The 2025 ERP Today Awards make one thing clear: ERP leadership is no longer defined by system deployment, but by how effectively organizations turn data, automation, and platforms into measurable business outcomes.
Across the winners, a consistent pattern emerges. The strongest projects did not treat ERP as infrastructure. They used it to drive customer engagement, operational performance, compliance, and transformation at scale. From AI embedded directly into core platforms to national-scale public health transformation, the awards highlight a shift toward execution, impact, and accountability.
The 2025 award results are:
Customer Experience Solution of the Year
- Winner: SugarAI
- Finalist: Inetum
Operational Innovation of the Year
- Winner: Inetum
- Finalist: Solvoz
ERP AI and Innovation of the Year
- Winner: IFS
- Finalist: Sovos
SMB Transformation Project of the Year
- Winner: Ethiopian Pharmaceutical Supply Service
- Finalist: Venture
Large Enterprise Transformation Project of the Year
- Winner: Zalaris
- Finalist: Onapsis
Sponsor Industry‑Grade Research
Below is a full breakdown of the winners and finalists by category.
Customer Experience Solution of the Year
Customer experience (CX) has moved into the core of ERP strategy. CX is becoming part of day-to-day enterprise operations, with customer data informing sales, service, inventory, and fulfillment decisions inside the systems where work already happens.
SugarAI won for its work with Country Fare, transforming fragmented sales data into a unified, actionable customer view. The system enabled real-time insights into behavior and preferences, allowing sales teams to move from reactive processes to proactive engagement strategies. Judges highlighted the clear operationalization of customer data, showing how unified insights directly translated into measurable improvements in engagement and sales performance.
Inetum was recognized as runner-up for its AI-driven service delivery optimization project for a global FMCG organization, improving workload management, reducing backlogs, and accelerating response times in high-volume environments. Judges emphasized the practical impact on service operations, particularly how AI-driven prioritization improved response times and day-to-day execution.
Analysis
What this means: Customer experience is becoming an operational function inside ERP, not a front-office add-on. For CRM leaders, CX teams, and ERP architects, the implication is that engagement, retention, and revenue growth will increasingly depend on how well customer data is embedded into daily workflows and decision-making systems. In 2026, the strongest CX submissions will need to show how customer insight drives measurable outcomes inside operational workflows, not just in engagement channels.
Operational Innovation of the Year
Operational innovation is expanding beyond traditional enterprise environments, with ERP being applied to new sectors and increasingly complex operating models.
Inetum won for its SAP S/4HANA Public Cloud implementation with Erri Berri, replacing fragmented systems with a unified platform spanning budgeting, planning, and operational reporting. The project stood out for its speed and execution, completing in six months while delivering measurable improvements in process accuracy and efficiency. Judges pointed to the combination of speed, disciplined execution, and measurable efficiency gains as evidence of a scalable, real-world transformation.
Solvoz earned runner-up recognition for Mawared MENA, a procurement platform that digitizes sourcing and purchasing processes in humanitarian environments, improving transparency and decision-making in resource-constrained settings. Judges noted the platform’s ability to bring structure and visibility to complex procurement environments, delivering tangible operational improvements.
Analysis
What this means: Operational maturity is increasingly defined by visibility and execution, not system scope. For COOs, operations leaders, and ERP program managers, the takeaway is ERP investments will be judged by how quickly they standardize processes, improve decision-making, and scale across diverse environments. In 2026, operational innovation entries will stand out by proving that cloud, process standardization, and visibility improved execution in real operating environments.
ERP AI and Innovation of the Year
AI in ERP has shifted from experimentation to embedded execution, with leading vendors integrating intelligence directly into core platforms.
IFS won for IFS.ai, a platform that embeds AI across asset management, service, and manufacturing operations. The solution stood out for integrating AI into the core system rather than layering it externally, enabling predictive maintenance, optimized service delivery, and improved operational decision-making. Judges were impressed by the depth of AI integration across the platform, demonstrating enterprise-wide impact rather than isolated use cases.
Sovos was named runner-up for its real-time tax compliance platform, which provides continuous visibility into global regulatory obligations, applying rules at the point of transaction and reducing reliance on post-process reconciliation. Judges highlighted the solution’s immediate applicability in a complex domain, delivering continuous compliance visibility without adding process friction.
Analysis
What this means: AI differentiation is shifting from features to architecture. For product leaders, enterprise architects, and CIOs, the implication is embedded, domain-specific AI will define platform competitiveness, particularly in regulated and asset-intensive industries where decision accuracy and timing directly affect business outcomes. In 2026, AI submissions will need to demonstrate embedded, domain-specific intelligence with measurable business impact at scale.
SMB Transformation Project of the Year
Transformation at the SMB level is proving that scale is not the defining factor—impact is.
Ethiopian Pharmaceutical Supply Service (EPSS) won for its digital transformation of Ethiopia’s pharmaceutical supply chain, replacing fragmented systems with a coordinated, data-driven platform. The initiative improved visibility into inventory, demand, and distribution, strengthening access to essential medicines across the country. Judges focused on the scale and societal impact of the project, particularly its role in improving access to essential medicines across a national system.
Venture was recognized for its work with Biffa, aligning operational improvements with sustainability goals through better visibility, coordination, and process standardization. Judges emphasized the clarity of outcomes and the alignment between operational improvements and sustainability goals.
Analysis
What this means: Transformation strategy is expanding beyond operational efficiency into societal and environmental impact. For SMB leaders, transformation executives, and ERP partners, the implication is projects will increasingly be evaluated on how they align technology investments with broader outcomes, including sustainability and public impact. In 2026, SMB transformation entries will be judged less on organizational size and more on ambition, execution quality, and broader business or societal impact.
Large Enterprise Transformation Project of the Year
At the enterprise level, transformation is defined by the ability to manage complexity at scale without disrupting operations.
Zalaris won for modernizing Ryanair’s payroll system, creating a unified, scalable platform that improved visibility, compliance, and operational control across a large international workforce. Judges recognized the precision and control required to execute payroll transformation at scale, with strong improvements in consistency and visibility.
Onapsis was named runner-up for its security-led transformation approach, embedding protection and compliance directly into ERP environments to strengthen resilience and business continuity. Judges highlighted the strategic role of security in enabling transformation, positioning risk management as a core business capability.
Analysis
What this means: Enterprise transformation is expanding to include resilience and security as core design principles. For CIOs, CISOs, and transformation leaders, ERP programs will increasingly be measured by their ability to manage risk, maintain continuity, and scale securely across global operations. In 2026, large enterprise transformation entries will need to show resilience, scalability, and security as core components of business performance.
The Bigger Picture
Across all categories, the direction is consistent. ERP is no longer evaluated on implementation success alone.
The 2025 winners demonstrate that the next phase of ERP is defined by:
- Embedded intelligence, not standalone AI
- Operational execution, not system architecture
- Measurable business outcomes, not technical milestones.
For ERP vendors, partners, and enterprise leaders, these results show the bar has moved from deployment to impact.
