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Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central vs SAP S/4HANA Cloud comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Busi...
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
64
Ranking in other categories
ERP (3rd), Activity Based Costing Software (2nd)
SAP S/4HANA Cloud
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
52
Ranking in other categories
Cloud ERP (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Enterprise Resource Planning solutions, they serve different purposes. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is designed for ERP and holds a mindshare of 6.3%, down 6.9% compared to last year.
SAP S/4HANA Cloud, on the other hand, focuses on Cloud ERP, holds 18.7% mindshare, up 12.5% since last year.
ERP
Cloud ERP
 

Featured Reviews

StefaanVandesompele - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides end-to-end accounting and finance module at reasonable pricing
365 Business Central integrates with Office 365 to streamline the invoice approval process. This allows businesses to manage and approve invoices efficiently within a unified system. Our organization plans to transition to the Dynamics 365 environment, where various functions will be centralized. We will consolidate everything into one system instead of maintaining multiple databases for each country with local data. Dynamics 365 is fully integrated, which should address many of our challenges when we migrate to this new environment. We look forward to seeing how it performs in practice. The project is progressing well overall, though integrating it with other tools and ensuring Dynamics 365 operates smoothly can be challenging. Dynamics 365 is user-friendly and effective. However, a deeper understanding of its technical capabilities and architecture might be necessary to optimize its use fully. The software landscape is evolving, and achieving the best reporting and functionality with just a click can be complex. A clear vision of what you want to achieve with Dynamics 365 is essential. Proper preparation and configuration are crucial to achieving the desired outcomes. This principle applies not only to Dynamics 365 but to all software packages. Understanding the system's flexibility and adaptability based on your specific business needs is key to its successful implementation. Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.
Sajid Farooq - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides seamless integration of different modules in one place
Certain add-ons like quality control, payroll, and HRMS are not part of the SAP S/4HANA Cloud. SAP S/4HANA Cloud doesn't provide a quality control module. SAP S/4HANA Cloud does not have its own payroll and HRMS system. The partners develop their own cloud and integrate with the solution. There are certain modules specific to some industries, and SAP S/4HANA Cloud doesn't deal with those modules. Every partner of SAP S/4HANA Cloud has to develop its own and then integrate and certify with that solution. We can't say that these modules are part of SAP S/4HANA Cloud. There is a little area of improvement that SAP has to opt for particular types of solutions like QC, payroll, and HRMS. The graphics of SAP S/4HANA Cloud are not user-friendly. They don't look like they belong to a branded solution that costs too much. The solution's user interface is not appealing or user-friendly. On a scale from one to ten, where one is bad and ten is good, I rate the solution's user interface a five out of ten. SAP S/4HANA Cloud has built-in reports that are hard-coated. We have to alter or modify built-in reports in different marking segments, but there are no options for that. We have to build complete reports from scratch, and SAP-developed reports are not used in the market. SAP should provide a tool for customizing its developed reports so that there should not be a process of reengineering or reinventing the process.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I am impressed with the tool's user authentication, compatibility , and policies."
"For me, the main strengths of Microsoft Dynamics NAV are that it's user-friendly and light. These are its major wins. I have used other ERPs and their architecture were a little more complex when compared to the Microsoft Dynamics NAV architecture."
"The most important feature of Microsoft Dynamics NAV is that it lets us centralize all our information so that we don't need to rely on any other software outside of Microsoft."
"The solution is easy to use, flexible, and customizable."
"The solution's integrations and interface are very good."
"It is easy to use, and it works very well for small-scale companies."
"Microsoft Dynamics NAV is brilliant and it's a different segment when comparing it with Dynamics AX. Dynamics AX is a larger product with much more features and it's aimed at a different segment of the market."
"The vertical covers all aspects of functionality and integrates easily with the existing Office products."
"We are a well-established enterprise with a century-long history, and we recently transitioned from an older version to the current support system. This move has allowed us to fully leverage the advantages of the new system, facilitating efficient management of our business processes, including those related to manufacturing and other aspects of our operations."
"The integration between SAP EWM and S4HANA Cloud is seamless."
"It is a straightforward solution."
"SAP S4HANA Cloud has improved the efficiency and visibility of business operations, leading to potential cost and time savings."
"I like that it saves every transaction, so anything is traceable."
"SAP S/4HANA Cloud provides integration, controls, efficiency, visibility into business operations, and collaboration, especially for geographically spread operations."
"It is stable and scalable. In the S4HANA plain version, they have new dashboards and things like that."
"I like the SAP offerings and the standard best practices included in the SAP S/4HANA Cloud version."
 

Cons

"The solution's event management can be improved."
"It would be nice, in Microsoft Teams, if we were able to type more information into the chat."
"The solution is not best suited for larger-scale businesses."
"Since it's complex for a layperson user to understand the solution, it would be better if the solution provided some training resources."
"In the next release, I would like to see a quality check module - Navision doesn't have one, and the industry very much requires it."
"I work in Pakistan, and many people want desktop solutions. They don't want to work on the cloud. They want a strictly on-premises solution."
"There is some network issue."
"I wouldn't say that Microsoft Dynamics is very scalable."
"The product could be improved by enhancing its user interface to make it more intuitive and by increasing the customization options for tracking and reporting, which would better align with our specific needs."
"The reporting aspect needs improvement, specifically in integrating the EWM and MM modules into a single report."
"I'd like to share my experience during the migration from SAP ERP to SAP S/4HANA in the cloud. My primary challenge in this migration was the requirement to open a ticket for every request during the project phase, not during operational or post go-live phases. Despite this, I must acknowledge that overall, SAP has proven to be very reliable. To clarify the issue, after migrating to SAP S/4HANA, I opted to host my SAP solution on the private cloud by converting the license to SAP Cloud. The drawback I encountered during the project phase was the insistence on opening a ticket or service request for any issue or query I had within the project's activities. Looking ahead, I hope that SAP streamlines and simplifies this process for future customers, making it more user-friendly and efficient than my experience."
"UX design is not flexible and lacks compatibility with mobile devices."
"We have encountered challenges with integration projects, particularly between SAP and non-SAP systems, which have caused delays."
"The scalability of SAP S/4HANNA is an area that could be improved."
"It is a complicated solution. So it should be easier to use."
"One thing that could be better in SAP S/4HANA Cloud, especially in the public cloud, is how easily you can make changes."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The cost is one of the benefits. If you don't want to go for the full-blown finance and operations, the pricing model is a lot cheaper and has now switched to being based on a per-user subscription. So, if it's on cloud, you now have an expense instead of a large CapEx. If it's on-prem, you obviously still have to continue with the licensing model that they have, but if you compare the features and functionality, in terms of the price that you pay, I find it's better than other products. My answer on the pricing would be slightly different, depending on the country you're in and the return on investment, based on the size of the company. It's well-priced internationally. I think the new model is priced even better because it's now subscription-based and, if you go for cloud, the return on investment is a lot quicker and if it's expense, you can cap it. If you do take the on-prem version, the licensing is still priced as what it used to be, so that would depend on what country you are in."
"I would rate the pricing of this solution at three out of five."
"I give the solution a seven out of ten for pricing."
"The solution is on the cloud and they provide 50 gigabytes of free space on their Microsoft Drive. The reason for this is that Microsoft is requiring you to upgrade all of your systems to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central in order to effectively use the cloud. This means that if you are currently using a different version of Microsoft for a specific purpose that does not require this solution, it can be frustrating to have to spend money to upgrade to this solution just for the purpose of syncing with the cloud. Additionally, even if you do purchase Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, there can still be issues with syncing between the on-premise and cloud clients. This can be especially frustrating as the cloud storage is not free and can be difficult to access even after purchasing."
"There are two types of licenses. One is the essential license in which everything is covered, and the next is the premium. If your company is a manufacturing or service management company, then you can go for the premium license because those two modules are the premium ones. You can manage your manufacturing activities and your service activities."
"In my opinion, the fees are reasonable."
"The price of the solution could be reduced to improve their offering."
"I have some subscription-based customer and a few customers who have perpetual licenses that hosted the application on the cloud."
"The tool's pricing is reasonable."
"I feel the solution is expensive when it comes to what can be obtained with open source software."
"The pricing of SAP S/4HANA Cloud is on the higher side."
"I'm not directly involved in the pricing discussions; it's more of a concern for the finance team."
"The pricing model can be complicated in certain scenarios."
"It's very expensive."
"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a seven out of ten."
"SAP S/4 Hana isn't cheap, but its value depends on how much you can leverage from it. It's not just about the system but how well your people are trained to use it and adapt to derive benefits."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Retailer
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Construction Company
6%
Educational Organization
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft Dynamics NAV?
The platform offers a robust and comprehensive cycle for supply chain and inventory management, with features like minimum and maximum settings, dynamic monitoring of inventory levels, and integrat...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Dynamics NAV?
The pricing for Dynamics 365 Business Central is reasonable. The value for money is very high.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Dynamics NAV?
There is a need for improvement in consolidation and multi-country master data management.
What do you like most about SAP S/4HANA Cloud?
The manufacturing area is a good feature.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SAP S/4HANA Cloud?
SAP S/4HANA Cloud is very expensive, both to purchase and maintain. It's important to evaluate the costs of recruiting and maintaining trained personnel as it's not just a one-time payment yet requ...
What needs improvement with SAP S/4HANA Cloud?
The system is very heavy and requires a lot of resources and a dedicated team. It is costly to maintain, demanding trained professionals, which adds to the expenses. This makes the overall cost ver...
 

Also Known As

Dynamics NAV, MS Dynamics NAV
SAP S4HANA Cloud
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Harris Farm Markets, Mister Spex GmbH, Bounce Foods, Eurofin Services SA, Medica Medizintechnik, Associated Gaskets, Onduline, Sitka Surfboard Corporation, World Animal Protection
La Trobe University, Carrefour Comércio e Indústria Ltda, Delaware Consulting and Corning Inc.
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842,388 professionals have used our research since 2012.