In the rapidly evolving world of enterprise software, the term “ERP” gets thrown around liberally. But what truly separates a comprehensive enterprise resource planning system from a financial tool with AI features bolted on?
Key Takeaways for Finance Leaders
- Architecture matters: AI-native systems enable capabilities impossible with bolt-on approaches
- Integration is invisible: True ERP eliminates data sync issues and approval workflow gaps
- Business agility: A true ERP empowers finance teams to extend systems without IT bottlenecks
- Future-proof foundation: Built for subscription, usage-based, and AI-driven business models
- Compliance by design: Lensing architecture provides audit trails legacy systems retrofit
A discussion with Franz, Co-founder and Chief Architect at Lensing
In the rapidly evolving world of enterprise software, the term “ERP” gets thrown around liberally. But what truly separates a comprehensive enterprise resource planning system from a financial tool with AI features bolted on? I sat down with Franz Faeber, one of the co-founders of Lensing, to explore what makes a true ERP in the modern era and why being AI-native from day one changes everything.
From SAP Veteran to ERP Innovator
Franz brings over 26 years of experience from SAP, where he worked across platform development, HANA database architecture, and data management for large enterprises. “If you are 26 years in an ERP company, you always think of what could be done better,” Franz explains. “When you have the opportunity to build the same big system which is most probably the biggest software system in the world from scratch, you cannot say no.”
Five and a half years ago, Franz joined forces with Co-CEO Sandeep Chopra and co-founder Joachim Fitzer to reimagine what an ERP system could be in the age of AI.
What Makes a True ERP?
The distinction between a true ERP and a point solution is fundamental. “You want to be the system of record,” Franz emphasizes. “It’s not just application functionality but a big piece of ERP is the integration, the end-to-end flows, which you want to guarantee and give to your customers.”
Lensing unifies core business functions under one system, including:
- Quote-to-cash processes
- Record-to-report
- Procure-to-pay
- HR management
- Asset management
- Cloud cost management
- Professional services automation
- Inventory management
This integration eliminates a critical pain point. Consider approval workflows: “If you want to have approval processes for expenses, it makes sense to have your HR data in the system,” Franz notes. “Otherwise, who could approve your data? Of course, you can copy it from another HR system. But then the question is: how synchronized are the data? What happens if you have a reorganization?”
With an integrated system, these processes work by definition, not by integration.
Many finance leaders consider NetSuite or QuickBooks Online with integrated apps as their ERP solution. While these tools serve financial needs, they require extensive bolt-on integrations to achieve end-to-end process flows creating synchronization challenges, approval workflow gaps, and data inconsistencies that a unified system of record eliminates by design.”
AI-Native vs. AI-Enabled: Understanding the Difference
Perhaps the most critical distinction Franz makes is between AI-native and AI-enabled systems. “What many systems are doing is you have complete systems and now you want to bring AI on top of that,” he explains. “AI-native means that your whole processing of your whole system is based on AI be it workflow, be it execution, be it how you do extensions, be it how you build applications.”
“AI-native means that your whole processing of your whole system is based on AI be it workflow, be it execution, be it how you do extensions, be it how you build applications.”
It’s the difference between central air conditioning built into a house versus window units added later. One serves specific rooms; the other transforms the entire living experience.
This architecture allows Lensing to rethink traditionally complex challenges like configuration, extensibility, and lifecycle management from the ground up. “You have your engine and all the capabilities in the platform,” Franz says. “That makes it so different.”
Built for Modern Business Models
Legacy ERP systems were designed for a different era often rooted in manufacturing and traditional business models from 20 years ago. “Your decisions you made there in the architecture were different,” Franz observes. “You didn’t make your contracts time-based, you didn’t make all your processes time-based, all your data structures time-based.”
This creates fundamental limitations when adapting to subscription-based, usage-based, and multi-entity business models that dominate today’s landscape.
Lensing also addresses a critical blind spot in financial management: cloud computing costs. “When you look at subscription-based software companies, people are the main cost. But the second one is cloud cost and more and more AI cost,” Franz points out. “The financial management of these costs is very poor in many companies. We put so much effort on managing our travel costs, which is just ridiculous in comparison.”
Legacy platforms like SAP and NetSuite were architected 15-20 years ago for manufacturing and traditional business models. Retrofitting these systems for subscription, usage-based, and multi-entity models requires complex customizations that break with every upgrade a pain point familiar to any CFO who’s managed a NetSuite implementation
Putting Power in Users’ Hands with Eve
One of Lensing’s most exciting innovations is Eve, an AI agent that democratizes system extensibility. Traditionally, building extensions in ERP systems required significant technical expertise, lengthy development cycles, and uncertainty about stability.
“With our technology, the combination of sandboxing and AI, you can develop as a business user,” Franz explains. “You can develop these extensions just with natural language. You can test it with your productive data in your production system with a sandbox. Then you go through a review process with your domain users, not with the developer.”
No IT department required. No consultants needed. Just business users solving business problems in real-time.
Built-In Compliance and Auditability
Lensing takes a unique approach to data integrity. ” Everything is versioned all the time.”
This fundamental design choice provides unparalleled auditability. The system can even be set back to a specific point in time. “If you never lose data, if you never throw data away, if you never overwrite data, then nothing can happen,” Franz says simply.
For companies dealing with complex compliance requirements like ASC 606 or IFRS 15, this architecture combined with sophisticated automation makes processes like revenue recognition, traditionally requiring specialized expertise, manageable and reliable.
The Future is Arriving Faster Than Expected
When asked what he’s learned about the industry recently, Franz’s response was striking: “The industry is moving so much faster than we all have thought about it. Look at SaaS companies. Look at the share price of what’s happening. The fundamental business processes are changing so much into AI and it’s not ‘nice to have’ anymore.”
His conclusion? “It’s so critical to be on the front running inside. This is changing the world.”
Why This Matters for CFOs
For finance leaders, the implications are clear. The traditional trade-offs between customization and speed, between functionality and complexity, between innovation and stability are being rewritten.
Lensing shifts the focus from backward-looking reporting to real-time, forward-looking decision-making. AI provides access to data in all dimensions, helping not just with insights but triggering actions. The result is a system that grows with your business, adapts to your needs, and empowers your team without the usual constraints of legacy enterprise software.
As Franz puts it succinctly: “When you look at the future, you have to look at how business systems would look like. And that’s by sure very, very deeply coupled with AI generation. Lensing is deeply prepared for exactly that.”
Let’s talk about how Lensing can transform your environment.
The future of ERP is here and it’s Native AI. Let’s build it together.
Cameron Ackbury, CPA
