2025 was a year of foundation setting for the world of ERP. Fundamental infrastructure continued to be put in place to foster the next evolution of technology. And once again, AI was the ‘word of the year’ in the software industry. As we look ahead to the new year, expectations are as high as ever. In this article, we will utilize our expert industry knowledge and insight to make our predictions for what major themes will dominate ERP in 2026.
2025 was a year of foundation setting for the world of ERP. Fundamental infrastructure continued to be put in place to foster the next evolution of technology. And once again, AI was the ‘word of the year’ in the software industry. As we look ahead to the new year, expectations are as high as ever. In this article, we will utilize our expert industry knowledge and insight to make our predictions for what major themes will dominate ERP in 2026.
“2025 was a foundational year. There were a lot of things going on behind the scenes…”
Last year, we saw several vendors begin pouring excess capital from recurring revenue into solution investments and technology advancements, most notably, AI. Additionally, significant private equity investments in ERP and software as a whole, opened new doors for vendors to accelerate growth and the development of solutions.
Another unusual trend we expect in 2026 is the pressure from emerging competitors driving incumbent vendors to innovate in ways they have not been forced to since the rise of the cloud. In an attempt to gain an edge over AI-based ERP, many vendors acquired new solutions to roll up into their technology stack, in addition to new product releases.
There were also significant investments in overall user-experiences directly related to AI innovations. Vendors are utilizing AI to make it easier for users to interact with the solutions they use every day, as well as streamline their day-to-day tasks. All of this has been made easier due to the money being poured into software innovation.
“Investors have businesses that have used the same ERP products for decades…those portfolio companies are fed up, and [investors] see that now”
Technology developed rapidly in 2025 and will only continue to do so into 2026. Beyond the obvious improvements to functionality offerings seen in new AI tools, vendors released industry specific functionality to further improve the processes businesses rely on every day.
Efforts were also ongoing to simplify the implementation process. To make ERP more accessible, especially within the SMB space, large ERP vendors are investing in ways to automate and streamline implementation. AI continues to be a catalyst for this change. AI can automate typical implementation processes while also identifying anomalies, risks, and other areas for improvement. These processes, platforms, and programs were more prominent in 2025.
The biggest focus of 2025 was unequivocally artificial intelligence. 2026 will be no different, as AI continues to become a core function in most software solutions. As businesses beginning seeing returns on their artificial investments, the demand for innovative solutions utilizing the technology has never been higher. We anticipate vendors will continue to push the boundaries on what can be done with AI.
In addition to functionality, we anticipate a continued “humanization” of agentic artificial intelligence. By increasing personalization and the ability to communicate with solutions through natural language, Businesses will slowly become more open to adopting AI agents, especially as they continue to achieve greater value for the everyday worker. Vendors are still developing their AI solutions and assistants. AI agents will become increasingly easy to engage with.
For the first time since the introduction of cloud-based solutions like Acumatica, new players have begun to make noise in the ERP space. “AI-native” software vendors, such as Campfire and Rillet, have started to gain steam and increase their customer base. Their emergence will completely change the expectations businesses have for their ERP and the AI capabilities that can be achieved.
“The speed of [adoption of] AI is going to make Cloud adoption look like a turtle.”
Finally, a major trend we predicted for and saw in 2025 was vendor acquisitions and market consolidation. We expect this to continue into 2026, as vendors, such as Aptean, continue to consolidate the market within their industry vertical. But beyond acquisitions, we also saw a number of new partnerships between software vendors, and even other tech giants like Amazon or Google. Anticipate this trend being a theme in 2026 as well. Vendors have realized the value of sharing technology and leveraging existing solutions from other software providers to expand their offerings and better serve their clients.
We also expect the aforementioned AI-native software vendors to see offers for acquisition. Emerging solutions are making waves in the industry for the first time since the cloud, and many big players in the ERP market will want to capitalize on that. If the consolidation trend continues, these vendors will see opportunities for acquisition or partnership with others across the ERP space.
“There is a lot of destabilization happening in the ERP industry… I didn’t say that last year, but I am this year.”
“Of all the industries in 2026, ERP is ready for a renaissance…ERP is going to be reborn this year…ERP got a little stale [in 2025]”
2025 was another impactful year for the ERP industry but mainly served as further setup for the new technology rapidly emerging. As we enter 2026, the ERP industry is looking poised for an explosion, with new life being breathed into traditionally stale solutions. If you and your business need help navigating all the exciting developments occurring in 2026, we are here to help! Schedule your free consultation today!