April 2026
Intermediate
624 pages
12h 3m
English
book
Rewired, 2nd Edition
by Eric Lamarre, Kate Smaje, Robert Levin, Alex Singla, Alexander Sukharevsky
Content preview from Rewired, 2nd Edition
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CHAPTER 23A more surgical approach to modernizing core systems
“Do we need to replace our ERP before we can get serious about AI?” It’s a question we hear all the time, usually posed by a CEO who is eager to lead a business transformation with AI but feels a hostage to legacy systems. The anxiety is real—and justified. But the answer, like so many in a business transformation, depends on context.
In this chapter, we’ll unpack the strategic decisions that lie at the intersection of core systems modernization and AI-powered business transformation. We’ll explore what needs to be modernized, when, and how to sequence those investments to maximize business impact.
The false choice: Modernize first or innovate fast
Some companies insist that you must first rip out and replace an alphabet soup of outdated systems (ERP, CRM, SCM, HCM, MES, etc.) before you can do anything meaningful with AI. Others push for innovation at the edge—launching new apps, pilots, and AI initiatives—while leaving legacy systems untouched.
Both extremes miss the point.
The most successful organizations strike a balance. They invest surgically in modernizing ...
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I'm always learning. So when I got on to O'Reilly, I was like a kid in a candy store. There are playlists. There are answers. There's on-demand training. It's worth its weight in gold, in terms of what it allows me to do.