Many companies are considering the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to transform ERP. Your ability to reap the rewards of this potential may depend on how far along you are in digital transformation.
A recent IDC report sponsored by Rimini Street, AI and ERP: Intelligent Business Automation and Creating Differentiating Value, by Mickey North Rizza, vice president of Enterprise Software Group, highlights that 51% of companies are running a digital business . However, “IDC research reveals that 49% of organizations are still in the process of digitally transforming. So it’s clear that moving to a digital business can be difficult. »
Last year’s launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT generative AI chatbot undoubtedly opened the floodgates of vendor AI promises. “2023 was a pivotal year for generative AI technology as tools like ChatGPT went from lab curiosity to household name.” CIO writes in a roundup of the latest announcements in generative AI. “But CIOs are cautiously evaluating how to securely deploy generative AI across the enterprise and what security barriers to put in place around it.
The keys to success
Before committing to a software vendor’s AI roadmap, it’s probably wise to first assess your organization’s ability to continually automate and innovate. “While this may seem easy, it is not,” Rizza writes.
Success, she adds, requires focusing on implementing a cloud strategy, further automating all business processes, as well as exploring and applying continuous innovation opportunities such as AI.
“This focus is not always easy as organizations have a lot to do, including developing a technology strategy to reshape the organization for the digital world, which means understanding and modernizing their current technology portfolio alongside their on-site heritage. solutions,” emphasizes Rizza.
The benefits, however, are worth it: “In this case, the ERP can be rapidly improved with AI, producing smarter insights, an ability for employees to navigate and respond more quickly, thereby improving their decisions and thereby increasing an organization’s performance,” she writes. .
Rizza presents several ERP use cases that organizations find more effective when AI is applied, such as improving manufacturing processes and the financial close process, as well as improving business processes such as project management, product lifecycle and execution, and service management.
“With more than 65% of organizations believing that AI is essential to their ERP system, AI and the innovation it can enable are now becoming mandatory for new ERP systems,” adds Rizza while emphasizing that Rimini Street helps: “ERP customers are migrating their products to the cloud and optimizing organizational time with an AI-integrated workflow to ease the migration to a new system.
Is this really for you?
Not everyone recognizes the benefits of AI and ERP, she says. “Organizations must understand what is important to them and weigh all aspects of costs and benefits when it comes to creating and maintaining a competitive advantage in the digital world. »
Many Rimini Street customers turn to us to avoid being stuck with vendor roadmaps. ERP software vendors are forcing their customers to move from robust, stable systems to new, unproven platforms by imposing end-of-production support deadlines, coercive audits, or “limited-time” license credit offers. ”, without any clear ROI or business value.
It’s important to match your technology needs to your business priorities. AI can help organizations scale with speed and agility and improve digital workflows. As Rizza notes, “AI is an area that many vendors are still experimenting with, so understanding its use by both a vendor and how that translates to customers is a critical metric that every business must understand during the selection process. »
To learn more about Rizza’s insights and survey data on the benefits organizations are realizing from AI, read the full IDC report sponsored by Rimini Street.
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