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IFS Cloud Platform vs SAP CRM comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 12, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

IFS Cloud Platform
Ranking in CRM
21st
Ranking in Local Government CRM
6th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
Customer Experience Management (7th), Field Service Management (2nd), Help Desk Software (11th), ERP (13th), Activity Based Costing Software (7th), Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) (3rd), IT Asset Management (10th), IT Service Management (ITSM) (10th), License Management (3rd)
SAP CRM
Ranking in CRM
3rd
Ranking in Local Government CRM
2nd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
43
Ranking in other categories
Marketing Management (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the CRM category, the mindshare of IFS Cloud Platform is 0.5%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP CRM is 11.1%, up from 10.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
CRM
 

Featured Reviews

Brendan Fisher - PeerSpot reviewer
Robust, customizable, and modern
IFS is a very large and complex software, and implementation of IFS can be challenging and may lead to a difficult lengthy project. It can take between 12 and 24 months in some cases to deploy. I have found that not all clients are fully aware of how big the task is that they're undertaking when they make a decision to move to software like this. Companies need to be more aware of the complexity of an ERP implementation project and while I fully recommend moving to IFS, it is not easy and does require business change when adopting an ERP solution. New features are a difficult ask - I work across multiple industries and everyone would probably choose a different feature. Maybe BIM in Construction or Customs link-ups for importers/exporters.
GodfreyNoel - PeerSpot reviewer
Excellent user experience with ease of use and reliable technical support
When SAP CRM does the maintenance, it can take a long time, which can impact business continuity because we have to wait for the maintenance team to finish their work. Maybe if SAP could establish how you can access the tool using a cloud-based environment that would be virtualization, that would be better.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"IFS Applications' best feature is the user-friendly interface that has a .NET Framework application in the front end and an Oracle database and WebLogic middleware."
"The solution overall is very versatile and flexible, especially compared to other products."
"The most valuable features of IFS Applications in the latest version are the new user Arena interface. It's from Apps 9, but it brings more flexibility in usage, especially around different devices, such as mobile usage, which doesn't restrict you from using a computer. We are it for the HR side, and it's proving quite good. It has a new modern feel to it similar to a standard cloud application which enhances the user experience."
"Feature-wise, I like the way it provides inventory details...It is a stable solution."
"The financial posting controls are quite handy. The user interface is really friendly, highly flexible, and pretty intuitive for end users."
"The best feature is the maintenance module, which is essentially an industry-specific workflow designed with a manufacturing module as per industry standards. It's very precise and specific without having complex functionalities. It's straightforward. Field Service Management is definitely a wonderful product that IFS has developed because it caters to field services. The energy and utility sectors can answer their business needs using the software."
"There tends not to be a massive weakness in the product itself, as weaknesses can quickly be resolved in the next patch or the next release."
"IFS has been completely rebuilt, modernized, and cloud-based so we don't need bulky software installations."
"The most important factor for recommending SAP CRM is its integration with the core SAP platform. Globally, most enterprises are using SAP as an ERP platform to manage their key business functions. SAP CRM has out-of-the-box integration with the core SAP platform. You can integrate your pre-sales and post-sales into the single platform on the SAP CRM very easily, and you can extend that CRM to your customers who can actually see what is happening to their orders—such as whether it is dispatched or not dispatched or at what stage it is—simply by logging onto the CRM platform."
"The user interface is excellent."
"The solution is easy to use."
"The product integrates with third-party tools easily."
"The initial setup of SAP CRM was simple."
"Compared to other systems, SAP CRM has been reliable, stable, and cost-effective for us."
"The stability is good."
"What I found most valuable in SAP CRM is its multitenancy, and you can use it from your website, SMS, and even social media, and it's all integrated, so my company is trying to leverage on all of those."
 

Cons

"It would be ideal if, in the future, the product could incorporate IoT and blockchain elements. We'd like to explore more of these types of features going forward."
"The user interface can be improved. When you're clicking through the screens, there are some icons or symbols that really need updating and would be more useful and noticeable if they are aesthetically pleasing."
"The support provided by IFS Applications has room for improvement. I'm based in Poland, and when my company had an issue, finding people from IFS to give my company the support it needed was difficult."
"The solution's reporting tools still require improvement."
"Some kind of bot assistance, some kind of artificial intelligence to help people solve the problems, would be interesting."
"There should be some improvements in the predefined templates in IFS Applications."
"An area for improvement would be transactions, which can be tedious to complete as the process is very complex."
"The solution needs to improve its documentation and user-friendliness."
"There are quite a lot of missing parts in SAP CRM, which is why we do a lot of customization. Not everything is there, and some things need custom coding to cater to specific needs. It is not a plug-and-play solution with standard features, and we have to customize quite a lot."
"Content management is one area where SAP CRM could use some work because we were seeking a CRM solution that could store BLOB data, like PDF and email data, which takes up a lot of space in the database. Recently, we migrated to a content server, but it would be nice if CRM had built-in BLOB data management because BLOB data is a challenge we've been dealing with since last year."
"We would like the coding system within this solution to be more straightforward when carrying out general entry tasks."
"The tool's installation on the cloud takes time, but it should be easier. One transaction takes around one to one and a half hours."
"There is no scope for integration because SAP does not allow any personal integration."
"The product is very expensive."
"They should improve the design to make it more appealing to users."
"There could be some specific configurable options on the UI level to improve visibility."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Pricing is an area that could be improved. They could be more competitive."
"I consider it to be a well-priced solution compared to other mid-range or high-end ERP solutions."
"There's an additional yearly cost for support."
"We pay for a license to use the solution, which is not very expensive."
"IFS Applications are competitive in terms of pricing compared to other vendors, such as SAP, Oracle, and Epicor. They are generally cheaper, especially for licensing costs."
"The additional cost that comes with the solution includes the overhead of the people who are trying to fix the tool issues. These people are trying to reproduce the issue and report it to the technical support and testing with them which is huge. It is the cost of quality in the end."
"The product is reasonably priced."
"Licensing is on an annual basis, with no additional costs."
"Every user needs to have a license."
"As for the product licensing, we pay an annual fee. It's important to consider setup costs and licensing based on your organization's budget and needs."
"From the maintenance perspective, SAP CRM is quite expensive compared to cloud services because the current solution they're using is managed by us and we are hosting it on servers. There is the cost of hosting, and managing servers and applications. The overhead is substantial, but this solution is a legacy system. It will take some time for the customer to migrate out of it."
"The product is costly."
"The company has seen an increase in revenue."
"There is a license required for the solution and most of my clients purchase an annual license."
"They should reduce the price to target small businesses."
"The pricing from SAP is good but it takes time to realize the investment."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
20%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
7%
Energy/Utilities Company
7%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IFS Applications?
Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a nine or ten out of ten since it is an extremely scalable solution that can be used for various use cases with thousands of users.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IFS Applications?
The product is reasonably priced. The costs are justified by the value provided, considering the comprehensive features and minimal need for customization. I rate the pricing a seven out of ten.
What needs improvement with IFS Applications?
I am not able to recall much about batch. Documentation-wise, they need more. There is not much available online, and the documentation availability is on the lower side compared to other products,...
What do you like most about SAP CRM?
Getting the right information at the right time across different programs is important. These programs lack interaction between them. IPA is a good option to bring them together.
What needs improvement with SAP CRM?
One area for improvement is the security model, especially regarding records management retention and the audit and legal holds. Since we're in the middle of a cloud digital transformation, it's es...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

IFS Applications, Assyst, IFS Cloud
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

China Airlines, Electrolux Group, Babcock, Cimcorp, Sky, Multiplex, Veolia. 
Brau Union Osterreich AG, Nu Skin Enterprises Inc., AOK Bundesverband, RAK Ceramics, NHS 24, Wholesale Sports Outdoor Outfitters, FC Bayern Munchen AG, Tumi, The Kellogg Company, MVV Energie AG, Anglian Water Services, German Football Association (DFB), Nebraska Book Company Inc.
Find out what your peers are saying about IFS Cloud Platform vs. SAP CRM and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
845,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.