🧠 The Modern ERP Digest – Edition 26

Curated by Aaron Engelsrud | Published on PeopleSoftCloud.com

Aaron • Feb 2026

👋 Welcome Back

After a short hiatus, The Modern ERP Digest is back with Edition 26.

Sometimes a pause is useful. It gives space to see which stories actually matter after the initial headlines fade. Coming back into 2026, one thing is clear: the ERP conversation has sharpened. AI hype is colliding with legal scrutiny, capital markets are watching Oracle closely, and enterprises are making more deliberate, modular decisions about how ERP fits into their future.

This edition reflects that shift. It blends market pressure, AI ambition, and very real PeopleSoft progress—exactly where ERP leadership lives today.

☕ This Week’s Focus

Edition 26 centers on credibility and consequence.

Oracle’s AI narrative is being tested by lawsuits and investor scrutiny, even as enterprises continue adopting Oracle technologies at scale. At the same time, PeopleSoft continues to move forward with meaningful HCM enhancements, and the broader ERP market is openly embracing best-of-breed and agentic AI models.

This isn’t a step backward. It’s a sign of maturity.

⚙️ Oracle, Markets & AI Pressure

🔗 Investors Sue Oracle, Alleging Executives Sold $18.7B Amid AI Hype (InvestmentNews)
https://www.investmentnews.com/regulation-legal-compliance/investors-sue-oracle-allege-executives-dumped-187b-amid-ai-hype/265164
Investors have filed lawsuits alleging that Oracle executives sold significant stock during peak AI enthusiasm. Regardless of outcome, the story underscores how closely Oracle’s AI messaging is being examined—and how accountability follows ambition.

🔗 Oracle Plans $50B Capital Raise to Support Cloud Infrastructure Demand (ERP Today)
https://erp.today/oracle-plans-50b-capital-raise-to-support-cloud-infrastructure-demand/
Oracle’s reported plan to raise $50B for cloud infrastructure highlights the scale of demand it’s betting on. This move reinforces Oracle’s belief that AI and cloud workloads will continue to grow, but also raises expectations around execution and returns.

🔗 U.S. Enterprises Increasingly Adopting Oracle Solutions (Yahoo Finance)
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/u-enterprises-increasing-adopting-oracle-180845415.html
Despite market noise, adoption data tells a steadier story. U.S. enterprises continue expanding their use of Oracle platforms, suggesting that while sentiment swings, operational decisions remain grounded in capability and trust.

📊 ERP, AI & Industry Direction

🔗 Reimagining ERP for the Agentic AI Era (MIT Technology Review – Report Overview)
https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/01/20/1129965/reimagining-erp-for-the-agentic-ai-era/
This downloadable report explores how ERP systems are evolving from systems of record into systems of action. Agentic AI, orchestration layers, and autonomous workflows are central themes. The key takeaway: ERP isn’t being replaced—it’s being repositioned.

🔗 ERP in 2026: More AI, More Best-of-Breed Add-Ons (CIO.com)
https://www.cio.com/article/4121113/erp-in-2026-more-ai-more-best-of-breed-add-ons.html
CIO.com outlines a clear trend for 2026: core ERP platforms paired with specialized tools. Rather than monolithic replacements, organizations are layering AI, analytics, and niche capabilities on top of stable ERP foundations.

🔗 ERP Survey Shows Customers Re-Evaluating Vendor Value (The Register)
https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/19/erp_survey_rimini_street/
Survey results highlighted by The Register show growing scrutiny of ERP vendor costs and roadmaps. Customers are demanding clearer value, longer viability, and less forced migration—signals that favor platforms teams truly understand.

👩‍💻 PeopleSoft Community & Practice

🔗 What’s New in PeopleSoft HCM Update Image 54 (Oracle Blog)
https://blogs.oracle.com/peoplesoft/whats-new-in-peoplesofts-hcm-update-image-54-key-enhancements-and-features
Oracle details the latest HCM Image 54 enhancements, including usability improvements, feature refinements, and continued investment in employee and manager self-service. It’s another reminder that PeopleSoft HCM remains an actively evolving platform.

🔗 Cornell’s Duffield Gift Highlights Long-Term PeopleSoft Impact (WSJ)
https://www.wsj.com/us-news/education/cornell-duffield-gift-engineering-donation-peoplesoft-fc1894a3
The Wall Street Journal recounts how Cornell’s engineering program benefited from alum success tied in part to PeopleSoft’s early growth. It’s a rare mainstream acknowledgment of PeopleSoft’s lasting influence in higher education and enterprise technology.

💬 Aaron’s Take

Edition 26 reinforces a pattern that’s becoming impossible to ignore: ERP is no longer about promises—it’s about proof.

Oracle is betting big on AI and cloud, and the markets are watching closely. Lawsuits, capital raises, and adoption metrics all tell different parts of the same story. Ambition attracts scrutiny, and scrutiny demands results.

At the same time, PeopleSoft teams are quietly moving forward—adopting new HCM features, modernizing selectively, and operating within architectures they actually understand. Across the industry, organizations are choosing composition over replacement and intention over impulse.

That’s not hesitation. That’s maturity.

If 2025 was about sorting hype from signal, 2026 is shaping up to be about earning trust—technically, financially, and operationally.

I’m glad to be back. Let’s keep going.

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Thanks for sticking around—and welcome back to The Modern ERP Digest.