The era of clicking through sixteen menus just to find out why your North Carolina warehouse is short on gaskets is ending. Honestly, if you’re still treating your ERP as a passive digital filing cabinet, you’re already behind. Enterprise software news today ERP shifts are no longer about "cloud migration"—that was a 2022 problem. Today, on January 18, 2026, the conversation has moved to "Agentic Workflows" and the total death of the static dashboard.
We are seeing a fundamental rewire of how businesses breathe.
Earlier this week, SAP reiterated a hard line for its ecosystem: the May 2026 cutoff for S/4HANA Compatibility Packs is a "final" grace period. It’s a polite way of saying the old legacy bridges are being demolished. If you haven't moved those classic functions into the cloud core by then, you're essentially flying a plane with parts that no longer exist.
The Rise of the "Ask Oracle" Era
One of the biggest waves in enterprise software news today ERP circles is the rollout of Oracle NetSuite’s "SuiteAgents" and the "Ask Oracle" interface. It’s kinda wild to think about, but the search bar is becoming a dialogue.
Instead of running a report, exporting to Excel, and pivot-tabling your way to an answer, executives are literally asking their ERP: "Which product lines are seeing a margin squeeze because of shipping delays in Southeast Asia?" The system doesn't just give you a table. It gives you a narrative. It identifies the root cause (maybe a specific carrier issue in Singapore) and suggests a move. This isn't science fiction; it’s the SuiteCloud AI toolkit that went into full release this month.
Why SAP is Forcing the May 2026 Deadline
SAP isn't just being difficult. By pushing everyone off Compatibility Packs by May 31, 2026, they are forcing a transition to what they call "Clean Core."
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- The Problem: Most companies have "Frankensteined" their ERP with so much custom code that they can't use new AI features.
- The Fix: Moving to standard cloud modules where Joule (SAP’s AI) can actually function.
- The Risk: If you miss this window, your "on-premise" S/4HANA setup becomes a siloed island.
Basically, if your data isn't in the cloud-native format, the AI agents can't "see" it to help you automate your period close or triage your payables.
Microsoft’s GPT-5 Integration into Dynamics 365
Microsoft just dropped a bombshell in their January release notes. Dynamics 365 Copilot is now officially running on GPT-5 for its agent-building platform. This matters because GPT-5 handles "multi-step reasoning" significantly better than previous versions.
You've probably felt the frustration of an AI that forgets what you said three steps ago. These new "Declarative Agents" are designed to act as specialized employees. A "Procurement Agent" can now identify a projected stockout, scout your pre-approved vendors, compare historical pricing, and draft the PO for your approval—all before you’ve even had your first coffee.
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The $600 Billion Consolidation
AlixPartners recently released a report suggesting that 2026 will see a massive $600 billion surge in M&A activity within the enterprise software sector. Why? Because mid-market ERP vendors who didn't build "AI-native" cores are getting eaten alive.
We’re seeing smaller, nimble players like GoodDay Software—which just raised another $7 million to build an "AI-native ERP" for Shopify brands—target specific niches that the giants have ignored. The market is splitting. You either have a massive, intelligent "System of Intelligence" like Oracle or SAP, or you use a highly specialized, agent-driven tool for your specific micro-vertical.
What Most People Get Wrong About ERP AI
A lot of people think AI is just a "chatbot" sitting on top of the software. That’s wrong.
In the latest enterprise software news today ERP updates, the AI is moving inside the database. It’s doing "Predictive Rebalancing." For example, if the system sees a weather pattern that might disrupt a shipping lane, it can suggest moving inventory from a slow regional hub to a high-demand center before the storm even hits.
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It’s about moving from "What happened?" to "What should I do?"
The New Role: Cognitive Architects
Honestly, the job of the IT manager is changing. You aren't "configuring modules" anymore. You’re becoming a Cognitive Architect.
You are orchestrating how different AI agents talk to each other. Your "Finance Agent" needs to trust the "Supply Chain Agent," and your job is to set the guardrails. Trust infrastructure is the new bottleneck. If you don't have robust identity and audit controls, these autonomous agents can't do their jobs because the "Trust Deficit" costs too much in potential security risks.
Actionable Steps for Your ERP Roadmap
If you’re looking at your current system and feeling that "legacy dread," here is how you actually handle the current shifts:
- Audit for Compatibility Packs: If you’re an SAP shop, identify every "classic" function you're still running. You have until May. That is a sprint, not a marathon.
- Shift Budget to "Trust Infrastructure": Analysts suggest allocating 20% to 30% of your AI budget specifically to data governance and security. An autonomous agent is only as good as the permissions it has.
- Experiment with "Two-Tier" ERP: Don't try to move the whole company at once. Keep your corporate backbone but let your fast-moving subsidiaries or departments try out AI-native alternatives like NetSuite’s SuiteAgents or Dynamics 365’s new GPT-5 powered workflows.
- Prioritize "Clean Core": Stop the custom coding. Use BTP (Business Technology Platform) or low-code extensions to keep your main ERP "clean" so you can receive the monthly AI updates without breaking your system.
The "passive system of record" is dead. The winner in 2026 isn't the company with the most data; it's the company whose ERP is smart enough to tell them what that data actually means before the competition figures it out.