Analytics and AI

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and analytics are indispensable in propelling digital transformation efforts, particularly influencing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). With the rapid progression of technology and computing power, organizations across various sectors are generating immense amounts of data daily, impacting ERP processes. The significance of this data lies in its potential to extract actionable insights, facilitate strategic planning, and drive innovation within the ERP framework. In this context, AI and analytics emerge as pivotal tools, facilitating the extraction of value from the vast amounts of data generated and collected across the enterprise, optimizing ERP functionalities. Analytics is commonly categorized into descriptive, prescriptive, diagnostic, and predictive types, enhancing the ERP landscape. AI algorithms contribute not only to predictive and prescriptive analytics but also empower companies to develop innovative ERP capabilities, exemplified by advancements such as Industry 4.0.

Analytics and AI

SNP Transformation World 2026 – Mandaco’s Stefan Schneider on AI in the M&A Process

Mandaco's Stefan Schneider on AI in M&A, why the human in the loop matters more than ever, and how interpersonal skills define deal success.

image of Workday office surrounded by blue skies | Compa

Analytics and AI

Workday Research Shows Why AI Alone Is Not Fixing Busywork

New Workday research shows that disconnected systems continue to consume employee time, while organizations embedding AI directly into core workflows are realizing significantly stronger productivity gains and higher user confidence.

Analytics and AI

From SNP Transformation World 2026 – SAP’s Thomas Pfiester on AI as a Growth Accelerator

SAP's Thomas Pfiester explains why AI is a growth accelerator, how clean data powers agentic AI, and why adoption decides transformation success.

Cloud Platform and Technology

Higher Education’s Cloud ERP Shift Is Stuck on the Student System

Higher education’s cloud ERP transition is not stalled by lack of interest. It is slowed by the student system, where Workday’s cloud momentum and Oracle’s PeopleSoft runway create very different modernization paths.

SAP Business Data Cloud ERP data readiness - governed foundation for analytics and AI

Data and Data Management

SAP Business Data Cloud Turns ERP Data Readiness Into the Real Test

SAP Business Data Cloud promises a governed foundation for analytics and AI—but ERP data readiness, fragmented legacy architectures, and budget pressure mean most organizations aren't ready to capture that value. With 45% still evaluating BDC and only 3% achieving a unified data layer, partner execution and data context are now the deciding factors.

AWS agentic AI SAP ERP exceptions - MCP agentic ERP infrastructure with AgentCore

Application Development and Integration

AWS Is Giving SAP Agents a Rulebook for ERP Exceptions

AWS has introduced an Agentic Standard Operating Procedures framework that gives AI agents a rulebook for resolving SAP ERP exceptions—reading approved procedures, acting on live SAP data via Amazon Bedrock AgentCore, escalating high-risk cases to humans, and logging every step for full audit compliance.

Real-time ERP data pipeline for enterprise AI agents - data lakehouse architecture

Cloud Platform and Technology

Real-Time ERP Data Becomes the Next Test for Production AI Agents

Enterprise AI agents are only as useful as the business context they can see. Real-time ERP data movement—governed, low-latency, and pipeline-native—is now the defining test for whether production AI delivers on its promise for finance, order management, and supply chain teams.

Cloud Platform and Technology

SAP Business Data Cloud Raises the Stakes for ERP Data Readiness

SAP Business Data Cloud positions itself as the governed foundation for AI-driven analytics. But adoption is still early, data fragmentation remains the norm, and only 3% of organizations have achieved a unified data layer. This article examines what ERP teams need to address before BDC can scale: semantic preservation, BW migration maturity, partner capability, and governance frameworks for agentic AI.

Financial Management

BlackLine: Agentic Finance Needs a Close Readiness Test

AI will not fix a financial close process still built on manual journals, spreadsheet reconciliations, and after-the-fact audit documentation. BlackLine's new benchmark guide defines the seven close readiness metrics finance teams need to measure before agentic automation can scale safely and makes the case that governance and observability must come before AI deployment.

Automation

Agility’s $2.5B Wall Street Pitch Tests Whether Warehouse Humanoids Are Ready for Real Work

Agility Robotics is going public through a $2.5B SPAC merger with Churchill Capital Corp XI—a move that would make it the first US-listed pure-play humanoid robotics company. With 65,000 hours of real-world warehouse operations and $300 million in Digit v5 orders, Agility is testing whether physical AI can survive Wall Street's scrutiny of ROI, uptime, and supply chain integration.

Analytics and AI

SAP and IBM Say AI-Ready ERP Still Starts with Trusted Infrastructure

SAP and IBM are positioning ERP infrastructure as the foundation of AI readiness. New customer wins—including JYSK, GBM, DIFARE Group, and Plastilene Group—show how SAP Cloud ERP Private on IBM Power Virtual Server gives enterprises a secure, scalable path to modernization without abandoning the resilience of IBM Power.

Clinical Applications

ERP Today Awards: AI, Operational Execution, Real-World Impact Defined ERP Leadership in 2025

The ERP Today Awards 2025 make one thing clear: ERP leadership is no longer defined by deployment success, but by real-world impact. Across five award categories—spanning AI innovation, operational execution, customer experience, SMB transformation, and large enterprise projects—the 2025 winners set a new standard for what it means to lead with enterprise technology.

Application Development and Integration

meshIQ and Dataeko Target the Middleware Blind Spot Blocking Modernization

meshIQ and Dataeko have partnered to give enterprises unified visibility and control over middleware environments that connect ERP, supply chain, and banking systems across hybrid and multi-cloud estates. Powered by meshIQ's Version 12.1 agentic AI, the partnership targets the middleware blind spots blocking cloud modernization.

Enterprise AI sprawl and invisible AI governance concept

Analytics and AI

The AI Bill Is Bad, But Not Knowing What Is Running May Be Worse

Enterprises are learning the biggest AI bill is not tokens but invisible AI they cannot see, govern, or measure. This article explains how ERP and IT leaders can bring AI agents, tools, and workflows under real governance before sprawl, risk, and cost spiral out of control.

Manufacturing Systems and Automation

Epicor Takes Its ERP AI Bet to Europe’s Factory Floor

Epicor has launched Epicor Prism in the UK and parts of Europe, introducing embedded AI agents within its ERP system to facilitate easier data interpretation and decision-making for manufacturers, while also addressing ERP customization challenges.

Analytics and AI

Microsoft’s Layoffs Has Put Its AI Sales Machine Under Scrutiny

Microsoft's recent layoff of 4,800 employees, mainly from its sales and Xbox divisions, reflects a broader shift in the enterprise software model due to AI investments, highlighting challenges in selling complex AI solutions while adapting workforce structures to meet changing customer needs.

Financial Management

Sage Finds Finance AI Can Be 99% Accurate and Still Fail the Trust Test

A recent Sage study revealed that 71% of finance leaders would dismiss a highly accurate AI tool if it lacked explainability, emphasizing that transparency and the ability to validate AI-generated outputs are crucial for trust and compliance in financial decision-making.

Analytics and AI

AI’s Token Binge Is Over—Now Enterprise Budgets Want Proof

Enterprises that once rewarded employees for maximizing AI usage are now discovering how quickly token costs can spiral. As finance leaders tighten budgets, AI pilots are being judged on workflow‑level outcomes, model routing discipline, and whether they actually improve delivery, code quality, and ERP operations—not just how many tokens they consume.

Analytics and AI

The ERP Today Awards 2025 Playbook

Get prepared for the ERP Today Awards 2026! A practical story framework for finding, shaping, and nominating transformation work that deserves recognition in 2026. Download our awards playbook to get nomination-ready for the ERP Today Awards 2026.

Global tax management architecture connecting ERP data, e-invoicing, tax engines, analytics, and compliance governance.

Governance, Risk, and Compliance

SAPinsider’s New Global Tax Report Shows Why ERP Data Is at the Center of Compliance

SAPinsider’s 2026 Global Tax Management benchmark shows that tax compliance is becoming an ERP data problem, with AI, e-invoicing, regulatory change, and fragmented systems forcing tax, finance, and IT leaders to rebuild the foundation.

SAP AI budget discipline for hiring and travel

ERP Strategy and Planning

After SAP’s Leadership Reorg, AI Overhaul Places New Scrutiny on Hiring and Travel

SAP is reallocating its operating budget by tightening hiring, limiting travel, and reviewing supplier spending to prioritize investments in AI capabilities and technologies, signaling a strategic shift towards enhancing its AI-driven products and services while managing operational costs.

ERP Strategy and Planning

Workday Says AI Agents Belong Closer to the Systems They Could Break

Workday is drawing a clear line in the enterprise AI agent debate: for high-stakes workflows in HR, payroll, and finance, the safest place for AI inference and orchestration is inside the system of record, not on neutral third-party platforms. Through its controlled openness model—open APIs and MCP for developers, proprietary governance within Workday—the company argues that context, business logic, and security controls are a competitive moat that cannot be safely externalized.

Financial Management

BlackLine Is Giving CFOs a Control Room for Finance AI

BlackLine’s Finance Control Console preview turns its Agentic Financial Operations Platform into a control room for AI agents, giving CFOs visibility, policy enforcement, and audit‑ready evidence across record‑to‑report, invoice‑to‑cash, and other finance workflows.

Automation

NTT DATA Bets Cursor Can Speed the Messy Work of Legacy Modernization

NTT DATA’s partnership with Cursor brings AI coding agents directly into its global software engineering model, aiming to speed legacy modernization while strengthening governance and aligning modernization with enterprise‑wide AI strategy.

ERP AI readiness gap after S/4HANA migration - digital brain with question mark on enterprise data dashboard

Analytics and AI

ERP AI Readiness FAQ: Why SAP S/4HANA Migration Alone Will Not Get You There

Most ERP teams treat S/4HANA go-live as the finish line for transformation—but it is only the starting line for AI readiness. This FAQ explores why migration alone is not enough, what data and cloud foundations are missing, and how ERP leaders can build the architecture required to move AI from pilot to production.

INPEX energy transformation SAP Cloud ERP Private modernization for energy transition

Cloud Platform and Technology

INPEX Rebuilds Its SAP Core for a More Volatile Energy Market

Japanese energy company INPEX has gone live on SAP Cloud ERP Private, replacing its 2008-era IBOS system as part of INPEX Vision 2035—a strategy to build a more agile, data-driven management foundation capable of supporting energy transition into hydrogen, ammonia, carbon capture, and renewables. Partnering with ABeam Consulting and using a fit-to-standard SAP approach, INPEX is laying the groundwork for AI-driven operational efficiency across its global operations.

Applied Materials finance transformation using SAP Taulia Dynamic Discounting for supplier payments

Business Process Management and Automation

Applied Materials Is Finding Finance Transformation in Faster Supplier Payments

Applied Materials is using SAP Taulia Dynamic Discounting as part of its Agile Finance program to accelerate supplier payments, improve supplier liquidity, and build a scalable, AI-first finance operating model. The initiative shows how enterprise working capital programs can evolve from transactional efficiency tools into strategic platforms that deliver both supplier value and measurable financial returns for large manufacturers.

Analytics and AI

Honeywell Pushes Industrial AI into Control Rooms and OT Cybersecurity

Honeywell launched Experion Cognition, an AI-driven control system to enhance autonomous operations in industrial control rooms, while simultaneously expanding its OT Cybersecurity Suite to bolster defenses against advanced cyber threats, illustrating a strategic focus on integrating AI with operational resilience and security.

ERP Strategy and Planning

Why Unit4 Keeps Showing Up on the ERP Shortlist

Unit4’s latest ERPx moves show why the vendor keeps appearing in shortlists for service-centric organizations. Success4U, DataHub, and FIX sharpen its pitch around deployment predictability, governed analytics, and ERP built for people- and project-driven operations.

Governance, Risk, and Compliance

AI Made Code Faster—Tricentis Says Quality Teams Are Falling Behind

Tricentis’ 2026 Quality Transformation Report shows that AI has accelerated software creation faster than many organizations can validate it, turning quality engineering into a boardroom issue for ERP and enterprise application leaders.