The ERP reckoning: Decades of customization could block AI value
Years of ERP (enterprise resource planning) customization may have helped businesses build systems around their unique processes, but that same customization could now make it harder to get real value from AI (artificial intelligence). In her CIO article, Stephanie Overby explores the growing push toward “clean core” ERP strategies and why decades of custom code, workflows and legacy architecture can create problems for AI. As AI agents become more involved in business processes, they need consistent data and a clear understanding of how those processes work. Too much customization can make that difficult. For years, customization made sense. Companies modified ERP systems when standard software couldn’t accommodate the way they operated. The problem is that those changes accumulated over time, creating technical debt and fragmented processes. Now AI is changing the equation. AI agents need a reliable version of the truth to make decisions and take action. When business rules are scattered across custom code and workarounds, AI can struggle to determine which processes and data are authoritative.
The article highlights companies that are beginning to standardize their ERP environments, keeping customization only where it provides real business value. At Sunlight Group, for example, standardizing its ERP core helped create a more consistent data foundation for AI and analytics. But there isn’t a simple answer. Some CIOs question whether expensive ERP upgrades and de-customization are worth the investment, especially when AI technology is evolving so quickly. The bigger takeaway is that AI may be forcing companies to rethink years of ERP decisions. Adding AI to a complicated system doesn’t necessarily simplify it—it can just automate the complexity that’s already there.
Retiring Lawson, PeopleSoft, or Oracle? APIX archives the entire application — every table, every year, attachments and security included — into your own AWS account in about 30 days, so you can decommission the legacy system and keep full access to the history.
