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IFS Cloud Platform vs SAP S/4HANA comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
5.7
IFS Cloud users saw a 4.5x ROI in 18 months, with full benefits realized in two to three years.
Sentiment score
6.4
SAP S/4HANA provides significant ROI through cost reduction and system consolidation, ideal for large businesses seeking efficiency and compliance.
We have observed a good return on investment, with calculations based on a five-year ROI plan.
There is an ROI, otherwise I would not buy it.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.1
IFS Cloud support is responsive in Australia, but regional inconsistencies and speed issues highlight need for improved communication.
Sentiment score
6.4
SAP S/4HANA support is reliable and knowledgeable, with varying response times and room for improvement in ticket processing speed.
Establishing the right channels was a challenge, as BTP was new to everyone, including our SAP contacts.
The quality of technical support from SAP can be rated as eight out of ten.
I usually find many answers in the SAP notes, which makes that part okay.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
IFS Cloud Platform is scalable, adaptable, and suitable for complex organizations, but core modifications and updates can be challenging.
Sentiment score
7.9
SAP S/4HANA is scalable for various business sizes, suitable for larger enterprises, but may pose complexity and cost challenges.
SAP S/4HANA scales exceptionally well.
It is very easy to scale within businesses, especially when a new business falls within the range.
The biggest customer I have is mainly in the retail industry, with about 30,000 sales tickets sent back to SAP every morning.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.2
IFS Cloud Platform is praised for its stability and reliability, with few unplanned outages and rare performance issues.
Sentiment score
7.7
SAP S/4HANA provides stable performance with proper infrastructure and team, though stability may vary by implementation, especially with integrations.
The SAP HANA system is not very easy to unlock, and it's something strange as, compared to other databases, when transaction logs are full, you stop the system, run the transaction log backups, and then restart.
Once that happens, it is going to be a fantastic product.
The solution is very complex, and stability is based on maturity.
 

Room For Improvement

IFS Cloud Platform requires improvements in usability, integration, pricing, customization, mobile compatibility, AI integration, support, and documentation.
SAP S/4HANA struggles with high costs, integration, and UI complexity, needing better support, documentation, and affordable pricing.
Organizations face challenges like adapting to new technologies rapidly, and whether customers are early or late adopters influences their experience.
The performance of the SAP interface could be improved.
Even the SAP team was uncertain about the costs for different users.
 

Setup Cost

IFS Cloud Platform offers competitive pricing with flexible licensing, best purchased directly due to partner training limitations.
SAP S/4HANA is seen as costly, with pricing variability and high fees, especially challenging for smaller businesses.
It's higher compared to similar peer solutions.
There is always a push from clients saying that the total cost of ownership is quite high compared to other products.
It's not easy to have a clear understanding of the price and the value, especially if I talk about the business transaction platform.
 

Valuable Features

IFS Cloud Platform users appreciate its customizable, adaptive features, intuitive interface, and seamless integration across finance, CRM, and warehouse management.
SAP S/4HANA enhances decision-making with real-time analytics, robust modules, and user-friendly interface, offering scalable, integrated solutions.
The way SAP has helped our customers is by establishing a discipline where industry-specific operations and SAP's standard processes work hand in hand, improving resource utilization, material movement control, and cost control.
It enables the posting of transactions and allows us to see the impact across various application scenarios, providing significant benefits for business.
The most valuable feature is probably the full integration with the finance system.
 

Categories and Ranking

IFS Cloud Platform
Ranking in ERP
9th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
CRM (12th), Customer Experience Management (7th), Field Service Management (1st), Help Desk Software (8th), Activity Based Costing Software (7th), Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) (2nd), Local Government CRM (4th), IT Asset Management (7th), IT Service Management (ITSM) (6th), License Management (2nd)
SAP S/4HANA
Ranking in ERP
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
111
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the ERP category, the mindshare of IFS Cloud Platform is 2.5%, up from 2.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP S/4HANA is 15.3%, up from 15.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
ERP
 

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.
Cirvesh-Daga - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers an indispensable Order-to-Cash feature along with easy integrations, but the analytics features need improvement
SAP S/4HANA provides a standard setup process. Several third-party tools are available to integrate with the SAP ecosystem. Some customers of our organization find SAP S/4HANA very easy to use, and some are adopting the solution due to prior familiarity with the SAP ecosystem. The licensing changes implemented in Oracle JD Edwards have also made a few customers of our organization adopt SAP S/4HANA. The Order-to-Cash feature is indispensable and irreplaceable in SAP S/4HANA. Almost every customer I have worked with in my organization finds the Order-to-Cash feature extremely valuable. For Order-to-Cash using SAP S/4HANA, a company needs to consider the local regulations at one point. SAP can help with all such local regulations. I wouldn't recommend SAP S/4HANA for a small or medium-sized company. The integration capabilities of SAP S/4HANA are as good as those of its competitor products. A reliable middleware product will be needed in SAP S/4HANA especially if discrete ERP, MES and CRM are present in the project. The integration of SAP S/4HANA will also be dependent on the strategies and vision laid out by the enterprise architect. Integrations for the solution can be done in both ELT and ETL, and both has its pros and cons.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
19%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
7%
Construction Company
7%
Educational Organization
39%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
University
4%
 

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?
The solution's reporting tools still require improvement. The current functionality could be more user-friendly and flexible, which can lead to increased reliance on service partners for custom cha...
Are there any advantages of SAP S4 HANA over SAP Business One (SAP B1) apart from the cost?
SaP Business One is a complete solution for business management. The software applications are broad, ranging from accounting to project management and human resources. It is very versatile and com...
What needs improvement with SAP S4HANA?
The cost of their support services could be more affordable. It's currently an expensive proposition.
What is your primary use case for SAP S4HANA?
We have several different application scenarios that we are implementing, including procurement, sales, and finance.
 

Also Known As

IFS Applications, Assyst, IFS Cloud
SAP S4HANA
 

Learn More

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

China Airlines, Electrolux Group, Babcock, Cimcorp, Sky, Multiplex, Veolia. 
Nestle, O.C. Tanner, Sabre, New York Life Insurance Co., MEMEBOX, Siemens AG.
Find out what your peers are saying about IFS Cloud Platform vs. SAP S/4HANA and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
831,158 professionals have used our research since 2012.