The end of ERP software as we know it: Why agentic AI ERP is the most practical evolution

On average, large enterprises now manage more than 660 software applications, and ERP (enterprise resource planning) software remains tightly coupled to proprietary ecosystems. According to Deloitte, nearly half of IT budgets are consumed by operations and maintenance. When vendor-mandated ERP software upgrades are factored in, the share of funds already committed before any strategic decision is made becomes even more significant.

A common concern is that ERP software upgrades and migrations, though marketed as progress, typically deliver only modest improvements while introducing disruption, risk and budget increases. It’s not the software itself that’s broken — the ERP processes can and will run indefinitely with the right maintenance. It’s the monolithic model that forces IT departments to take actions that may not be beneficial or valuable to their organisations. Often, it forces the loss of critical customisations they rely on for differentiation and drains resources that could be better invested in growth, whether new products, acquisitions or expansion.

Traditional ERP model: The antithesis of flexibility

At a time when enterprises need flexibility more than ever, ERP vendors are moving in the opposite direction. By tightening licensing models and reinforcing lock-in, vendors make change slower, more expensive and far more constrained. As a result, transformation that should increase agility instead becomes a high-risk, high-cost exercise, eroding strategic freedom for IT leaders.

There is strong enthusiasm for and confidence in AI to address the pain points of traditional ERP software. End-to-end enterprise software support and innovation solutions provider Rimini Street’s global survey of nearly 4,300 C-suites found that 44 per cent of leaders identify AI and automation as the top capabilities they need to support both short- and long-term IT initiatives. And research such as McKinsey & Company’s 2025 global survey on AI highlights measurable productivity and cost improvements across enterprise functions as organisations deploy AI to streamline operations and reduce manual effort. Augmentation of existing ERP software, powered by Agentic AI, offers a pragmatic path forward.

Agentic AI ERP: The time is now

AI agents are designed to orchestrate end-to-end business processes across multiple systems; automate routine decisions and workflows; and provide predictive, contextual insights in real time. The ERP system remains a reliable system of record. The Agentic AI ERP approach uses the existing ERP system for what it does best — serving as a stable transactional backbone. Intelligence, automation and adaptability are layered on top but decoupled from the core platform’s constraints. As a result, innovation no longer depends on resource-intensive upgrades or replatforming.

By deploying autonomous, AI-powered agents that collaborate with existing ERP and enterprise applications, organisations can build composable, flexible architectures. This means changes and enhancements take place around the edges — not in the core, where mistakes can ripple across entire systems — thereby limiting risk and avoiding disruption to mission-critical operations.

Third-party support: The strategic accelerator for Agentic AI ERP

Enterprises can no longer afford transformation strategies that take years to deliver value. Implementations frequently exceed original budgets and timelines, often becoming multiyear programmes that consume capital and leadership attention. This traditional modernisation approach introduces constraints and financial risk precisely when organisations require agility the most.

A proven enabler of this shift to Agentic AI ERP is third-party enterprise software support. By extending the life of existing ERP environments, keeping them secure, stable and compliant while significantly reducing ongoing support and maintenance costs, organisations can simply layer on Agentic AI ERP while preserving what already works.

For Brazilian consumer goods company Ypê, for example, Rimini Agentic UX, Powered by ServiceNow — an Agentic AI ERP proof-of-concept solution consisting of an intelligent, AI-driven user engagement layer that streamlines processes for speed of execution and significant savings — took only one month from ideation to delivery and is expected to help the company reduce its approval cycle by 60 per cent for accelerated time-to-value.

Rimini Street describes this as Transformation without Disruption, extending the life of ERP investments while enabling faster, lower-risk innovation.

It is confident that Agentic AI ERP can help organisations dramatically rebalance their budgets, shifting innovation spending from a tiny fraction of the budget to significantly more. Agentic AI offers a way to modernise ERP without the business betting on a single, irreversible transformation.

Rimini Street has published an in-depth white paper, The Rise of Agentic AI ERP, which discusses the potential of Agentic AI ERP and explores how enterprises can unlock innovation, drive agility and recoup ROI.

In association with Rimini Street