In this EpiSode:
AI is moving incredibly fast. What sounded like hype a few months ago may already be reality today.
So where is AI actually headed, and what happens when we apply it to ERP?
In Season 3 Episode 3 of the EpiUsers Podcast, @josecgomez and @bderuvo sit down with Dr. @Aieat_Assam , Senior Director of AI Innovation & R&D at Epicor, for a wide-ranging conversation about artificial intelligence, software development, MCP, agentic systems, and the future of ERP.
And yes, we couldn’t resist having an AI conversation with someone who literally has AI in his name. 
Aieat shares his journey from studying language and literature, to image analytics and computer vision, to working with Dot Net IT and DMT, and eventually joining Epicor and helping shape the company’s work around AI.
The conversation covers:
-
What’s real in AI today versus what’s still hype
-
Why AI is a force multiplier rather than simply a replacement for people
-
How AI is fundamentally changing software development
-
Claude, ChatGPT, Perplexity, coding agents, and CLI tools
-
Why developers still own the code, even when AI writes it
-
AI hallucinations, trust, risk, and knowing when not to trust the model
-
MCP, including why Aieat “hates” the protocol but uses it everywhere
-
RAG, context windows, and why simply giving AI more context isn’t always the answer
-
Why traditional APIs weren’t designed for AI agents
-
The need for more AI-friendly and agentic ERP APIs
-
Why structured ERP data creates a huge opportunity for AI
-
Where AI automation makes sense inside ERP today
-
Why financial workflows may not be the best place to start
-
How AI could transform workflows like sales order entry and quote-to-cash
-
Whether traditional ERP screens will still exist five years from now
-
What’s coming next around Epicor, Agent Foundry, and agentic AI
Along the way, the conversation gets into some of the less obvious implications of AI: what happens when people begin trusting AI answers without understanding the underlying domain, how AI systems can be influenced by bad information, and why expertise may become even more important as these tools become more powerful.
Whether you’re an Epicor user, developer, IT leader, ERP professional, or just someone trying to figure out where all of this AI stuff is actually headed, this episode goes well beyond the buzzwords and gets into how these technologies are being used today and what may be coming next.
About Our Guest:
Dr. Aieat Assam
Senior Director, AI Innovation & R&D, Epicor
Dr. Aieat Assam is an AI and software engineering leader focused on enterprise AI strategy, agentic systems, cloud-native technologies, and the application of artificial intelligence within ERP.
His career has taken him from image analytics and computer vision research to enterprise software, including his time with Dot Net IT, creators of DMT, before joining Epicor. Today, his work focuses on advancing AI technologies and exploring how generative and agentic AI can reshape the way organizations interact with enterprise systems.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aieat/
Resources:
Also Available in the following platforms:
Thanks to everyone who made this episode possible:
Hosts: @josecgomez, @bderuvo
Guest: Dr. Aieat Assam
Producer: @josecgomez
Music by: @Chris_Conn
Sampled Music for Outro Track by: The Passion HiFi
Graphic Design / Concept by: @hkeric.wci
We hope you enjoy the episode and would love to hear your thoughts below.
Where are you using AI today? Are you experimenting with MCP, coding agents, or AI inside ERP? And how much are you willing to trust an AI agent to actually take action inside your ERP system?
If you have questions you’d like answered in a future episode, or suggestions for guests from the Epicor ecosystem, send us a PM or email us directly at podcasts@epiusers.help.
We’re always looking for ideas, topics, technical deep-dives, customer stories, and guests from around the ERP community.
PS: Three episodes into Season 3 and we’re still keeping the promise. Apparently AI hasn’t replaced us yet.
