ERP vendors promise connectivity; reality is uneven data quality, batch windows, and undocumented edge cases. Teams that treat “we have an API” as a project plan usually discover the real work halfway through sprint three.
Integrate events and facts, not every screen the ERP can render.
Myths we keep hearing
- “We will sync everything nightly.” Near-real-time often matters for stock and orders; finance may still be batch. Design per domain.
- “Middleware will fix bad master data.” Middleware moves bytes; governance fixes duplicates, units, and categories.
- “Custom fields are free.” Each extension becomes a migration tax forever.
- “One giant go-live is simpler.” Phased cutovers surface risk while the business can still operate.
- “Reports can wait.” Without reconciliation views, ops will invent spreadsheets overnight.
A healthier integration posture
Integrate events and facts—not every screen the ERP can render. Use dead-letter queues, idempotent consumers, and reconciliation reports so operations can see and fix discrepancies without calling engineering every morning. Discovery is part of the work; plan for it.
