Brian Sommer

Too many systems of...well, what?

Summary: Most ERP and other applications vendors are talking up new concepts like Systems of Record. Is there any real insight here or is this just more marketing hyperbole?

Software sales don’t just happen just because a vendor wants them to. Nope. The vendor must craft a compelling narrative, a solid business case/justification, and the whole product to make value creation happen for customers. That hasn’t happened in the ERP AI age – yet.

ECM (Enterprise Content Management) vendor Hyland hosted thousands of customers at their recent user conference. Agentic AI was, of course, front and center but Hyland’s market view is still different as it reflects a firm long focused on data and not just accounting or HR transactions.

Summary: While many of us know of Boomi as a long-term leader in the integration software /iPaaS space, its most recent efforts have all been about AI – mostly Agentic AI. So, how will this play out in the market and what should we watch for?

Think your HR software is up to the challenges the AI age is triggering? Take a look at my challenges to software vendors planning to attend the HR Technology Conference this Fall. Will they rise to these challenges or just offer up some tweaks to the same old pre-AI solutions we’re already used to using?

The fast-growing HCM vendor announced a number of Agentic AI capabilities, a relationship with Anthropic and more.

Summary: For decades, Fubini's Law has correctly stated how new technologies get embraced from their initial uptake through many iterations and even when it gets supplanted by something radically newer. Executives should examine their current AI strategies against this Law and determine whether their AI strategy really is as forward-looking and correct as it should be.

A recent spate of ERP & HR pitches has left this industry analyst feeling ill. These vendor pleadings may be well intentioned but they’re also far off the mark from where they should be.

If all of the ‘new’ AI-based HR solutions out there seem a bit too derivative and uninspired, then maybe your HR organization should take control of its destiny, strategy and AI efforts. The starting point is with new ideas – radically, new ideas.