𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗜𝘀 𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗱 — 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗙𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸
Digital transformation has become a trillion‑dollar industry, yet more than 70% of initiatives miss their targets, often due to a self‑reinforcing ecosystem of vendors, consultants, and analysts. In a live session, author Eric Kimberling explains how this "Machine" locks enterprises into costly cycles, especially when forced migrations like SAP S/4HANA are involved. He outlines the three gears—client, technology, and consultant—that perpetuate failure and introduces the NS + OP = EOP formula as a roadmap to break free. The session also promotes his new book, *Welcome to the Machine*, for deeper insight.
AI's Hidden Costs: Are Companies Ready to Pay? #shorts
The video highlights that organizations deploying agentic AI are encountering hidden expenses beyond the headline software licenses. Frequent API calls and custom legacy connectors generate ongoing consumption charges that many firms did not anticipate. Analysts argue the business case for AI...
Podcast Ep268: 40% of Agentic AI Canceled, ERP Industry Changing & Evolving, Why ERP Projects Fail
The Transformation Ground Control podcast highlights three critical trends shaping digital initiatives. Gartner predicts that 40% of agentic AI projects will be canceled by 2027, underscoring rising complexity and budget pressures. The episode also maps the ERP software industry’s shift...
𝟮𝟬 𝗟𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝟮𝟬 𝗘𝗥𝗣 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀
George Collier, founder of the ERP Perspective podcast, sat down for a live LinkedIn session to dissect the biggest themes emerging from his first 20 episodes. He highlighted recurring trends across SAP and Infor ecosystems, the rise of AI agents...
Can AI Decisions Be Tracked Like Humans? ERP Has The Answer! #shorts
The video examines whether AI decision‑making can be audited like human approvals, and argues ERP systems may provide the needed traceability. Oracle touts built‑in governance, but the speaker notes that auditability depends on the specific AI tool. Core ERP suites from...
Vendor Lock-In Alert: Don't Get Trapped by Cloud Pricing! #shorts
The video warns executives that cloud‑service pricing is still evolving, and committing to multi‑year contracts can trap firms in vendor lock‑in. It points out that most providers’ pricing models are in flux, making it impossible to predict costs five to ten...
Digital Transformation's Dark Side
The live discussion tackled the often‑unseen backlash that digital‑transformation commentators face when platforms enforce copyright claims. Host Eric Kimberling and guest Emma Roloff used a recent Instagram takedown of Emma’s satirical ERP‑failure video to illustrate how a crisis‑PR firm can...
Podcast Ep267: SAP Partnering With Open Data, State of ERP in 2026, ERP Vendor Blame
Podcast episode 267 explores SAP’s new partnership with the Open Data Institute, examines predictions for ERP in 2026, and critiques the tendency of ERP vendors to blame customers for implementation failures. The SAP‑ODI collaboration aims to create open data standards...
🎙 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗥𝗣 𝗦𝗼𝗳𝘁𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆
Eric Kimberling hosts Kristin Valentyn, a veteran ERP executive, to dissect the current state and future trajectory of enterprise resource planning software. They highlight how cloud migration and AI integration are reshaping the market, enabling faster, subscription‑based deployments for manufacturers...
AI Hype Vs. Reality: What REALLY Works Now? #shorts
The video examines the gap between AI hype and reality as SAP, Salesforce, Oracle and other enterprise software giants rush to embed AI agents into their core platforms. It asks when “soon” becomes “now” and how buyers can separate genuine...
AI, Big 4 Consulting & Leadership
The video is a candid discussion about the intersection of AI adoption, Big Four consulting firms, and leadership responsibility, framed by a recent legal warning over a social‑media post. The speakers argue that brands face heightened risk when social platforms amplify...
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗘𝗥𝗣 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲: 𝗔 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻
The podcast examines the current state of ERP in 2026, highlighting a decisive shift from generic, horizontal suites toward industry‑specific vertical applications. Host Erica and Diginomica’s Jonathan Reed explore how vendors are re‑architecting their platforms to embed vertical functionality, effectively...
SAP S/4HANA Integrator Secrets Revealed! 🚀 #shorts
The short video distills veteran consultant Eric’s reflections on working with SAP system integrators, emphasizing that every integration engagement is fundamentally a business transaction. Eric stresses that consultancies operate under the same profit imperatives as any other firm—revenue generation, gross margin...
Crafting Project Teams...Internal Strength & External Support #shorts
The video discusses how to structure project teams by blending internal capabilities with external support, emphasizing that the right balance drives transformation success. Key insights include scaling governance based on geographic reach, maintaining a lean structure for single‑country projects, and focusing...
Legacy Software: Stuck or Savvy? Rethink Your Next Move! #shorts
The video addresses a common dilemma for enterprises running legacy ERP platforms such as SAP or older Oracle suites: whether to rely on third‑party support to prolong the system’s life or to embark on a costly, high‑risk transformation. It highlights...
𝗦𝗜𝗟𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘𝗗: What the Technology Industry Doesn't Want You to Hear
The video features a candid interview with Ema Roloff of Roloff Consulting, exposing hidden conversations in the technology sector about digital transformations. It highlights how customers are often pressured into decisions they don’t fully grasp, while vendor narratives can distort...
ERP Extensibility - D365 vs SAP 🚀 #shorts
The video tackles a core dilemma for ERP buyers: how much functionality should reside inside the ERP platform versus external extensions, focusing on Microsoft Dynamics 365 (D365) and SAP S/4HANA. It frames the discussion as a trade‑off between built‑in capabilities...
Fix Data Now: AI Needs Clean Data For BIG ROI! #shorts
Executives are increasingly viewing AI as a revenue engine, but its success hinges on high‑quality data. The video stresses that data strategy must be treated as a prerequisite rather than a after‑the‑fact cleanup task. SAP’s Business Technology Platform (BTP) bundles...
🏭 Inside Industry 4.0: What Manufacturing Leaders Need to Know Right Now
Manufacturers are under mounting pressure to adopt Industry 4.0 technologies—automation, AI, and connected factories—while maintaining output and margins. In a live podcast, Jeff Winter discusses the gap between hype and tangible results, highlighting current trends and the operational hurdles firms face....
Hollywood Drama, Sales Secrets, & SAP's $172M Failure
The conversation weaves together a Hollywood‑style intrigue about leaked texts with a deep dive into sales ethics and a high‑profile ERP disaster. Host Eric and his guest use the Zimmer Biomet saga—where a $172 million SAP S/4HANA rollout was sold as...
Vision, Communication, & Leadership Secrets
The discussion centers on three pillars of effective change management—vision, communication, and leadership—while also probing the strategic risks of emerging technologies like SAP’s AI‑enhanced master data governance. Speakers argue that a clear, purpose‑driven vision aligns teams, but without two‑way dialogue...
𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗱-𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘆 𝗠𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲: Regaining Control of Your Technology Roadmap
Eric Helmer of Rimini Street discusses third‑party maintenance for legacy enterprise systems such as SAP ECC, JD Edwards, Salesforce, and VMware. He explains how TPM can slash support fees, keep stable platforms running longer, and sidestep mandatory cloud migrations. The...
SAP's AI Leap With NVIDIA Partnership & Future Predictions #shorts
SAP announced a strategic partnership with NVIDIA to speed up its artificial‑intelligence initiatives. The collaboration gives SAP access to NVIDIA's GPU and software stack while hinting at a longer‑term goal of developing proprietary AI technology. Executives compare this move to...
Expert Witness Reveals Lessons
The live discussion centered on the anatomy of ERP failures, with Eric Kimberling of Third Stage Consulting introducing Fred Hler, director of the firm’s expert‑witness practice. The conversation highlighted that ERP implementations fail at alarming rates—often quoted above 80%—and that...
The #1 Executive Blind Spot
Executives routinely underestimate how consuming enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementations are, treating them like routine IT upgrades instead of operational overhauls that demand sustained senior and key-user engagement. Consultants say clients must participate deeply—defining requirements, testing, making rapid decisions and...
Podcast Ep262: Microsoft’s Bundling Regulatory Issues, Best SI's In the Market, SAP RISE
Episode 262 of the Transformation Ground Control podcast dives into three core topics: Microsoft’s ongoing bundling regulatory challenges, a discussion on the top system integrators in the market, and an overview of SAP’s RISE offering. Host Eric Kimberling and guest...
Avoid Vendor Lock in & Project Failure
The video warns that vendor lock‑in is a leading cause of digital‑transformation project failure, especially in large ERP rollouts. It stresses the need for modular, API‑first architectures and early negotiation of exit clauses. By applying rigorous vendor due diligence and...
S/4HANA Journey and Fortune-Telling Your Business Success #shorts
The video offers practical closing advice for firms embarking on, or already deep into, an SAP S/4HANA transformation. The speaker emphasizes that the initiative must be business‑led, with clear ownership from the line side rather than being relegated solely to...
Avoid Costly Mistakes & Vendor Traps
Third Stage Consulting released a video highlighting a suite of free resources designed to help enterprises avoid costly mistakes and vendor traps during digital transformation initiatives. The offering includes the 2026 Digital Transformation Report, 2025 reports on AI strategy and...
The Hidden Cost of Cloud Upgrades
Speakers warned that cloud upgrade projects often promise “fit‑to‑standard” implementations but fail because vendors and integrators do not adequately engage frontline staff to redesign work, leading teams to re‑create legacy processes in new systems and negate expected benefits. Poor requirements...
𝗦𝗬𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗠𝗦 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗔𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗪
The video features Eric Kimberling interviewing Bonnie Tinder of Raven Intelligence about the critical role of system integrators in digital transformations and Raven’s data-driven, peer-review platform for rating integrators. Tinder explains that while buyers obsess over consumer reviews for small...
Podcast Ep261: Oracle’s Supply Chain Capabilities, Industry 4.0, Best Practices Do Not Exist
In Episode 261 of Transformation Ground Control, hosts Eric Kimberling and Darian Fiacusky discuss practical guidance for digital transformations, urging annual roadmap reviews and the need to pivot mid-implementation when business realities change. They advocate measured, pilot-based adoption of AI...
SAP S 4HANA vs Oracle Fusion
Hosts debated a top-10 enterprise software ranking and focused on which ERP is most AI-driven, naming Oracle Cloud ERP (Fusion) as runner-up and SAP S/4HANA as the winner. SAP’s lead was attributed to a broad, embedded AI fabric across finance,...
Best ERP Systems - Microsoft Dynamics 365, Epicor, Acumatica Revealed!
In a roundup of leading ERP platforms, Microsoft Dynamics 365 was named best for Microsoft‑centric organizations, praised for seamless integration with Azure, Power Platform, Teams and Office; NetSuite finished as runner‑up. For upper small and lower mid‑market companies, Epicor won...
Podcast Ep260: Oracle Cuts 30,000 Jobs, ERP Failure Anatomy, Your Business & IT Conflicting
Episode 260 of Transformation Ground Control examines major shifts in enterprise tech and transformation risk, opening with reports that Oracle may cut up to 30,000 jobs and discussing market unease over Microsoft’s aggressive AI push and Copilot integrations. Hosts stress...
Best ERP for SMBs & Enterprises Revealed
Industry judges named NetSuite the best ERP for small and mid-sized businesses, with Acumatica as runner-up, citing NetSuite’s broad out-of-the-box functionality, extensive third-party ecosystem and Oracle’s investments in global capabilities and maintainability via SuiteCloud. For large, complex enterprises SAP S/4HANA...
𝗜𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝟰.𝟬 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸: What’s Working, What’s Not, and What’s Next
Eric Kimberling, CEO of Third Stage Consulting, hosted a solo “Industry 4.0 Reality Check” session after his guest canceled, framing a wide-ranging discussion on manufacturing technology trends, what’s working, and what’s overhyped. He emphasized his firm’s manufacturing focus, invited audience...