ERP Strategy and Planning

In a panel discussion featuring IT leaders, key trends highlighted include business process automation as a priority for 2024, the widespread yet uneven adoption of SAP S/4HANA, the ongoing challenges of AI integration, and the critical importance of data management for successful transformations, underscoring the need for bold organizational changes and a cultural shift towards digital and data-driven methodologies.

Lumenia Consulting's ERP HEADtoHEAD event returns to the U.K. on April 2-3, 2025, offering finance and IT executives insights into leading ERP solutions, hands-on demonstrations, and expert guidance to enhance their understanding and selection of ERP systems.

Codestone won the ERP Today Award for 'Transformation Project of the Year' for delivering a custom ERP solution using SAP Business One to an e-liquid company, resulting in significant operational improvements, enhanced efficiency through automation, and the ability to better meet market demands.

At the Acumatica Summit 2025, partners discussed the shift to cloud ERP for SMBs, modern solutions tailored for smaller businesses, and the importance of demonstrating AI-driven benefits.

Microsoft's recently announced 2025 Release Wave 1 for Dynamics 365, scheduled for April to September 2025, introduces various AI-integrated enhancements aimed at improving user productivity across sales, customer service, finance, supply chain management, and business central applications, while also emphasizing the importance of thorough planning and user training for effective implementation.

The ERP Today Awards 2024, held at The Park Plaza London Riverbank, celebrated innovations and leaders in the enterprise technology sector, with Codestone winning Transformation Project of the Year, SAP being named Vendor of the Year, and various companies recognized for excellence in areas including customer experience, finance solutions, HR tech, and operational innovation.

The evolution of ERP technology towards Composable ERP and SaaS highlights the benefits of flexibility, regular updates, and customer-driven development as key factors for small and medium enterprises to enhance efficiency and reduce complexity amidst changing market demands.

Amazon has appointed Julia White, formerly of SAP and Microsoft, as its new CMO and VP of AWS, where she is expected to leverage her extensive cloud and AI experience to strengthen AWS's position in the competitive cloud market, particularly against Microsoft Azure, while potentially deepening the partnership with SAP.

Amazon Web Services has appointed Julia White, a former executive at SAP and Microsoft, as its new Chief Marketing Officer and Vice President.

With SAP ECC support ending in 2027, the partnership between SAP, NTT DATA Business Solutions, and AWS provides businesses a cost-effective pathway to migrate to SAP S/4HANA through the RISE with SAP model, enabling digital transformation and enhanced innovation via AI and automation.

SAP announced a strong Q3 performance and raised its annual revenue and earnings guidance performance, gaining $26bn in market value to grab the top spot as Europe’s most valuable tech company.

Microsoft will discontinue support for its legacy Dynamics GP ERP system by September 2029, encouraging users to transition to its cloud-based Dynamics 365 Business Central, mirroring similar moves by ERP competitors SAP and Oracle.