Can Agentic AI End Forced ERP Upgrades?

The enterprise software industry has perfected a deal where every three to five years, companies are compelled to upgrade under the guise of 'innovation,' while facing the threat of discontinued support. Firms spend millions on upgrades they may not need, rebuilding existing functionalities. The alternative is being left behind on unsupported legacy systems.

AI has disrupted this notion of forced upgrades. The combination of generative AI and agentic AI has opened new possibilities. Enterprises can now build new processes and innovations on top of existing ERP systems without altering the core.

This approach fundamentally shifts the power dynamics. Companies can innovate on their own terms, using existing customizations as advantages. It also changes how systems interact, with agentic AI orchestrating across platforms, extracting value from data wherever it resides.

Looking forward, enterprise software is expected to evolve. Companies are developing process intelligence, workflow automation, and business logic in separate layers above ERPs. The database becomes a commodity, and value shifts to the orchestration layer.

Vendors are acquiring AI companies and developing platform capabilities. However, vendor-specific AI only works within its ecosystem, while platform-agnostic AI can orchestrate across any system, offering unmatched capabilities.