSE into a global powerhouse.
Why is transformation failing in our universities?
The irony of lagging progress for ERP in educational faculties. Few, if any sectors, could benefit more from an overhaul of systems and processes than higher education (HE). Yet, virtually every attempt...
It’s no longer a two-horse race

As the post-modern ERP market matures there’s more choice than ever and the opportunities for ERP buyers could not be better. It used to be said that no-one ever got sacked for choosing Oracle or SAP...

For the challengers
IFS may be the biggest (and best) ERP vendor that you haven’t heard of. With sales approaching $700m and plans to hit the $1bn mark by 2021, IFS is a taking a refreshing approach to selling enterprise technology...
Living in the cloud
Pack well and plan your journey. Transitioning to the cloud has many advantages but it has challenges too...
Has the face of consulting changed forever?
In my former life as editor of a corporate finance magazine I was no stranger to the offices of the big five (as it was then). They were often dark, uninspiring, misogynistic places where partners sat at oak desks wearing...
What future for on premise?
As a journalist, I find myself at the same crossroads as many CIOs; I know cloud technologies – whether applications or infrastructure – are complete game changers. I understand that AI-infused ERP systems...
Are you ready to get ready for the cloud?
For decades we have believed that our business processes were the horse and the system was the cart. Now, CEOs are being urged to switch that long held belief and embrace a new way of working that puts...
Customisation
There was once a well-trodden path for ERP implementations. Buy a licence from Oracle or SAP for some generic finance and HR software and then give Deloitte or Capgemini several million pounds to dismantle...
IPO set to catapult Infor into the big league
Charles Phillips is not your typical American tech CEO. He is an elegant man. Gently spoken, thoughtful in his responses and his calm and measured tone is to the point and unexaggerated; a far cry from...
Artificial Intelligence
Do you know what it is? AI is the hottest topic in tech right now. But, like with so many other hot topics there is a lot of confusion, misunderstanding and false narrative...
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