Digital Transformation with Eric Kimberling

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#DigitalTransformation #ERP #ArtificialIntelligence #CIO #Leadership #BusinessTransformation #EnterpriseTechnology #ChangeManagement #SAP #Oracle

14 hours ago | [YT] | 16

Digital Transformation with Eric Kimberling

If your ERP project failed because "the business wasn't involved," your AI project will fail for the exact same reason.

I've spent 25+ years watching organizations blame the software.

Metcash. Birmingham City Council. Hertz. Lidl. Revlon. Different vendors, different decades, different price tags. Same autopsy report every time:

→ IT owned a project that should have been owned by the business.
→ Leadership treated change management as a line item, not a discipline.
→ Process decisions got deferred to a system integrator who didn't understand the process.
→ Executives signed off on a go-live they couldn't actually operate.

Now swap "ERP" for "agentic AI" and tell me the script doesn't read the same.
SAP is launching 200+ autonomous agents. Microsoft says AI is "no longer assistive. It is operational." McKinsey is projecting 5%+ EBIT lifts for early adopters. The vendor pitch decks have never been more confident.

And yet the failure mode hasn't moved an inch.

Agentic AI is not a strategy. It is a multiplier of whatever discipline you already have, or don't. If your operating model is broken, agents will break it faster. If your data governance is theater, agents will industrialize the theater. If your business and IT don't trust each other, no amount of Joule or Copilot will fix it.

The organizations that will win the next five years aren't the ones with the biggest AI budget. They're the ones who learned the lessons of the last five ERP cycles, and refused to repeat them.

📢 Question for the IT leaders and transformation execs in my network:
What's the one ERP lesson you wish someone had forced you to apply to your AI roadmap before you started?

hashtag#DigitalTransformation hashtag#ERP hashtag#AgenticAI hashtag#EnterpriseAI hashtag#ChangeManagement

1 day ago | [YT] | 56

Digital Transformation with Eric Kimberling

𝗕𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗗.
Or at least… temporarily silenced.

This week, I was live on TikTok discussing my new book *𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦* and talking openly about the dysfunctions, conflicts of interest, and systemic problems within the enterprise technology industry.

About two-thirds of the way through the livestream, I started discussing something that has become increasingly common:

📩 Anonymous emails telling me to stop speaking out
📞 Voice messages warning me to “be careful”
⚖️ Sternly worded but ultimately unenforceable attorney letters attempting to intimidate or silence criticism

Ironically, these are some of the exact stories discussed in the book itself.

Then, in real time, while discussing those experiences… TikTok interrupted the livestream and restricted it for “bullying and harassment.”

The lock only lasted 10 minutes.

But it was enough to remind me how powerful “the machine” can be.

Not because one temporary restriction changes anything meaningful in the long run, but because it reflects a broader dynamic we increasingly see across industries:

➡️ Slick sales and marketing narratives often overpower transparency and truth
➡️ Independent voices are tolerated… until they become inconvenient
➡️ Criticism of systems and incentives is often reframed as negativity rather than accountability

The ERP and digital transformation industry has incredible people in it. I’ve met many of them. But it also has deep structural conflicts that too few people are willing to discuss publicly.

That is exactly why I wrote *𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦.*

So here’s my question for all of you:

❓ At what point does protecting an industry’s image become more important than allowing honest debate and criticism?

And perhaps more importantly:

❓ Should independent and diverse voices in the ERP and technology industry be encouraged… or quietly silenced?

Would genuinely love to hear your perspective.

📘 *Welcome to the Machine* is available worldwide on Amazon:
www.amazon.com/Welcome-Machine-Systemic-Failures-T…

#ERP #DigitalTransformation #EnterpriseTechnology #Leadership #AI #SAP #Oracle #Microsoft #Technology #BusinessTransformation

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5 days ago | [YT] | 257

Digital Transformation with Eric Kimberling

𝗪𝗛𝗬 𝗗𝗢 𝗦𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗦𝗛𝗘𝗘𝗧𝗦 𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗟𝗟 𝗥𝗨𝗡 𝗦𝗢 𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗬 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗘𝗦? 📊

Because most organizations don’t actually trust their systems.

So employees create workarounds.

Then those workarounds become:

➡️ Reporting systems
➡️ Forecasting tools
➡️ Inventory trackers
➡️ Budget models
➡️ “Temporary” solutions that somehow survive for 12 years

That’s where Spreadsheet Guy comes from.

Not because people love spreadsheets.

Because:

❌ Processes are broken
❌ ERP systems don’t fit the business
❌ Data quality is weak
❌ Reporting is too slow
❌ Training was poor
❌ Nobody wants to wait six months for IT to make changes

So Chaz builds another spreadsheet.

And somehow… the spreadsheet works better than the system everyone spent millions implementing.

Every company has a Spreadsheet Guy.

The question is:
How much of your business depends on him? 😂

#ERP #DigitalTransformation #Excel #SpreadsheetGuy #BusinessTransforma

n
:::

1 week ago | [YT] | 162

Digital Transformation with Eric Kimberling

𝗦𝗔𝗣 𝗜𝘀 𝗠𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗨𝗽.

After this year’s Sapphire conference, one thing stood out to me more than anything else:

The gap between SAP’s future vision and most customers’ current reality is becoming massive.

The innovation was legitimately impressive:

✅ Joule 2.0
✅ AI agents
✅ Autonomous workflows
✅ Predictive analytics
✅ Enterprise-wide AI integration
✅ Connected operational intelligence

SAP’s long-term vision for S/4HANA is becoming clearer, smarter, and far more autonomous.

But here’s the problem:

Most organizations are still struggling with the basics.

▪️ Spreadsheet dependency
▪️ Poor master data quality
▪️ Manual processes
▪️ ERP projects behind schedule
▪️ Organizational silos
▪️ Legacy technical debt
▪️ Change fatigue inside the business

That creates a dangerous disconnect between where the technology is going and where most organizations actually are today.

Because the challenge is no longer just implementing SAP S/4HANA.

The real challenge is whether organizations can transform their people, processes, governance, culture, and operating models fast enough to keep pace with the technology itself.

The companies that succeed over the next 3–5 years will not necessarily be the ones with the newest technology stack.

They will be the ones best equipped to absorb and operationalize change.

This is why successful transformations require much more than technical migration planning.

They require:

✅ Executive alignment
✅ Business process redesign
✅ Organizational change management
✅ Data and integration strategy
✅ Realistic roadmaps
✅ Strong governance and accountability

Technology alone will not close the gap.

Operational maturity will.

I break this down further in my latest video along with lessons and observations from Sapphire.

You can also download our independent SAP S/4HANA guide here: lnkd.in/gQ7WV-Wy

Do you think SAP innovation is moving faster than most organizations can realistically adopt and change?

#SAP #S4HANA #DigitalTransformation #ERP #ArtificialIntelligence

1 week ago | [YT] | 105

Digital Transformation with Eric Kimberling

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗘: 𝗛𝗢𝗪 𝗗𝗜𝗚𝗜𝗧𝗔𝗟 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗦𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗬 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗞𝗦

Most digital transformations don't fail by accident. They fail by design.

After more than two decades in the trenches, I've come to see the industry for what it really is: a machine engineered to sell software, bill hours, and push organizations live, regardless of whether they're ready. Failure isn't the exception. It's the predictable output.

Three interlocking gears keep it turning:

⚙️ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 (𝗙𝘂𝗲𝗹) — Boards, FOMO, and vendor-driven business cases push organizations into transformations before they're ready, feeding the engine with capital and urgency.

⚙️ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 (𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲) — Software vendors set the tempo with vision, scripted demos, and "best practice" that quietly require the business to bend to the product.

⚙️ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 (𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿) — Systems integrators and analyst firms run the machine, incentivized by time, materials, and scope creep that profit from the very delays they warn about.

Once you see the machine, you can't unsee it. And more importantly, you can stop feeding it and being consumed by it.

📖 𝗢𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 on Amazon to learn how to break the cycle and lead a transformation that actually works → www.amazon.com/Welcome-Machine-Systemic-Failures-T…

📢 What do you think is the most damaging or concerning part of the machine?

#DigitalTransformation #ERP #ChangeManagement #Leadership #ITStrategy #BusinessTransformation #CIO #EnterpriseSoftware #ThirdStageConsulting #WelcomeToTheMachine

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 87

Digital Transformation with Eric Kimberling

𝟱 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙎𝙚𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙂𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙀𝙍𝙋 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙁𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙍𝙚𝙨𝙩

After 25+ years in the trenches of ERP and digital transformation and tens of thousands of hours studying what works (and what blows up budgets), I keep coming back to the same five traits that define the consultants clients actually love working with:

𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗹𝘆. The best consultants are part advisor, part therapist. They ask sharper questions than they give answers.
𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆're 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁-𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁. No vendor kickbacks. No software they're quietly trying to sell you. Just honest advice.
𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆're 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀, 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗮𝗻𝘁. The most dangerous consultants are the ones who think they've seen it all. The best are still learning.
𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀. Consulting is a trust business. The deliverable is the relationship — software is just the artifact.
𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲. Cookie-cutter frameworks fail. The right consultant adapts to your culture, constraints, and reality.

👉 Now I want to hear from you: if you've worked with an ERP or transformation consultant, what's the ONE trait that made (or broke) the engagement? Drop it in the comments. I'll feature the best responses in an upcoming podcast episode.

#ERP #DigitalTransformation #Consulting #Big4 #ERPImplementation #ChangeManagement #BusinessTransformation #Leadership #ThirdStageConsulting

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 84

Digital Transformation with Eric Kimberling

𝗪𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗜𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗕𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗦𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆'𝗿𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗖𝗮𝗻'𝘁 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲.

When a cloud ERP company is valued at 10–15x revenue, ask yourself: what exactly is being valued?

It's not the technology. It's not your ROI. It's not the outcomes you were promised in the sales cycle.

It's the lock-in.

The recurring revenue. The switching costs. The multi-year contracts. The data gravity that makes leaving nearly impossible. The entire model is built on the assumption that once you're in, you're staying, whether the platform delivers or not.

And investors love it.

This is one of the uncomfortable truths I unpack in my new book, 𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘍𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. The book exposes how the enterprise technology ecosystem (vendors, system integrators, and analyst firms) operates as a self-reinforcing machine designed to serve its own economics, often at the client's expense.

𝗠𝘆 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂: Has your organization ever felt trapped by a vendor — paying more every year for a platform that hasn't delivered what was promised? I'd love to hear your story in the comments.

📖 Order your copy here: www.amazon.com/Welcome-Machine-Systemic-Failures-T…

#DigitalTransformation #ERP #CloudERP #SAP #Oracle #Microsoft #VendorLockIn #Enterprisetech #CIO #CFO #CEO #SaaS #ERPImplementation #TechLeadership #BusinessTransformation #WelcomeToTheMachine

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 124

Digital Transformation with Eric Kimberling

𝐈𝐬 𝐒𝐀𝐏 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫?

In 2000, Blockbuster passed on buying Netflix for $50 million. The executives laughed. We all know how that ended.

I'm starting to wonder if SAP is sitting in the same chair right now. The warning signs are flashing in every direction at once:

🚨 SAP's new April 2026 API Policy quietly bans third-party AI agents from interacting with customer data unless that traffic flows through SAP's own pathways (BTP, Joule, AI Core, Business Data Cloud), all metered under the new AI Units pricing model.

⚖️ Celonis is suing SAP in U.S. court, alleging SAP makes it prohibitively difficult and expensive for third-party process mining tools to access SAP data, while favoring SAP's own competing product, Signavio.

🇪🇺 The European Commission has opened a formal antitrust investigation into SAP's ERP support and maintenance practices, focused on how SAP allegedly suppresses competition from third-party support providers like Rimini Street, who can deliver comparable or better support for as much as 50% less than SAP's 15-20% maintenance fees. Customers who try to leave these third-party support providers face contractual barriers, prohibitions, and back-charges if they ever return.

🪦 ECC sunset deadlines designed to corral customers onto S/4HANA whether they're ready or not.

This isn't a vendor confidently leading a market through a transition. This is a vendor using API governance, licensing definitions, and AI policy as three coordinated levers to lock customers and their data inside its own ecosystem.

If you want the unfiltered version of how this machine actually works across the entire enterprise software industry, my new book Welcome to the Machine is the playbook I wish every CIO had on their desk. Order it anywhere in the world here: lnkd.in/gpAzSVWx or use link in my bio.

💬 Is SAP the next Blockbuster, or can they pivot in time? I want to hear from leaders on both sides of the debate.

#DigitalTransformation #ERP #SAP #S4HANA #Celonis

3 weeks ago (edited) | [YT] | 112

Digital Transformation with Eric Kimberling

❓ 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧❓

🪦 Blockbuster
🪦 BlackBerry
🪦 Commodore 64
🪦 SAP

At first glance, it might feel strange to see SAP on this list. But take a closer look.

Each of these companies was a giant in its time. Each of these companies ignored signs of change. Each of these companies failed to evolve fast enough.
SAP may not be dead yet, but the warning signals are flashing brighter than ever:

🚨 Forcing customers onto S/4HANA with artificial deadlines
🚨 Sunsetting beloved products (like ECC) before many are ready
🚨 Overselling complexity rather than solving real business problems
🚨 Disconnecting from customer needs in favor of internal agendas

And now the pressure is mounting from every direction:

⚖️ SAP's new API policy is restricting how third-party tools access customer data, data that belongs to the customer, not SAP.

⚔️ Celonis is suing SAP, alleging anticompetitive tactics designed to choke off process mining competitors and lock customers deeper into SAP's stack.

🇪🇺 EU regulators are investigating SAP for anticompetitive behavior around cloud migrations, support practices, and ecosystem lock-in.

Just like Blockbuster clung to DVD rentals. Just like BlackBerry doubled down on tiny keyboards. Just like Commodore underestimated the PC revolution.

👉 SAP risks the same fate if they keep prioritizing lock-in over listening.

Our team at Third Stage Consulting Group sees it every day: clients being pushed into massive, risky transformations not because it makes business sense, but because vendors want to meet their own goals.

Technology should serve your business. Not the other way around.

That's why independent guidance matters more than ever, and why I wrote my new book to expose what's really happening behind the curtain.

📘 Grab your copy of "Welcome to the Machine," an unfiltered look at how enterprise software vendors really operate, and how to protect your organization from becoming their next cautionary tale 👉 amzn.to/4wd8uY6

💬 What do you think?
⚔️ Is SAP steering toward the same mistakes as Blockbuster, BlackBerry, and Commodore?

🔮 Can they pivot in time, or is the lock-in playbook already writing their ending?

#DigitalTransformation #ERP #SAP #S4HANA #Celonis #EnterpriseSoftware #TechStrategy #IndependentConsulting #BusinessTransformation #Leadership #BusinessTrends #TechTrends #WelcomeToTheMachine

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 118