During a recent CIO roundtable, one message stood out clearly to me: ERP modernisation is at the top of the list for virtually every company. AI has been the catalyst for this acceleration. And while it is a long-term transformation, focusing first on concrete KPIs and innovation objectives makes it more achievable. But there is no doubt that it requires bold leadership and an unwavering focus on people, process, and technology.

They are designing standard architectures, building enduring capabilities, and forging partnerships that keep pace with relentless change. That means eliminating technical debt with clean core ERP foundations, and creating only the extensions that truly differentiate. It also means moving to a cloud operating model, so IT can focus less on maintenance and more on driving the business forwards.

The challenge is real: and leaders are managing highly customised legacy systems and the pressure to keep the business running while reinventing them. Yet across industries, patterns are emerging that make ERP transformation not only possible, but repeatable – unlocking agility and accelerating the adoption of new technologies and innovations.

Why this matters right now

CIOs face two urgent imperatives:

• Drive transformation and AI readiness at pace
• Safeguard trust, compliance, and operational continuity at every stage

ERP is evolving from a system of record into a platform for innovation, agility, and competitive advantage. But this shift collides with decades of technical debt, fragmented data, and process overextension.

The roundtable brought to light an important truth: modernisation can no longer be seen as a one-off technical upgrade. It’s a multi-year transformation journey that must reconcile rapid delivery with long-term stability.

The winning playbooks consistently:

• Deliver rapid, visible business successes to validate investment and build momentum.
• Standardise a clean core as the foundation for agility and AI readiness.
• Embed deep business partnership so change lands, endures, and scales.

When done correctly, ERP modernisation becomes the engine for resilience and growth in an AI‑native era.

Three power plays for CIOs

I took away three outstanding lessons from the roundtable. The tried-and-tested strategies I’ve seen give CIOs the advantage to modernise ERP at scale with speed, authority, and unstoppable momentum.

1. Reduce risk on the journey with phased value delivery

Multi-year ERP transformations can stall when results are invisible for too long. By breaking large programmes into short, outcome‑tied sprints, CIOs can reduce risk, demonstrate value early, and unlock incremental funding.

Examples from the round table included:

• Standardising a finance workflow in one region to reduce days spent on close.
• Automating a high-volume accounts payable process to free up operational capacity.

To succeed:

• Establish a clear guiding star vision that aligns with business outcomes.
• Establish baseline KPIs, share early successes widely, and link each sprint to a capability that will be reused in later phases.
• Define short‑term deliverables achievable within the first 6 months.
• Adopt a continuous innovation strategy in partnership with the business owners.

2. Safeguard agility with a clean core

Flexibility requires discipline. The most successful CIOs set non‑negotiables on extensibility, integration standards, and data ownership from the outset. They retire or simplify customisations that slow delivery, and they decouple innovation from the ERP backbone. This enables experimentation without destabilising core systems.

A clean core is more than architecture. It’s a mind-set:

• Use standard capabilities before considering bespoke builds.
• Keep data models consistent to ensure AI and analytics can operate smoothly.
• Create new experiences ‘at the edge’ to maintain core stability.

3. Make it a shared mission

Technology fails most often when people are not ready. Approach modernisation as a human partnership, not merely an IT project.

• Integrate change management, training, and skills development from day one.
• Co‑create deployment plans with business units to ensure adoption.
• Align incentives so that teams are rewarded for adoption and continuous improvement.

Some CIOs described co-creating deployment plans with business partners to ensure usability, trust, and adoption. Leading with co-ownership ensures that modernisation is framed as a shared journey, not an IT handover.

What this looks like in practice

From the conversations, four clear steps stood out for turning strategy into tangible progress:

• Value proof before scaling: Target a high-impact process (e.g., order‑to‑cash) and demonstrate measurable improvement within weeks.
• Architect for composability: Establish a common data foundation, APIs, and event streams to enable safe, scalable composability.
• Invest in skills: Develop capabilities in product ownership, process design, and AI stewardship to maintain value.
• Plan for the unknowns: Anticipate challenges in bespoke code, data quality, and process variation; design phases to accommodate learning.

Where SAP steps in to drive the journey forward

RISE with SAP offers a structured starting point for our on-premises customers based on their starting point; something I have recommended many times to help teams keep pace with ambition.

This allows us to decouple innovation from the backbone whilst keeping the heart of the system strong.

I have seen how SAP also provides onboarding, reference architectures, value realisation frameworks, and ongoing guidance. Having support after go‑live is just as important as the migration itself.

By combining standardisation with flexibility, SAP enables customers to strike the balance that many CIOs at the roundtable said they needed most.

Leading ERP modernisation: A CIO’s blueprint for scalable growth

Organisations that are ready for the future do not simply adopt technology; they develop the cultural and architectural strength to thrive amid disruption.

If you wish to win:

• Deliver in stages to keep momentum and funding strong.
• Maintain a clean core to safeguard agility.
• Embed business partnership into every milestone to ensure adoption and impact.

These are not just steps; they are force multipliers that will define the reach and resilience of your transformation.

ERP modernisation, done correctly, is the launchpad for both today’s strategic priorities and tomorrow’s breakthroughs.