ERP Trends for the New Year

In 2026, ERP is no longer just a support tool. It is at the heart of managing working capital, production, supply, and customer experience. The most important ERP trends for 2026 involve transforming this core system into an intelligent, flexible platform that will grow with your business.

AI-Native, Intelligent ERP as a default

According to global IDC surveys, over 40% of organizations already use generative AI in business applications, while another 25% plan to replace tools that do not offer AI capabilities. Recent studies show that AI-enabled ERP will improve forecast accuracy by approximately 20% and reduce operating costs by double digits when used wisely.

Composable cloud-first ERP architectures

At the same time, Gartner and others refer to “composable ERP” as a strategy: Instead of a monolithic application, finance, operations, e-commerce, and supply chain features are brought together using APIs and modular services.

Data, analytics, and predictive planning take center stage

In 2026, ERP will no longer work quietly in the background, especially in manufacturing. Instead, it will become the main source of actionable information across the entire enterprise.

This trend is evident in three areas:
• Operations visibility in real time
• Predictive planning and scenario modeling
• Integrated analytics within workflows

Security, privacy, and AI domination in ERP

As AI models and cloud adoption expand, security and governance are moving up the priority list. Cloud ERP users already report improved security compared to legacy on-premise systems, but management is asking deeper questions about the use of AI.

We’re expecting:

• More transparent controls on what data can and cannot be used to train AI.
• Stronger auditing trails, access controls, and encryption built into standard ERP solutions.

User experience and accessibility

As the market moves more and more to the cloud, user expectations are changing. Decision makers and teams have become accustomed to consumer applications and expect ERP systems that they can actually work with. Recent statistics show that accessibility, cost control, and user-friendly design are now key purchasing factors, especially for SaaS applications.