AI agents are turning Salesforce and SAP into rivals

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Published 6/5/2025 on economist.com

Business | Schumpeter

Artificial intelligence is blurring the distinction between front office and back office

Jun 5th 2025|5 min read

ENTERPRISE SOFTWARE is an unlikely source of hubbub. Bringing up CRM or ERP in conversation has usually been a reliable way to be left alone. But not these days, especially if you are chatting to a tech investor. Mention the acronyms—for customer-relationship management, which automates front-office tasks like dealing with clients, and enterprise resource planning, which does the same for back-office processes such as managing a firm’s finances or supply chains—and you will set pulses racing.

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This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline “Back to front”

From the June 7th 2025 edition

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