Johnny Beverton
Enterprise technology teams are under pressure from every direction. HR platforms that don't talk to payroll, Data centres with heavy power needs. Security frameworks that weren't built for machine identities. The common thread across all of these is the same: the complexity has moved out of individual tools and into the connections between them - and strategies to reach leading talent that worked two years ago need to keep pace.
Why Does SuccessFactors Integration Keep Catching Organisations Off Guard?
Large platform implementations rarely fail on functionality alone. Problems surface once systems are expected to operate as part of a wider enterprise environment - absorbing data from adjacent platforms, feeding reporting layers and staying in step with payroll cycles.
This is particularly visible in HR technology. SAP SuccessFactors sits at the centre of workforce operations for many large organisations and its effectiveness depends on reliable connections to ERP platforms including S/4HANA and a range of third-party HR applications. Where those connections are poorly scoped or under-tested, issues tend to emerge after go-live rather than during design.
Alfie Lampe, SAP Permanent Practice Lead at Empiric, sees this pattern regularly
"One common challenge that I hear from customers is the integration of their SuccessFactors implementation. With the existing systems, it's absolutely critical that SuccessFactors integrates with other third party HR systems and systems like Payroll, S/4HANA, in order to make them effective. If that isn't the case, then you run inefficient bottlenecks, and data inconsistencies throughout.
Ultimately, you can invest huge sums into a new implementation that alienates the existing systems."
As organisations reflect on these outcomes, hiring priorities are shifting. Demand is strongest for professionals who understand HR platforms as part of a broader system estate rather than as standalone applications. The people who can bridge integration gaps between SuccessFactors, payroll engines and ERP environments are the ones hiring managers are competing for.
Alfie has also put together a deeper look at what the 2027 deadline means for payroll talent and cloud migration planning - read the full piece here. Visit our SAP page for live roles and to book in a callback from the team.
What Is Actually Limiting Data Centre Growth Right Now?
Demand for data centre capacity continues to rise, driven by cloud adoption, data growth and AI workloads. Construction speed was the traditional bottleneck. That has changed. Land availability and long-term access to power now determine where capacity can grow and at what pace - an area we explored in more depth through our Empiric Insights with Sean Mulligan.
Michael Christodolides, Data Centres Team Lead at Empiric, explains how this shift is playing out.
"The US Data Center market is currently booming, and it's not about how quickly you can build data centers. It's now becoming a challenge to find land availability and power availability. A good example of this is Google's parent company, Alphabet, buying Intersect Power for $4.5 billion. This shows that long term they are looking to invest in power, which is going to help generate and get their data centers up to speed."
As infrastructure planning tightens around energy strategy, organisations are adjusting how they build teams for expansion. Experience in data centre operations alone no longer meets demand. Leaders want people who understand how site constraints shape timelines, how power procurement affects feasibility and how capacity risk compounds over multi-year programmes.
Our dedicated Data Centres team has spent the last 18 months supporting hyperscalers and construction teams across the full project lifecycle and this energy-first hiring shift has been one of the clearest trends we've tracked.
Michael has also written on what the 2026 boom means for hiring across the full infrastructure lifecycle - read the full piece here.
Why Are CISOs Reassessing Identity and Access Management in 2026?
Identity and Access Management has traditionally centred on employees and contractors. That model no longer reflects how enterprise environments operate.
Machine identities - APIs, microservices, cloud workloads, AI agents - are proliferating across cloud-native and automated estates. They often run continuously, outside standard review cycles, and rarely follow HR lifecycles or use multi-factor authentication. The result is a growing category of persistent access that security teams struggle to monitor consistently.
Findlay Livingstone, IAM Nordics Account Manager at Empiric, outlines the shift.
"One of the biggest shifts in IAM today is the move beyond human identities. IAM used to focus on employees and users. Now, the fastest growing identities are non-human identities, such as APIs, Microservices, Cloud Workloads, and AI agents. These machine identities far outnumber humans and often have persistent access and are rarely reviewed.
They don't use MFA or follow HR lifecycles making misconfigurations and breaches really hard to detect, and that's why CISOs are asking new questions about ownership, access and governance in 2026. Strong IAM leadership this year, isn't just about people, it's about everything that operates inside your environment."
This shift is forcing organisations to rethink IAM team structure and accountability. If your IAM strategy was built for a human-only identity estate, 2026 is the year that assumption gets tested.
Our dedicated IAM team works with security leaders across Europe and North America on identity hiring at every level, from practitioner to CISO. Visit our Cyber page for live roles and book a callback from the team.
When Is the Right Time to Secure Contract ERP Talent for Your 2026 Programmes?
For many organisations, the decision to bring in contract talent is still being made too late. By the time an ERP project is signed off internally and resourcing conversations begin, the strongest contractors in the market are already committed elsewhere.
Hamza Hussain, VP Tampa at Empiric, explains why the window matters more than most hiring managers realise.
"A conversation I'm having more and more with clients right now is this: if you have ERP projects planned for this year, why are you waiting to secure contract talent? The strongest contractors in the market are already being booked up for upcoming transformations, upgrades and integrations. By the time a project is officially signed off internally, the best people are often committed somewhere else.
Contract resources give you the flexibility to scale up quickly, bring niche expertise in for specific phases and avoid overloading your permanent team. It also protects timelines - delays in hiring are one of the biggest reasons projects drift. Demand for contract ERP talent is picking up sharply in 2026, and the businesses that move early and lock in the right consultants now will be the ones that deliver on time. The talent is there. The question is whether you secure it before someone else does."
Hamza has written on this topic in more depth in the context of Dynamics 365 - read his full piece here. Our Dynamics team works with organisations across the full ERP delivery lifecycle, from initial scoping through to go-live. Visit our contracts page for live roles and to speak with the team.
When Should Organisations Bring in Freelance Expertise for ERP Programmes?
Dynamics 365 implementations carry significant business risk. The decision between permanent hires and freelance specialists is one that programme leaders often make too late or too cautiously, and the cost of getting it wrong compounds quickly once delivery timelines start slipping.
Jack Gibson, Associate on Empiric's EU Contract Azure team, sees the freelance model deliver strongest results on high-stakes transformation programmes.
"When organisations are implementing something as business-critical as Dynamics 365, one of the biggest decisions is whether to hire internally or bring in freelancers. Hiring permanently can feel like the safer option but major ERP programmes require very specific, proven experience. Freelancers bring that immediately. They've delivered multiple end-to-end implementations, they understand the pitfalls, and they can step in without the long ramp-up time.
They also give you flexibility. You bring in the exact skill set you need, when you need it, whether that's a Finance Functional Consultant, a Technical Architect or a Programme Manager without long-term overhead.
Most importantly, experienced freelancers bridge the gap between business and technology, ensuring clarity, scalability and delivery on time and within budget."
Jack has written a deeper piece on this topic including case studies showing how the freelance model works in practice. Read the full blog here.
Our Microsoft team specialises in placing Dynamics 365 specialists across finance, technical and programme management disciplines. Visit our Microsoft page for live roles and book in a callback from the team.
What Should Technology Leaders Take from These Trends?
Across each of these areas, the recurring pressure point is the same. Organisations that hire for individual platform expertise and ignore the wider system estate are the ones encountering delivery delays, rehiring cycles and concentrated operational risk.
The hiring managers getting the best results are designing roles around ecosystems: pairing SuccessFactors knowledge with ERP integration experience, combining data centre ops with energy procurement awareness, building IAM teams that account for machine identities from day one, securing contract ERP talent ahead of project sign-off rather than after, and bringing in freelance ERP specialists when programmes demand proven delivery experience over long-term headcount.
The businesses that move early on contract resourcing in 2026 will have a measurable advantage over those that wait - on timelines, on quality of delivery and on access to the best people in the market.
If you want to discuss how these enterprise technology trends are shaping hiring across your technology teams, our consultants can share what they are seeing across the market.
Learn more about our disciplines, view our latest roles and book a callback with us here.
