After several years of disruption, hesitation, and deferred decisions, 2026 is shaping up to be a reset year for ERP, particularly across real estate and property-focused organizations.
For many owners, operators, and investors, the past two years were marked by uncertainty. Between economic volatility, interest rate pressure, geopolitical noise, and organizational change, ERP initiatives were paused or scaled back.
That pattern is not unusual. We saw something similar following the 2008 financial crisis, when companies delayed large system transformations until there was greater clarity on what the future would demand.
What is different now is the level of technical debt that has accumulated during that pause.
A Delayed Cycle Is Finally Catching Up
In a typical cycle, ERP modernization accelerates after major political or economic inflection points. Organizations revisit capital plans, reassess long-term operating models, evaluate and invest.
Instead, organizations stayed cautious. ERP work remained light. Integrations were patched rather than redesigned. Workarounds became permanent.
In 2026, that avoidance becomes harder to sustain. Real estate organizations are facing a reality where legacy systems no longer reflect how they actually operate — across leasing, accounting, asset management, compliance, and reporting. The result is a growing gap between system capability and business need.
That gap is what is driving renewed ERP conversations now.
ERP as Cleanup
One of the most notable trends heading into 2026 is that ERP projects are less about sweeping digital transformation and more about cleanup.
Organizations are asking fundamental questions like: “What systems are we still relying on that were never designed for today’s scale? Where have integrations become brittle? Which processes exist only because the system forced them to exist?”
For real estate firms in particular, ERP environments have become overly customized over time. Each acquisition, divestment, or portfolio expansion added another layer of complexity. What began as flexibility slowly became fragility.
This year, ERP work is focused on simplification. That means reducing unnecessary customization, rationalizing integrations, and aligning systems more closely with actual operational workflows. The goal is not innovation for its own sake. It is stability, clarity, and control.
The Debate of All-In-One Versus Best-of-Breed
Another conversation gaining momentum is whether ERP environments will move toward fully integrated platforms or modular, best-of-breed ecosystems.
In practice, most real estate organizations still lean toward all-in-one solutions. The reasons are pragmatic. Unified systems are easier to support, easier to staff, and easier to maintain. When issues arise, accountability is clearer. When integrations fail, there are fewer moving parts to troubleshoot.
Best-of-breed approaches can offer deeper functionality in specific areas, but they introduce operational complexity that many organizations underestimate. Supporting multiple systems requires specialized expertise, ongoing integration maintenance, and disciplined governance. Without that maturity, complexity compounds quickly.
That said, the decision is not ideological. It is contextual. Organizations with strong internal IT capabilities and clear integration strategies may benefit from modular architectures. Others are prioritizing operational resilience over feature depth.
ERP decisions are being made less by technology teams alone and more collaboratively with finance, operations, and executive leadership. The question is no longer “What can the system do?” but “What can the organization realistically support?”
SaaS ERP – The Default, With Caveats
By 2026, ERP as a SaaS offering is largely the default. The benefits are well understood: no on-premise infrastructure to maintain, reduced upgrade burden, and access to continuous improvements.
For many real estate organizations, SaaS ERP has simplified core operations and reduced long-term maintenance costs. However, the model is not without tradeoffs.
One emerging concern is control over change. Automatic updates can introduce functionality that has not been fully tested within an organization’s unique integration landscape. Features may be activated before teams are ready to adopt them. In some cases, updates introduce instability in downstream systems that rely on predictable interfaces.
This is particularly relevant in real estate, where ERP systems often sit at the center of complex financial and operational ecosystems. Lease accounting, asset management, investor reporting, and regulatory compliance are tightly interconnected. Changes in one area can have ripple effects elsewhere.
As a result, organizations are becoming more deliberate about SaaS governance. The focus is shifting toward stronger release management, sandbox testing, and clearer communication between vendors and customers. SaaS ERP offers efficiency, but only when paired with disciplined oversight.
ERP as an Operating Model Decision
Perhaps the most important trend heading into 2026 is a reframing of what ERP represents.
ERP is no longer viewed solely as a technology platform. It is increasingly understood as an operating model decision. The way an ERP system is structured reflects how an organization wants to operate—how it manages data, enforces controls, and supports decision-making.
For real estate organizations navigating margin pressure and operational complexity, ERP clarity becomes a competitive advantage. Clean systems enable faster reporting, better asset visibility, and more informed capital allocation. Fragmented systems do the opposite.
In that sense, 2026 is not about chasing the latest ERP innovation. It is about aligning systems with reality.
Looking Ahead
ERP modernization cycles are long. Decisions made in 2026 will shape how real estate organizations operate for the next decade. Those that treat this moment as an opportunity to simplify, clean up, and refocus will be better positioned for whatever comes next.
ERP is entering a quieter phase – one not defined by hype, but by hard choices. For real estate, that may be exactly what is needed.
John Rivers
John Rivers is the founder and managing principal of imkore, where he advises commercial real estate owners, operators, and investors on technology strategy, cybersecurity risk, and digital transformation. With deep experience across real estate operations, IT, and data infrastructure, Rivers works with organizations navigating modernization initiatives, mergers and acquisitions, and the growing intersection of real estate and enterprise technology. He is a frequent contributor on topics including operational resilience, cybersecurity, and the evolving role of technology in real estate decision-making.
