Unit4 Predictions: ERP Strategies in 2026

This is a guest blog post by Claus Jepsen, Chief Technology Officer, Unit4. It takes a catechetical form of self-posed questions and answers.

Where will AI deliver the most value to ERP in 2026?

A big focus will be on integration to enable machine to machine communications so that AI agents can take on more repetitive back office tasks freeing up users to focus on more strategic work. We already have agents performing individual tasks, but with the right AI glue these agents will be able to supercharge their impact in the world of ERP. If they can operate invisibly in the background, talking to one another and identifying where and when to bring humans into the loop, this will dramatically reduce the administrative burden on users. Of course, this requires carefully considered frameworks to safeguard data and the right checks and balances to ensure AI decision making is accurate, but this will move us towards the exciting next phase of “ambient ERP”.

How will AI change ERP workflows and decision-making in 2026?

As AI integrates more with ERP, we’re getting closer to the concept of composable ERP. It’s possible to use the LLMs for orchestration of the user’s interaction with an application to point where you can abstract the data and remove the need to connect directly into the application. The danger for ERP vendors is that the application becomes less sticky, so it will be critical to demonstrate how you build intelligence around the application to strengthen your competitive differentiation. That means using metadata to provide sufficient context so that the LLM delivers a more accurate and meaningful response. This is when the ERP starts to become a systems of reasoning, drawing in information from across core business processes and combining it with customer-facing data and external information sources to provide employees with dynamic insights and analysis of business performance.

In 2026 what will be the biggest challenge for CIOs?

Wading through the vendor hype around AI to identify use cases that will deliver to the business, while managing the expectations of senior executives who are clamouring to use the technology. The CIO will need to take on a role of educator for the whole organisation, working closely with the governance and HR teams to ensure all employees have a clear grounding in AI, understand when it makes sense to adopt it and what parameters need to be in place to ensure its ethical, safe use.

The other big issue will be the effectiveness of your data strategy. Any organisation with legacy IT or hybrid cloud systems will face challenges to integrate data from disparate systems, but this must be addressed to create a streamlined, holistic view of all the information in the organisation.

What new skills will IT teams need in 2026?

The ability to ask the right questions and apply critical thinking to problem solving will be absolutely essential. With AI innovation moving so quickly there is pressure on CIOs to allow employees to adopt the technology for fear of falling behind the competition. However, this not just about technology adoption, but it has quickly become a business transformation exercise. To minimise disruptions CIOs must ensure they know what problems they are solving before they consider adopting AI, and that requires detailed interrogation of the brief. Increasingly, I think CIOs need to be part philosopher, part psychologist to assess the demands of their organisation, appreciate how users interact with technology and what value new technology will bring to an organisation.

What new roles or structures will start to emerge in IT to manage technology, data, and AI adoption in 2026?

There are all the obvious roles, like Chief AI Officers, and AI Orchestrators who will oversee adoption strategies, as well as help organisations with the transformational impacts of embracing AI. However, I wonder whether there could be room for a more abstract role like an AI philosopher who steps back and questions the role of innovation in an organisation, and how it brings value. So far, much of the discussion around AI has been how it automates tasks, reduces the burden on employees and frees them up to do higher value tasks. However, if we are moving towards a world where teams of AI Agents will operate autonomously in the background, we must have a meaningful discussion around how collaborating with these agents will open up new ways of working and new opportunities.

What will be the biggest non-AI related development in the world of ERP in 2026?

Data sovereignty will be increasingly important next year and we’re likely to see customers wanting to bring their data closer to home driven a couple of factors. Firstly, there could be volatility around the AI vendors depending on how the market responds to the progress they make, so organisations are going to want to manage their exposure to US infrastructure providers. Secondly, the patchwork of AI regulation around the world will necessitate customer data being stored closer to source to ensure IT systems comply with the relevant local legislation. This will necessitate more cloud mobility so that customers can shift data as required and they will look more closely at how SaaS vendors support them to enable this data portability.