In a revealing, interview with ERP Today’s Mark Vigoroso during SAP Sapphire 2025, Kask peeled back the curtain on how SAP is building, scaling, and operationalizing AI at enterprise scale—not just as a technology trend, but as a competitive moat. “Even I have trouble keeping track of all the announcements and use cases,” he admitted with a laugh. “But make no mistake—this has been years in the making.”

In a landscape flooded with AI hype, SAP’s strategy stands out for its depth, rigor, and customer-first pragmatism. As Kask summed it up: “You want assets that are hard to replicate, and an organization that can exploit them. That’s how you lead—not just this year, but for the next ten.”

For all its technical firepower, SAP’s AI strategy begins with ethics. “We design for human empowerment, not displacement,” said Kask, referencing SAP’s published AI Ethics Policy—one of only six companies to earn a perfect score in the World Benchmarking Alliance’s ethics evaluation.

Listen in to learn more about SAP’s latest AI-driven strategy and how SAP’s go-to-market approach prioritizes controlled experimentation.

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According to Inetum, this restructuring will bring the company closer to its clients, better respond to regional nuances, and turbocharge the execution of its two core business lines: Inetum Solutions, led by Hemant Lamba, and Inetum Consulting, led by Emmanuelle Payan.

François Fleutiaux Appointed to Head EUROMED

The newly formed EUROMED hub significantly consolidates Inetum’s regional presence, bringing together France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Morocco, and Tunisia.

The region will be helmed by François Fleutiaux, who has joined Inetum and has experience in leadership roles at Orange Business France, T-Systems International, IBM, Unisys, and Fujitsu. Inetum indicated that his track record in driving growth and leading major transformations with a customer-centric approach signals a clear intent to energize this key region, which is home to many businesses reliant on robust SAP landscapes.

Inetum Expands Kathy Quashie’s Role

The “Growing Markets” hub, encompassing the United Kingdom, Ireland, Switzerland, and Eastern Europe, will be led by Kathy Quashie.

This expands Quashie’s role as CEO of Growing Markets for the Inetum Group. She was previously at the helm of Inetum’s UK and Ireland markets, and her expanded role underscores the company’s ambition in these territories that represent significant markets for SAP adoption and transformation.

Manuel Garcia Del Valle Carlos Roca to Continue Leading LATAM Ops

According to Inetum, the established Iberia-LATAM zone, already a model of regional synergy, will continue under the region’s current CEO, Manuel Garcia Del Valle Carlos Roca. This continuity highlights the success of the company’s integrated approach across Spain, Portugal, Mexico, Peru, Colombia, and Brazil.

All three regional leaders will report directly to Jacques Pommeraud, Chairman and CEO of the Inetum group, and will be integral members of the Group Executive Committee.

Building on a Successful Model

Commenting on the changes, Jacques Pommeraud, Chairman and CEO of Inetum, stated, “This simplification of our organization builds on the proven success of our Iberia-LATAM model, which has demonstrated how markets sharing cultural and economic ties can generate significant synergies.”

He added that grouping operations into these three strategic areas will create more powerful entities capable of accelerating innovation and optimizing Inetum’s presence across its markets.

What This Means for ERP Insiders

With this new structure, Inetum is seeking to enhance service delivery. ERP users should note that this structural change from a partner like Inetum aims to maximize its local footprint and promote the cross-pollination of best practices. These are vital elements when undertaking complex ERP projects or seeking ongoing support and innovation from partners like SAP, which already has a strong presence in these regions.

A renewed regional focus signals more substantial synergies. For ERP professionals, these changes at Inetum highlight a strategic intent to become more synergistic across all its locations, which can directly impact the quality and relevance of the services you receive. Expect tailored approaches that better understand the specific challenges and opportunities within each geographic market where your ERP system operates.

Greater potential for leveraging shared expertise. Inetum’s emphasis on strengthening regional synergies also suggests potentially strengthened shared resources across borders, which could translate into more efficient project delivery and innovative solutions. For example, the move could result in even more competitive service models for clients navigating the complexities of digital transformation with SAP S/4HANA, cloud migrations, or other ERP initiatives.

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Leveraging Platform-Based Strategy

With an ambitious yet focused approach, Inetum is leveraging its platform-based strategy, deep client intimacy, and differentiated delivery model to create meaningful business outcomes across Europe and growing markets. Quashie emphasizes, “From public sector modernization to AI-enabled service innovation, Inetum is positioning itself as a scalable and trusted partner.

“Digital” is a term that’s lost much of its punch through overuse. For Inetum, however, digital transformation isn’t a nebulous aspiration — it’s a defined, data-driven strategy anchored in three principles: cloud-first, data-first, and AI-first.

“When we speak of transformation, it’s about harmonizing technology with business—not just implementing software,” explains Lamba. “We take a platform-centric view, integrating best-in-class solutions like ServiceNow, SAP, Salesforce and Microsoft, and across the value chain. That’s where real impact begins.”

This strategy emphasizes seamless integration—from customer acquisition and internal employee experience to backend supply chain and compliance. What sets Inetum apart is its dedication not only to the mid-market and public sector but also to verticalization. We develop industry-specific use cases in areas such as e-health, Industry 4.0, utilities, smart cities, retail, and telecom. This approach ensures that transformation initiatives are not only technical but intimately aligned with industry needs.

Embedding GenAI and Agentic AI

With GenAI and Agentic AI reshaping enterprise value propositions, Inetum has taken a decisive step toward embedding these technologies into its core offerings.

“Innovation is in our DNA,” says Lamba, who also oversees the group’s innovation labs. “We don’t just experiment with GenAI — we’ve built an internal GenAI Hub that is LLM-agnostic and designed to scale. From training to deployment, we help our clients be AI-ready, not just AI-curious.”

The company’s “AI readiness” model begins with robust data foundations, followed by cloud optimization and platform alignment. It’s a pragmatic model that rejects “proof-of-concept fatigue” — a trap many organizations fall into when AI projects stall after initial tests.

“When we speak of transformation, it’s about harmonizing technology with business—not just implementing software. We take a platform-centric view, integrating best-in-class solutions across the value chain.” – Hemant Lamba, CEO of Inetum Solutions

Inetum’s enterprise AI solutions range from predictive analytics and workflow automation to Agentic AI that enables autonomous decision-making within defined business constraints. Its early selection by ServiceNow as one of the top 10 partners to pilot its Agentic AI use cases further underscores Inetum’s credentials.

Focused Market Strategy

Inetum focuses squarely on markets where it can build depth, not just breadth. Nearly 100% of its business is concentrated in Europe, particularly in mid-market enterprises and the public sector.

“We’ve worked closely with regional governments and public institutions,” Quashie notes. “We speak the languages, understand the regulations, and build intimacy at a regional level.”

This intimacy fuels trust—an asset Inetum cultivates deliberately. Its best-shore strategy, a hybrid of nearshore, offshore, and on-site delivery, reflects this client-centric ethos. Whether it’s leveraging SAP expertise from Portugal or deploying ServiceNow talent from Bulgaria and India, the company offers flexibility without compromising cultural relevance or quality.

Culture as a Competitive Differentiator

To Quashie and Lamba, culture is more than a corporate cliché—it’s a competitive differentiator. Both have gathered leadership across geographies to co-create trust-focused team norms, emphasizing trust, accountability, and excellence.

“In a high-trust environment, people are empowered to innovate and take responsibility,” Lamba explains. “Culture isn’t taught—it’s experienced.”

Quashie echoes this sentiment, pointing to Inetum’s strategic bet on the UK and Ireland (UKI) as a proving ground for cultural and operational cohesion. With Inetum’s acquisition of ServiceNow specialist Unifii, the UKI market has become a launchpad for its broader strategy of organic growth in the growing markets.

Disciplined Expansion

Despite operating in a competitive landscape, Inetum’s growth strategy avoids the pitfalls of undisciplined expansion. Instead, it targets high-potential regions like the UK and Ireland, combining local acquisitions with innovation labs and deep partner ecosystems.

Their success in public sector IT has been bolstered by the UK government’s BOS2 framework (RM6285), G-Cloud 14 and DOS 6, giving Inetum direct access to public sector procurement for cloud and hybrid SaaS solutions. These strategic footholds are part of a deliberate plan to replicate their proven European model in newer markets.

“Focus is our superpower,” Quashie notes. “We’re not trying to be everything to everyone. We’re solving real problems in sectors we understand deeply.”

With over 7,000 experts in its Solutions unit and a goal to double its team size in the coming years, Inetum places massive emphasis on capability building. Its 2025 certification strategy aims to ensure 100% of consultants are certified across its four core platforms— ServiceNow, SAP, Salesforce and Microsoft.

Centers of Excellence

Regional hubs such as Bulgaria (ServiceNow), Portugal (SAP), and Belgium (Microsoft) are not only delivery centers but also Centers of Excellence. These hubs enable Inetum to execute at scale while retaining regional specificity, a balance few competitors manage well.

“Focus is our superpower. We’re not trying to be everything to everyone. We’re solving real problems in sectors we understand deeply.” – Kathy Quashie, EVP and CEO of Inetum Growing Markets

Moreover, each hub operates with internal academies and innovation labs. We have seven GenAI Hubs across Europe to accelerate learning and product development in tandem.

Overcoming AI Fatigue

Lamba acknowledges the industry-wide fatigue around AI. “There’s too much ‘death by POC,’” he quips. “Everyone is experimenting, but few are scaling. Our approach is grounded—we ask: What is the business case? Are you AI-ready? If not, we get you there.”

Inetum’s GenAI Factory is a cornerstone of this effort, offering enterprises a structured way to develop, deploy, and scale generative and agentic AI solutions across their platforms. This includes industry-specific applications already live in ServiceNow’s marketplace.

Enterprise-First AI Approach

Lamba stresses, “Crucially, Inetum’s AI approach is enterprise-first. Inetum helps clients bridge structured and unstructured data environments, a key hurdle in most GenAI implementations. Whether dealing with legacy databases or real-time cloud services, the goal is to unify and extract value seamlessly”. Security is also paramount. As AI expands, so do the risks. Inetum’s AI roadmap includes a strong focus on zero-trust frameworks and cybersecurity, integrating safety protocols from day one.

Bold Ambitions and Repeatable Playbook

Inetum’s ambitions are bold: to be the uncontested leader in digital transformation for Europe’s upper mid-market and public sector. Yet, it’s the clarity of execution that’s winning clients. Its playbook is repeatable: start with client intimacy, build on trusted platforms, layer in AI and data, and deliver through a blended nearshore/onshore model. It’s a strategy grounded in execution, not hype.

As Lamba puts it, “We’re not interested in being the loudest voice—we want to be the most dependable one.”

Inetum’s story is not one of radical reinvention but one of focused excellence. For C-level leaders navigating a complex landscape of AI promises, hybrid cloud realities, and digital fatigue, Inetum offers a model worth emulating: pragmatic innovation, deeply local engagement, and an uncompromising focus on results. At a time when many digital transformation narratives are fraying under scrutiny, Inetum’s is just beginning to unfold—with clarity, credibility, and a roadmap built not just for growth, but for trust.

What This Means for ERP Insiders

Focus on industry-specific solutions and deep platform integration. Inetum’s competitive advantage lies in its verticalization strategy (developing industry-specific use cases) and its platform-centric approach, integrating best-in-class solutions like ServiceNow, SAP, Salesforce and Microsoft. The company focuses on understanding the unique needs of specific industries like smart cities, e-health or utilities, for example, and ensuring seamless integration of ERP systems within a broader digital ecosystem. As Quashie aptly summarized, “Thus, seeking partners, like Inetum, who not only implement ERP but also possess deep industry knowledge and a proven track record for delivering tangible business outcomes.”

Emphasize client intimacy and a trust-focused culture for true success. Deep client intimacy, particularly within the European mid-market and public sector, leveraging regional understanding and a blended delivery model are some of the hallmarks that have made Inetum successful. As Quashie and Lamba point out, their internal culture emphasizes trust, accountability, and excellence. This underscores the value of prioritizing strong, long-term relationships, understanding regional context and regulations, and fostering a collaborative and trustworthy engagement. All these factors can result in more tailored ERP implementations and ongoing support that aligns with an organization’s specific needs and cultural nuances.

Focus on AI readiness and scalability for pragmatic innovation. Inetum’s approach to innovation, particularly with AI, emphasizes practical application and scalability rather than just experimentation. Their “AI readiness” model, starting with data foundations and cloud optimization, aims to avoid “proof-of-concept fatigue.” This highlights the fact that when organizations seek implementation partners, they must look for one that can guide them through a structured AI adoption journey, ensuring their data and infrastructure are prepared for AI integration. The partner should help the organization focus on solutions that can be scaled for real business impact within their ERP landscape and beyond. This is what Inetum’s mission is all about – to help our customers transform potential into performance.

The post Unlocking Digital Impact: Inetum Redefines Transformation Through Platform Ecosystems and AI Innovation appeared first on ERP Today.

This partnership isn’t just about technology integration—it’s a strategic roadmap for how enterprise software ecosystems will evolve in the AI-driven era. For enterprise technology leaders, it’s a signal to move boldly toward AI systems that can act autonomously to complete tasks across enterprise environments, like digital coworkers who contribute to the company alongside employees.  

At the heart of the announcement is the deployment of IBM’s AI agents within OCI’s AI Agent Studio and Fusion Applications, allowing for dynamic multi-agent workflows that span both Oracle and non-Oracle systems. These agents can be hosted on Red Hat OpenShift across public, sovereign, government, and Oracle Alloy regions, to allow customers to meet varying regulatory environments. Oracle also intends to make IBM’s Granite AI models available via OCI Data Science, enhancing customer choice with lighter, fit-for-purpose large language models. 

Oracle customers stand to benefit not only from expanded AI functionality but also from new consulting services from IBM aimed at helping clients shift from legacy virtual machines to modern, containerized environments using OpenShift on OCI. Moreover, IBM’s Envizi ESG Suite—focused on sustainability reporting and ESG data management—is planned to be made available on OCI, further cementing the alliance’s value to enterprises striving to meet digital transformation and environmental compliance goals simultaneously. 

What This Means for ERP Insiders 

Start with use case-driven AI orchestration across systems: Tech leaders should evaluate agentic AI not as a monolithic technology, but as a system of interconnected agents solving real operational bottlenecks—particularly in areas like HR, procurement, and supply chain. As the IBM and Oracle collaboration shows, value lies in stitching together disparate systems with intelligent agents that understand, act, and improve autonomously. IDC forecasts that by 2026, over 60% of large enterprises will deploy agentic systems for cross-functional workflows—meaning early movers gain a decisive edge in productivity and cost savings. 

Align infrastructure for multicloud, hybrid, and containerized future:  This partnership underscores the strategic shift toward hybrid cloud and container-based workloads. ERP leaders must assess whether their current infrastructure can support Red Hat OpenShift or similar orchestration layers that provide portability, scalability, and AI-readiness. Enterprises migrating from traditional VMs to OpenShift on OCI are already seeing a 30–40% improvement in deployment speed and resource utilization, per IBM Consulting benchmarks. 

Rethink ESG reporting as a competitive differentiator:  The inclusion of IBM’s Envizi ESG Suite signals that environmental data is no longer peripheral—it’s foundational. ERP, finance, and sustainability leaders should consider embedding ESG metrics and governance directly into their ERP architecture. With 75% of global companies expected to face stricter disclosure regulations by 2026 (per PwC), integrating real-time ESG reporting within core platforms like Oracle Fusion Cloud may soon become table stakes for both compliance and brand credibility. 

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Transforming Enterprise AI with Innovation and Business-Centric Solutions

IBM has long been a pioneer in AI, from Watson’s early innovations to today’s enterprise AI solutions. IBM’s AI strategy rests on two pillars: IBM Software, which provides security-focused and transparent enterprise AI, cloud, security, and automation solutions, and IBM Consulting, which drives large-scale business transformation, technology implementation, and managed services, leveraging IBM and ecosystem partner technologies. In fact, IBM is one of few major technology companies with a global consulting business at scale, which is a key differentiator when it comes to helping clients deploy AI. IBM’s AI book of business has grown to over $5 billion across software and consulting, with 80% of bookings coming from IBM Consulting.

Oracle’s AI strategy is built on over 40 years of enterprise technology and applications expertise, seamlessly integrating AI into both data platforms and business processes —Jody Clayton Group Vice President, Advanced Technology- SaaS Technology, Analytics, AI & Emerging Technology at Oracle

Oracle also has a long history with AI and innovative technologies, embedding AI directly into Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications Suite, offering a robust, scalable AI solution with tight control over data security and governance. With over 100 generative AI-driven capabilities already live and 50 ready-made AI agents across the suite, Oracle enables business users to change the way work gets done with AI through enhanced decision-making, workflow automation, and improved productivity. As Jody Clayton, group vice president, Advanced Technology – SaaS Technology, Analytics, AI & Emerging Technology at Oracle, emphasizes, “Oracle’s AI strategy is built on over 40 years of enterprise technology and applications expertise, seamlessly integrating AI into both data platforms and business processes. Our cloud infrastructure is engineered for performance and cost efficiency, making it the preferred choice for running AI workloads. By having a complete infrastructure, data, and application cloud platform, Oracle is able to drive AI services and embedded intelligence across the enterprise, helping improve the efficiency of all employees.”

Oracle’s AI strategy is anchored in three critical components. First is high-quality, context-rich data, which is essential for AI success, and Oracle’s data platforms provide a solid foundation for AI-driven automation. Second is a cost-efficient AI infrastructure, as Oracle’s cloud infrastructure is optimized for AI workloads, which can help reduce training and deployment costs while helping to enhance processing power. And third is deep connectivity across critical business processes, as Oracle integrates AI across key business functions, including finance, HR, supply chain, and customer experience. Rod Johnson, executive vice president, cloud applications, Oracle, says, “A prime example of Oracle’s AI-driven transformation is its own financial operations. With Oracle Fusion Cloud Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Oracle Fusion Cloud Enterprise Performance Management (EPM), Oracle has achieved a record-fast financial close cycle, consistently reporting earnings in under ten days. In addition, Oracle has saved approximately 80,000 hours annually through AI-enhanced forecasting and budgeting. For businesses, these capabilities translate to tangible improvements, such as increased accuracy in demand planning, enhanced decision-making, and greater operational efficiency.”1

“The synergy between IBM and Oracle extends beyond automation into AI model integration. Oracle customers can leverage IBM’s watsonx AI models within Oracle Cloud applications, combining IBM’s granite models with Oracle’s AI stack and cohere models.” —Shobhit Varshney, VP & Sr. Partner, Americas AI Leader at IBM

Oracle’s AI solutions offer customers the opportunity for significant productivity gains and operational efficiencies. Whether optimizing finance, HR, or supply chain operations, AI in Oracle Fusion Applications is intentionally embedded into business processes to help deliver real-world impact, optimize workflows, and maximize revenue potential.

Co-owning Enterprise Transformations

Collaboration is at the heart of IBM Consulting’s strategy, with a strong focus on collaborating with industry leaders like Oracle to deliver AI-powered solutions that can help drive measurable business outcomes. With an open ecosystem approach, IBM Consulting meets clients where they are, leveraging AI models from IBM, Oracle, and other business partners to enhance business processes and bring together the strengths of both companies to help deliver optimized enterprise solutions.

With a legacy of AI leadership, IBM embeds generative AI capabilities into its implementation methodologies and platforms to help customers with Oracle deployments. A key enabler of this strategy is IBM Consulting Advantage, an AI-powered delivery platform that equips consultants with generative AI agents, assistants, and applications to augment their work supporting clients. IBM Consulting Advantage leverages IBM and business partner technologies and provides predefined frameworks, industry templates, business process flows, and intelligent workflows that streamline implementation and reduce manual effort through automation. Chacko Thomas, Americas Oracle Leader, IBM, highlights, “Oracle customers get out-of-the-box AI-powered SaaS, but as implementers, that is just our starting point. At IBM, we aim to enhance the entire implementation lifecycle by helping clients boost their productivity from design to testing. With IBM Consulting Advantage agents, assistants, and applications, our consultants are leveraging AI-powered tools to streamline processes and reduce manual effort, like generating test scripts. It is about delivering the best of Oracle Fusion Applications for clients while optimizing implementation with IBM’s productivity tools.”

IBM Consulting’s deep industry expertise helps organizations align AI adoption with their sector-specific challenges, helping clients navigate Oracle’s existing AI capabilities and identify where custom AI solutions are required. IBM’s acquisitions of Accelalpha and Applications Software Technology LLC have expanded its Oracle consulting expertise across industries such as supply chain and logistics, finance, and the public sector to support clients in their digital transformations with Oracle Fusion Applications. By enhancing Oracle Fusion Applications with industry-specific expertise, frameworks, and additional AI solutions, IBM Consulting enables Oracle customers to maximize efficiency and innovation while reducing time-to-value.

Additionally, with multi-cloud flexibility—including Red Hat OpenShift, certified on Oracle Cloud—IBM helps organizations deploy AI-driven automation across hybrid and multi-cloud environments, enabling scalability and adaptability. As Shobhit Varshney, VP & Sr. Partner, Americas AI Leader, IBM, emphasizes, “The synergy between IBM and Oracle extends beyond automation into AI model integration. Oracle customers can leverage IBM watsonx AI models within Oracle Fusion Applications, combining IBM Granite models with Oracle’s AI stack. IBM watsonx Orchestrate further enhances this ecosystem, enabling digital labor coordination across platforms so that organizations can tailor AI-powered automation to their unique business needs.”

Starting the Transformation Journey

For many organizations, the biggest challenge with AI-driven automation is knowing where to start. Oracle makes this easier with hundreds of built-in AI capabilities in Oracle Fusion Applications, many of which can be activated with minimal effort. IBM further simplifies the process by helping customers optimize these AI-driven capabilities, accelerating adoption and immediate value realization.

“Oracle customers get out-of-the-box AI-powered SaaS, but as implementers, that is just our starting point. At IBM, we enhance the entire implementation lifecycle—boosting productivity from design to testing.” —Chacko Thomas, IBM’s Americas Oracle Leader

Oracle has long been at the forefront of business process automation, with over 100 generative AI and machine learning capabilities embedded in its applications. Now, the company is advancing further with the release of new AI agents and its AI Agent Studio for Oracle Fusion Applications, which combines large language models (LLMs) with other technologies to accomplish complex tasks that previously could only be done by humans. This shift represents a major transformation in automation, moving beyond rigid, rule-based workflows to intelligent decision-making. By embedding AI-driven workflows within its enterprise applications, Oracle enables organizations to streamline operations while maintaining tight control over data governance and security. IBM provides consulting services and solutions to help clients implement and derive greater value from Oracle Fusion Applications, leveraging IBM Consulting Advantage to accelerate AI transformation.

Conclusion

As AI adoption accelerates, enterprises seek solutions that integrate intelligence while providing security, scalability, and efficiency. IBM and Oracle offer distinct yet complementary AI capabilities to help drive business transformation. IBM specializes in AI consulting and secure, enterprise-specific AI models designed for transparency and control. Meanwhile, Oracle embeds AI directly into all layers of the technology stack, helping enhance automation, decision-making, and operational performance.
Together, they create a robust AI-enabled enterprise ecosystem, combining Oracle’s built-in AI with IBM Consulting services to drive business transformation, technology implementation, and managed services . This synergy enables organizations to harness AI confidently, helping to drive efficiency, agility, and competitiveness in an increasingly intelligent business landscape.

References
1 https://www.oracle.com/playbook/financial-excellence/

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Facing the Crossroads of ERP Modernization

The path to a modern ERP environment is often paved with uncertainty. At the heart of many transformation conversations is the move to cloud-based ERP, which promises streamlined adoption and business innovation—but the journey is far from linear.

Nick Miletich, COO at Proterra, summarizes the core challenge: “I would say the biggest challenge and the biggest conversations we continually have is about how to navigate this journey.” For many organizations, aligning legacy systems, cloud readiness, and business goals introduces both technical and strategic friction.

SAP customers, for example, must manage the integration of SAP S/4HANA or RISE with SAP, SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP), as well as newly introduced offerings such as SAP Business Data Cloud. The combination of these solutions can introduce complexity that often overwhelms customers. As Miletich explains, “Some clients haven’t even started using cloud-based data stores. This makes the jump to multiple new solutions a big pill to swallow. And they come to us to talk through what that journey is going to look like.”

Steele Arbeeny, North American CTO at SNP, points to another pressing issue: articulating the value of modernization efforts. “You need a better story than that,” he says, referring to the difficulty in justifying investment when the visible gains may seem incremental. “It’s a struggle to connect that story to the size of the investment.”

Strategic Modernization: Start Small, Think Big

To avoid analysis paralysis, many leaders are adopting phased, pragmatic approaches to transformation. According to Miletich, “A lot of clients automatically expect that it is necessary to update underlying data platforms, ERP systems, and infrastructure at the same time. And that’s not the case.” Instead, 80% of Proterra’s work involves gradual steps—starting with an initial move to cloud-based infrastructure, then layering in an ERP update and introducing modern development principles.

This modular mindset also aligns with SNP’s “selective migration” approach. As Arbeeny explains, organizations can “pick and choose what you want to migrate and what you don’t,” allowing for surgical modernization while optimizing cost, time, and impact.

The Power of Platform, Data, and Business AI

ERP vendors today are doing more to expand their platform ecosystems, reshaping how organizations build digital capabilities. However, even when the solutions offered are fully managed software-as-a-service offerings, Miletich points out that “you still need technical teams to do what we would consider standard administrative tasks,” reinforcing the need for clear ownership and skills alignment across technical teams.

Data strategy is becoming a linchpin of the ERP modernization roadmap. This is because having cleansed and harmonized data is a vital part of centralization projects and preparation for future innovation. But organizations are also looking to ensure that they aren’t replicating data unnecessarily. This shift reduces latency and improves data integrity across systems.

It also lays the groundwork for business-grade AI, where contextually trained algorithms operate on real-time data, not stale extracts. But as Arbeeny warns, “If your data isn’t good, you’re not going to get value out of it.” Modernization is the moment to cleanse, archive, and reshape data into an AI-ready foundation.

Partnering for Progress

Technology partners remain essential allies in executing digital strategy. Miletich highlights their indispensable role: “The augmentation and innovation of what the partners bring has been absolutely beneficial to everything we’ve done.” From strategy and compliance to migration and integration, experienced partners offer the vertical expertise and solution depth that ERP customers need to accelerate value realization.

As Arbeeny notes, partners are often the crucial translators between the ERP vendor and customer business needs: “Here’s how we can use data from the ERP system, data from other systems, and third-party data to make this end result better.”

Rethinking Skills for the Modern Professional

In this hybrid future, IT professionals must evolve. Traditional skills—like ERP administration—remain relevant, even as new capabilities like managing cloud platforms and enterprise architecture gain prominence.

Cloud-based ERP offers streamlined adoption and business innovation, but the journey is far from linear.

“The cloud skill set I think is going to be the hot commodity,” says Miletich, citing the need to monitor resource usage, manage environments, and optimize connectivity. Other industry experts are focused on the value brought by enterprise architecture which bridges technologies to deliver real business value and is tremendously important when most organizations are running solutions from multiple vendors in a variety of landscapes.

Importantly, Arbeeny calls out the enduring importance of functional insight: “What is the customer doing?

How can we improve the customer journey with all these tools, right?”

Act with Purpose, Engage with Strategy

For organizations still in deliberation, the message is clear: delay only increases risk. Miletich encourages teams to understand and grasp the changes that are occurring within ERP systems today. Having that knowledge is key to planning for future innovation. The journey can be taken in phases, but there must be a starting point.

Arbeeny adds a final note of focus: “Start with doing it for the right reason. Everything should begin with a value discussion.” By grounding transformation efforts in business outcomes, ERP leaders can avoid tech-for-tech’s-sake initiatives and chart a path that aligns IT execution with enterprise growth. ERP modernization is not a single project—it’s an ongoing commitment to agility, intelligence, and innovation. Whether simplifying the core, embracing cloud platforms, activating business AI, or building a future-proof workforce, success requires proactive engagement, clear business alignment, and trusted partners. As ERP ecosystems continue to evolve, technology leaders who act with clarity and conviction will be best positioned to turn transformation into sustained advantage.

What This Means for ERP Insiders

Prioritize a Phased Approach to ERP Modernization. Avoid the trap of “big bang” transformations. Instead, break your ERP modernization journey into manageable phases. Begin by enhancing cloud readiness, then layer in an ERP upgrade or initiatives that will streamline manageability over time. This approach reduces risk, accelerates time to value, and aligns better with resource availability and organizational readiness.

Build a Unified Data Strategy to Unlock AI Potential. Invest early in data quality, governance, and integration—especially if AI or business analytics are part of your roadmap. Leverage enterprise platforms to eliminate replication, enable real-time visibility, and extend insights beyond just the ERP system. Clean, well-structured data is foundational to realizing meaningful business outcomes from AI and automation initiatives.

Engage Partners Strategically for Transformation Expertise. Partners bring critical experience, industry-specific knowledge, and technical capabilities to navigate complex migrations, integration efforts, and new platform adoption. Collaborate closely with partners who understand your business model and can help translate evolving offerings into clear, executable value-driven strategies.

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Sherman will lead Unit4’s global product organization, with a mandate to align product development with the company’s strategic goals, customer needs, and emerging technologies. Her appointment comes as Unit4 continues to expand its people-centric ERP cloud solutions for mid-market and service-focused organizations.

“Jennifer brings a wealth of experience in building innovative, user-centric products and a deep understanding of what it takes to scale in a fast-moving tech landscape,” said Simon Paris, CEO of Unit4. “As we continue to evolve our product offerings, Jennifer’s leadership will be instrumental in shaping the future of our platform and delivering even greater value to our customers.” 

A Proven ERP Veteran Steps in to Lead Next-gen Product Strategy 

Sherman joins Unit4 from legal technology platform CARET, where she served as Chief Operating Officer. Her previous leadership roles include Chief Product and Experience Officer at NMI and Head of Product Management at Kibo, NAVEX Global, and Aptean. She began her career at Oracle, where she helped design and launch the company’s first Warehouse Management System for its ERP suite—bringing a strong foundation in both product strategy and ERP market dynamics.

The timing of Sherman’s appointment is significant. With organizations prioritizing digital transformation and scalability, ERP vendors are under pressure to innovate with more flexible, user-focused, and AI-enhanced platforms. Unit4’s ability to differentiate its offerings through intuitive design, industry-specific capabilities, and rapid deployment is seen as key to maintaining momentum—and Sherman’s experience aligns directly with those priorities. 

“I am incredibly excited to join Unit4 at such a pivotal time in its journey,” Sherman said. “I have a true passion for technology that supports customers and businesses who serve others, and Unit4 embodies this. With the company’s strong foundations, a talented team, and a clear vision for the future, I’m excited to help deepen customer impact and scale the next phase of growth.” 

As Unit4 prepares to expand its ERPx platform and capitalize on rising demand for agile ERP systems, Sherman’s leadership is expected to help steer product strategy and execution in ways that resonate with mid-market enterprises navigating complexity and change. 

What This Means for ERP Insiders 

Strategic product leadership is critical as ERP competition intensifies. With the global ERP software market projected to exceed $70 billion by 2030, according to Fortune Business Insights, vendors are under increasing pressure to differentiate through innovation, usability, and agility. Jennifer Sherman’s appointment signals Unit4’s intent to sharpen its product leadership and accelerate the evolution of its ERPx platform. For technology decisionmakers, this move underscores the growing importance of selecting ERP partners that demonstrate a clear, future-focused product roadmap backed by experienced leadership with a customer-centric mindset. 

People-centric ERP is gaining traction in the mid-market. As organizations prioritize workforce experience, flexible deployment, and business-specific workflows, demand for people-centric ERP solutions is rising. Sherman’s experience in user-focused product design and SaaS scalability aligns with this market shift—particularly in the mid-market services sector, where Unit4 has a strong foothold. Business leaders evaluating ERP options should consider platforms that go beyond transactional efficiency to enable talent management, service delivery, and customer engagement in one integrated system. 

Innovation velocity and scalability are now competitive differentiators. The pace of change in the ERP space is accelerating, driven by cloud adoption, AI integration, and evolving compliance needs. Unit4’s decision to bring on a CPO with experience scaling SaaS platforms and modernizing legacy systems reflects the need for continuous innovation. Technology leaders should assess their ERP vendors’ ability to rapidly evolve and support business growth without sacrificing stability or security. Platforms led by agile, visionary product teams are best positioned to keep pace with today’s dynamic digital landscape. 

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Infor, an industry cloud software provider, aims to cut through this complexity, particularly with its recent introduction of the Infor Velocity Suite, designed to accelerate the delivery of tangible business outcomes.

Mari Cross, Chief Customer Officer at Infor, understands this challenge intimately. Her role oversees teams dedicated to ensuring customers implement Infor’s solutions and continuously derive value from them. “We’re deeply committed to our customers,” Cross affirms, a commitment that extends equally to those running on legacy systems as it does to cloud-native clients.

Bridging the Divide

For companies anchored by older technology, the idea of a rip-and-replace can be daunting and disruptive. Infor offers a bridge. “We have approaches where we can create hybrid environments,” Cross explains. This allows businesses to immediately tap into the power of the Infor OS platform and house data in a modern data lake to prepare for optimization. According to Cross, the goal is a complete transition “to help them see the future and show what best practices look like.”

For Cross, the true partnership begins not at contract signing but after implementation: “When a customer goes live, it is probably Day one of their journey. But in the days following this, they start realizing value.”

Making Businesses Agile

The current economic climate, marked by volatility and unpredictable factors like tariffs, amplifies the urgency for businesses to become more efficient. This is the backdrop against which Infor launched the Velocity Suite. Cross describes it as a collection of advanced technology where things like process mining, automation, and AI are combined with services to help implement those technologies, which are almost like pre-wired business outcomes.

She notes that the emphasis is on the result. “The focus there is critical that we’re trying to not sell technology but really doctor outcomes for our customers,” Cross explains. This outcome-centric approach, rooted in Infor’s deep understanding of specific micro-vertical industries, makes the suite “really relevant for customers, especially in this environment, providing prepackaged solutions to common challenges like pricing pressures or resource constraints,” she adds.

Industry Specific AI

Additionally, Cross points out that AI capabilities are “built into our basic ERP applications,” providing industry-specific intelligence within daily workflows. The Velocity Suite then layers advanced AI and automation across the application landscape. “This allows Infor to identify and optimize processes or drive even further value beyond the core ERP functions,” Cross explains.  She adds that because AI is part of the platform, it creates a much faster time to market compared to stitching together separate third-party tools.

Translating Capabilities into Action

When it comes to implementation, Infor follows a structured path for its customers: Diagnose, Automate, and Optimize. The company starts with understanding a customer’s core business drivers and then uses tools like process mining to identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies.

“Process mining is literally observing all the processes within a customer’s business,” Cross notes, “helping pinpoint anomalies and prioritize areas for maximum impact on profitability or cost.”

Once the opportunities are clear, Infor applies solutions from its Value+ catalog—like accelerating invoice processing—or builds custom solutions. Automation removes manual steps, while optimization leverages AI and advanced modeling to enhance remaining activities, such as improving demand forecasting accuracy.

However, Cross acknowledges that barriers often include a lack of in-house expertise or the capacity to take on innovation projects while managing daily operations. By providing the technology and implementation support, Infor aims to lower that barrier.

“By engaging with us, as we automate, optimize, and reduce the workload, [customers] have more time to spend on strategic tasks,” she observes.

Cross illustrates the impact of this approach with some real-world examples:

Xpress Boats, a customer focused on rapid delivery, used process mining to optimize their shipping process, reportedly achieving a remarkable “50% reduction in expected shipping costs and in time of delivery.”

In another instance, Infor automated invoice processing for a customer, transforming a multi-step manual workflow into a near-automatic process.

A groundwater equipment distributor facing volatile demand due to weather leveraged Infor’s AI models for forecasting, achieving 90% more accurate forecasting compared to their previous method.

“These cases highlight the Velocity Suite’s potential for delivering significant, measurable results, often on timelines far shorter than traditional implementations,” Cross concludes.

What This Means for ERP Insiders

The focus is shifting to industry-specific solutions. While the move to cloud ERP is a clear trend, industry-specific solutions are better equipped to deliver tangible business outcomes. According to a McKinsey study, 75% of customers expect a lot of gains from software implementations, and only about 25% get those gains. This underscores the need to choose solutions and partners focused explicitly on value realization within your specific industry context, moving beyond generic systems that may fall into the “value void.”

Infor’s strength lies in its deep micro-vertical focus. For businesses in manufacturing, distribution, and other heavy industries, aligning with a vendor like Infor means they likely understand your unique processes, challenges, and value drivers from the outset. This can significantly accelerate time to value and ensure the technology effectively addresses your most critical needs. Moreover, companies like Infor stress a robust process mining strategy for these industries as it prioritizes identifying workflows with the highest potential impact on cost, revenue, or delivery time. For ERP users, decision criteria include selecting tools that integrate with your ERP and operational data, provide clear visibility into process anomalies and bottlenecks, and directly inform automation and optimization initiatives to ensure insights translate into action.

ERP providers must offer more than just transactional recording. Organizations should expect capabilities that provide real-time visibility into dynamic costs, support scenario planning for alternative sourcing or production, and enable quick adjustments to pricing and inventory strategies. Solutions that improve overall operational efficiency, like those for process automation and optimization within suites like Velocity, become crucial for offsetting increased supply chain costs.

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The Challenges Around Data and AI

According to Nish Patel, Partner, Hybrid Cloud & Data at IBM Consulting, a significant hurdle lies in a few key business concerns: accountability, transparency, and explainability. These, he noted during an ERP Today webinar on this topic on April 30, all stem from a fundamental issue: trust.

“Trust is a major extension of data,” Patel emphasized. “Without trustworthy data, the outputs of even the most sophisticated Gen AI models become questionable.”

The challenges to achieving this data trust are significant and widespread. Nish pointed out that a staggering 45% of enterprises struggle to make their data useful for analysis or feeding into AI, primarily because it’s scattered across “multiple locations, multiple clouds, multiple data silos.” This fragmentation leads to poor data quality and inconsistency, contributing to a startling statistic: 80% of business executives don’t trust their data.

Add to this the challenges of expanding company-wide data literacy (a high or critical priority for only 26% of those surveyed by IBM), protecting organizational data (only 18% excel at this), and concerns about data lineage and provenance (a barrier for 61%), and the scale of the data readiness problem becomes clear.

A Seven-Step Framework

So, how do you tackle this multi-headed data monster? Sandhya Ranganathan Iyer, Associate Partner, AI and Analytics at IBM Consulting, shared a seven-step framework for laying the groundwork with robust data governance. “It all starts with building a strong foundation and establishing a data or AI governance office to ensure alignment across IT, legal, and business teams,” she said.

A crucial step Iyer highlighted is building a rich metadata catalog. This creates information about your data, providing the business context needed for Large Language Models (LLMs) to make sense of organizational-specific information and generate tailor-made responses.

She added, “The metadata catalog is key to helping the LLM understand and provide responses tailor-made to your organization.”

From there, the framework moves through overlaying data privacy rules, ensuring compliance with ever-changing regulations, implementing data quality measurements and custom rules, and making trustworthy data accessible across the organization through tools like marketplaces and semantic search. This accessibility also comes with the crucial elements of lineage and explainability, so users understand where the data came from and what transformations it has undergone – further building trust. The final step involves continuous monitoring to ensure data remains up-to-date and reliable, even incorporating data drift detection.

Technology Matters

But even with a solid framework, the technology you use matters. Patel highlighted Oracle Database 23ai as a technology that can accelerate data readiness. “Features like automatically building and refreshing vector data, and semantic search capabilities allow users to simply ask a question like you would in a chat to fetch information from a document or to generate SQL queries,” he said. This, combined with no-code development options, can significantly accelerate the AI application production path.

Ultimately, the journey to Gen AI success isn’t just about algorithms or models. According to Patel and Iyer, it’s deeply human and about building trust in the very foundation of AI—the data. “This requires collaboration across teams, a commitment to quality and governance, and a willingness to adopt technologies that can help tame the data monster,” Patel concluded.

What This Means for ERP Insiders

Gen AI is a business imperative, but data readiness lags. Market trends indicate that while AI adoption is accelerating, with a significant percentage of organizations exploring or implementing AI, a considerable portion still feel unprepared for the advancements expected. The Generative AI market itself is projected to grow explosively. However, key challenges, such as data quality, governance, and the lack of relevant skills, are frequently cited barriers. This highlights a critical dichotomy: the clear business value and rapid adoption curve of Gen AI are undeniable, but the foundational work of ensuring data is trustworthy, accessible, and well-governed remains a significant, often underestimated undertaking.

Gen AI has great potential when applied to trusted, well-governed business data. Imagine leveraging Gen AI for more intelligent forecasting based on historical sales data combined with market reports or improving customer service by allowing natural language queries against product information and support logs. The emphasis on handling structured and unstructured data within platforms like Oracle Database 23ai is particularly relevant for ERP users who deal with everything from transaction records to contracts and communications. Getting data ready through governance and quality steps directly enables these practical applications, moving beyond reporting to truly leveraging data for better decision-making and operational efficiency.

The power of partnership and integrated technology matters. The collaboration between IBM Consulting and Oracle, highlighted by the capabilities of Oracle Database 23ai, signals a significant push towards making the foundational data layer more amenable to Gen AI, even within complex enterprise environments. ERP users often deal with vast amounts of structured and unstructured data, so the idea of a database automatically handling tasks like building and refreshing vector data is a game-changer. Features like AI vector search built into the database can dramatically accelerate how businesses leverage their data for AI. This multi-cloud availability of advanced database features also means organizations aren’t necessarily tied to a single cloud provider to leverage these capabilities alongside their existing ERP deployments.

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Aligning Strategic Consulting with Microsoft’s Technology Stack 

The Microsoft Practice will combine IBM’s deep consulting expertise with Microsoft’s technology portfolio, including Copilot, Azure OpenAI, Azure Cloud, Microsoft Fabric, and Sentinel. The goal: provide business leaders with a unified approach to driving growth, reducing operational costs, and building long-term competitive advantage. 

“IBM Consulting is committed to our clients’ successes and we’re proud to offer them the opportunity of working with an ecosystem of global industry leaders with proven track records of innovation and delivery excellence,” said Mohamad Ali, Senior Vice President and Head of IBM Consulting. “Establishing a dedicated Microsoft Practice is needed to drive meaningful business outcomes for our clients and I look forward to what we will be able to achieve together.” 

The practice will mobilize more than 33,000 Microsoft-certified professionals across IBM’s global footprint. This extensive network will support clients with supercharged innovation spanning cloud, AI, data, and cybersecurity, coupled with enterprise-grade security controls. It also marks the expansion of IBM and Microsoft Experience Zones, where clients can explore solutions hands-on, from initial strategy through to full-scale implementation and optimization. 

Driving Governed AI Adoption Through IBM Consulting Advantage 

A key innovation is the integration of Microsoft’s technology ecosystem into IBM Consulting Advantage, IBM’s proprietary AI-powered delivery platform. Through advanced Copilot integrations, clients can now deploy tailored AI solutions for diverse business needs while maintaining critical enterprise governance and security standards. 

“IBM’s launch of a Microsoft Practice is a pivotal step in our shared mission to empower customers through cloud and AI technologies,” said Nicole Dezen, Chief Partner Officer at Microsoft. “This collaboration unites experts to deliver tailored solutions that will drive innovation and operational excellence, to help businesses unlock new growth opportunities and accelerate business transformation.” 

The Microsoft Practice will also focus on building sector-specific solutions across industries such as retail, consumer packaged goods, government, financial services, and supply chain. It builds on joint successes like IBM Copilot Runway and IBM Consulting Azure OpenAI Services, which are already helping clients operationalize generative AI to unlock new business value and enhance operational efficiency. 

For example, the State of Arizona Department of Child Safety cited IBM Consulting’s support in deploying Microsoft generative AI solutions to streamline case management workflows. “The IBM team helped us implement key Microsoft generative AI solutions that have significantly improved the efficiency of caseworkers, enabling them to focus on what really matters—helping families,” said Frank Sweeney, Chief Information Officer of the department. 

To date, IBM has delivered over 14,000 Microsoft projects globally and offers more than 30 IBM Software products running natively on Microsoft Azure—giving clients seamless access to integrated automation and AI capabilities tailored to their specific needs. 

What this means for ERP Insiders 

Unifying AI and cloud expertise accelerates enterprise transformation. The creation of IBM’s Microsoft Practice reflects a growing demand for integrated AI and cloud services. According to IDC, global spending on AI-centric systems is expected to surpass $300 billion by 2026, while Gartner forecasts that 75% of enterprises will have adopted a digital transformation model built on cloud by 2027. Business leaders should assess how combining IBM’s consulting depth with Microsoft’s AI and cloud capabilities can help streamline transformation strategies and reduce time to value. 

Industry-specific solutions are key to scalable innovation. The new practice will deliver tailored offerings across sectors like government, retail, and financial services—industries where legacy systems and regulatory pressures often slow progress. Research from Accenture shows that 91% of executives believe industry-specific AI solutions will create competitive advantage in the next two years. Decision-makers should prioritize consulting partners who understand both the technological landscape and the nuances of their sector. 

Enterprise-ready AI integration improves operational efficiency. By embedding Microsoft Copilot and Azure OpenAI tools into IBM’s AI-powered delivery platform, the practice offers secure, governed AI deployments at scale. McKinsey estimates that generative AI could add up to $4.4 trillion in global productivity gains annually. Leaders should take advantage of pre-integrated, enterprise-grade platforms like IBM Consulting Advantage to safely accelerate AI adoption and drive efficiency gains across core business operations. 

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