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Oracle Fusion Middleware vs SAP S/4HANA 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

Oracle Fusion Middleware
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
Application Server (6th)
SAP S/4HANA
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
111
Ranking in other categories
ERP (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

Oracle Fusion Middleware and SAP S/4HANA aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Oracle Fusion Middleware is designed for Application Server and holds a mindshare of 5.1%, up 4.4% compared to last year.
SAP S/4HANA, on the other hand, focuses on ERP, holds 15.3% mindshare, up 15.4% since last year.
Application Server
ERP
 

Q&A Highlights

WP
Apr 11, 2023
 

Featured Reviews

Husni Milhem - PeerSpot reviewer
Maintains top database performance and includes a very good ATB feature
Technical support is helpful. They have a good support bot for handling items so most case response times are fast. Support is aware and responsive but it takes time for them to resolve issues. Our whole enterprise is in the cloud and uses this application. It is a high priority to close any issues. We need an immediate response with resolution within two to three days. Support sends a lot of templates to fill in based on the priority or escalation. Completing templates takes time, particularly with the bot. The support process definitely needs improvement so technical support is rated a seven out of ten.
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution is very easy to install."
"Oracle Fusion is stable."
"The scalability is good."
"The most valuable features are Oracle Unified Directory and unified identity access management."
"It is really good in terms of features, and it is stable."
"The solution is extendable so you can start with two cores and add more at any time."
"The most valuable feature is the structure of the product. We use Oracle Fusion Middleware to manage the Oracle database. Registered users can go to each product if sign-on credentials match each user's identical framework."
"Oracle Service Bus is the most valuable feature of the solution."
"The most valuable feature is that HANA loads from memory, which means it loads very quickly."
"The performance of the solution is excellent."
"S/4HANA offers a lot of additional capability with respect to performance due to its in-built architecture for many functions including finance, production, quality, manufacturing, inventory or sales distribution and logistics."
"SAP S/4HANA is an integrated application, which is its greatest strength."
"The solution can scale well."
"I find everything I need in S4/HANA."
"Provides multiple tools for easy integrations"
"Only SAP payroll products can handle data management in IT and HR, processing millions of payrolls monthly for big organizations. S/4HANA payroll can manage massive volumes of data, process payroll in minutes, and provide outcomes. Other applications cannot process more than 4000-5000, but SAP S/4HANA payroll has been proven for 30-40 years."
 

Cons

"An improvement for Oracle's Fusion Middleware could definitely be found in the SOA component. It's a heavyweight container and, if you ask me, if a product is available as a docker image where we can easily port it in to another Kubernetes platform, that would be perfect. But as for the current situation in the market, nobody is really willing to deploy this on premises."
"Oracle Fusion Middleware is based on the regulations in Saudi Arabia and the legislation changes. There is a need to be improvements all the time. It needs to adapt quickly in this market. Additionally, there could be some improvements in the construction sector."
"I would rate the stability a nine out of ten because we did have multiple breakdowns and crashes."
"Oracle Fusion Middleware could improve by offering enhanced and customizable business-related features, particularly in supporting individual businesses or custom applications."
"The solution's technical support needs to be improved."
"For improvements, I think Oracle Fusion Middleware could be better at connecting to third-party applications. While it works well with Oracle products, it's more limited to non-Oracle systems than other middleware solutions like MuleSoft."
"The documentation might not be good enough for new users."
"Its price can be improved. We are currently looking for more cost-efficiency. It should also have a little bit more flexibility for customizations. The customizations should be quicker."
"This product would be improved by adding more reports."
"This solution works with the configuration, if the prerequisites are very clear and can be configured it works perfectly. If you need to simulate something, as a predictive tool this kind of simulation is not very accurate and it has limitations. This is something that could improve."
"The install can be difficult. There's something called secondary sales solutions that is not there in SAP. We need to have third-party tools to integrate to do the automatization. The two parts are missing on the secondary sales solution and automation."
"If S4HANA has more AI and machine learning, it will be better and easier for reporting and dashboarding."
"SAP S/4HANA is an expensive solution."
"Lacks ability to easily mass upload which has become a necessity for industry."
"During parallel preparation of go-live processes, SAP B1 and S4H transactional data alignment can be difficult to track."
"I would like to see the AI included to help from a data standpoint."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We pay annually for the solution."
"The pricing is moderate. It's fine."
"It is expensive. We are looking for a cheaper solution."
"The licensing costs are reasonable."
"The solution is expensive so pricing is rated a six out of ten."
"The tool is best suited for large companies due to high licensing costs."
"The solution is quite expensive so is only used by larger organizations."
"My advice is to buy the basic modules first, gain the most benefit from them, then buy the advanced modules."
"SAP S/4HANA is expensive."
"It is an expensive solution."
"Licensing costs are not transparent"
"It is on a quarterly basis. There are no additional costs. There is just the standard fee."
"Depending on the solution there can be a different way of doing the license. Most of the licenses are annual, but there are some models where it is that offer pay-as-you-go. Additionally, there are some solutions that offer monthly per user."
"I don't think any company would find the product expensive"
"Pricing is one area where S/4HANA has room for improvement. It's too costly for many people. They have come up with"
"The price of SAP S4HANA is reasonable."
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Answers from the Community

WP
Apr 11, 2023
Apr 11, 2023
Hi Wanlaya, We are SAP consulting company based in Mumbai, India you can visit our website www.inteliwaves.com. Just to answer your question please find herewith document i have may be helpful to you and will help you in your decision making process. SAP S/4HANA vs. Oracle ERP Cloud: Clash of the Titans When considering new enterprise technologies, many of...
See 2 answers
GH
Apr 10, 2023
Hey Mr. Panjahong - there are many templates and scoresheets to compare software available, but most are not focused on where you need to be. At this point, you need business analysts to examine the business process at your company. Yes, Telcos have some similarities, but more often, each has different ways of doing business. For example, with B2B we might see 1,000 transactions daily whereas B2C might be working with 40,000 transactions hourly - and whether or not this describes your facility or not is not consequential as long as you understand that the microseconds of difference between how one software performs versus the next could be millions in value over the years. Doing business process analysis, especially if your analysts have ERP backgrounds, will highlight the areas of key concern for your company. And start the software architecture best suited to addressing those concerns. Then, your evaluation is focused on these key metrics and becomes manageable. I could send you past clients' requirements ranging from a 20-page spreadsheet with nearly 100 questions per tab, to a retailer that thought they had a comprehensive 25-requirements list (in an hour we had it up to 125). But the reality is, probably neither of those templates would be of any real value. Go build your business case - it's the first step to succeeding in a very complex, yet critical situation.
Manish Chhatbar - PeerSpot reviewer
Apr 11, 2023
Hi Wanlaya,  We are SAP consulting company based in Mumbai, India you can visit our website www.inteliwaves.com.   Just to answer your question please find herewith document i have may be helpful to you and will help you in your decision making process.               SAP S/4HANA vs. Oracle ERP Cloud: Clash of the Titans When considering new enterprise technologies, many of our clients consider SAP S/4HANA vs. Oracle ERP Cloud in their ERP software evaluation process. In fact, our upper mid-market and larger enterprise clients choose between these two systems on an extremely frequent basis. In the most recent rankings of the top ERP systems, it’s not surprising that both solutions did well. S/4HANA ranked #6 and Oracle ERP Cloud landed at #3, although they both finished in the top two in terms of market share. While some might argue they should have finished higher in our rankings, below are some independent analysis of how these two leading industry titans compare to one another. The common strengths of SAP S/4HANA and Oracle ERP Cloud For some organizations, S/4HANA and Oracle ERP are the best options because of their common strengths. For example, both products are capable of scaling to meet the needs of larger, complex, and more diverse organizations. Companies that operate internationally, have diverse product lines, and manage supply chains are naturally going to gravitate to these two solutions. This is why SAP and Oracle have historically had such a strong foothold in the Fortune 500 space. The common weaknesses of SAP S/4HANA and Oracle ERP Cloud For some organizations, SAP and Oracle are a natural best fit for their needs. However, it is important to also be aware of their weaknesses. Both products are knee deep in their transitions from well-established legacy products to these newer flagship products, which is why both products suffer from a relative lack of functional maturity. This is true not only related to their own legacy products such as ECC and eBusiness Suite, but also when compared to more established products, such as Oracle NetSuite, Plex Systems, and others that have a jumpstart on migration to the cloud. We see this relative lack of maturity wreaking havoc on their customers’ ERP implementations as they navigate the holes and deficiencies in their products. Best of breed ERP solutions are a common solution to address this problem. Standardization and harmonization of business processes SAP is the gold standard when it comes to standardizing and harmonizing business processes. It has an advantage over Oracle ERP in that it drives a certain amount of structure and rigidity – for better or for worse. This is part of what appeals to larger organizations that are trying to drive a certain amount of commonality throughout their global operations. The downside of this advantage, however, is that it makes organizational change very difficult and painful. Anytime you are forced to accept someone else’s business processes – whether internally or because it’s just the way the software works – employees are going to resist the changes in some way. This is why an effective organizational change management plan is so important for SAP S/4HANA implementations – even more so than for those implementing Oracle ERP Cloud. Functional flexibility On the slip side, Oracle ERP Cloud has the advantage if it is flexibility that you value. Whether you are a decentralized company with independent operations or a company that values speed and nimbleness over structure and standardization, Oracle ERP is going to have the slight edge. Just as S/4HANA requires effective organizational change management to mitigate the pains of rigidity, Oracle ERP Cloud implementations requires effective change management as well – albeit for different reasons. We often times see the solution’s flexibility mask a deeper issue: resistance to change. The risk of Oracle ERP implementations is that even though you can change the software more easily than with S/4HANA, it doesn’t mean you should. Deployment flexibility While most ERP vendors are trying to force its customers to the cloud – including Oracle – SAP still offers multiple deployment models with S/4HANA. Rather than requiring a pure cloud or SaaS delivery, SAP allows customers to choose on-premise, cloud, or SaaS. We find that Oracle on the other hand rarely offers on-premise options – except where there are deficiencies in its product and only a legacy on-premise solution will address those needs. While SAP may have the advantage in this category, it also has some liabilities. The company may not require customers to move to the cloud before they are ready, but they are certainly forcing existing customers to migrate to S/4HANA before they are ready. SAP’s 2025 deadline is one of the more aggressive mandates that we have seen in the industry in recent years. Ease of employee adoption Feedback from our clients indicate that Oracle ERP Cloud has the advantage when it comes to ease of employee adoption. The product’s user interface and flexibility generally make it easier for employees to learn and use than S/4HANA’s more rigid interface and general structure. This is also true when it comes to the initial implementation of the software. Even though Oracle may have the advantage when it comes to ease of employee adoption, organizational change is still a very critical requirement for success. In addition to the reasons mentioned above, Oracle ERP and S/4HANA require a greater level of discipline, integration, and general process changes – all which require an intense focus on organizational change. Data and analytics The ability to translate data into information that can be used for better decision-making is becoming a hot commodity in the enterprise technology space. For decades, companies have been adapting ERP systems to gather more intelligence and data, but few have mastered the craft of knowing how to find value in all that data. This is becoming even more true in today’s age of internet of things, artificial intelligence, and shop floor automation and data capture. With this in mind, Oracle has historically been very strong in data and analytics, especially since its acquisition of Hyperion years ago. Its Enterprise Performance Management offering is a strong complement to the core ERP system, making for more effective reporting, analytics, and business intelligence capabilities than with S/4HANA. Alternatives to SAP and Oracle With this comparison in mind, it is also important to note that there are many viable alternatives to the SAP vs. Oracle debate. Many leading ERP systems have become more viable over the years, and there are more established cloud ERP systems that may be better fits for your organization. For example, here are a few other product comparisons that are commonly of interest with our clients, along with a link to each: SAP S/4HANA vs. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Oracle ERP Cloud vs. Oracle NetSuite Microsoft Dynamics 365 vs. Oracle NetSuite Overview of the Top 10 ERP Systems These and other resources on our website and my YouTube channel will help you navigate the plethora of options available to you. SAP S/4HANA vs. Oracle ERP Cloud: Which is better? As you may have gathered from the above analysis, there is no clear “winner” in the SAP S/4HANA vs. Oracle ERP Cloud discussion. We have many clients where S/4HANA is clearly more aligned with their longer-term vision and strategy, while we find that Oracle ERP Cloud is a better fit for others. It all comes down to unique needs, strategies, and goals of your organization. Please feel free to contact me to pick my brain on the pros and cons of these and other ERP systems available in the market. I am happy to be a sounding board as you continue your digital transformation journey! ` SAP S/4HANA Private Cloud SAP S/4HANA Public Cloud Oracle Cloud ERP Why this matters True cloud SaaS applications Not SaaS, hosted legacy SaaS SaaS True SaaS is essential for the continuous digital innovation necessary for today’s business environment—without end-of life issues and implementation disruption. Complete suite of modular applications ERP-centric but comprehensive set of modules. Limited financials and manufacturing capabilities. Full suite of flexible modular SaaS applications. When all modules are built on unified data, you can optimize processes and analyze data across departments. Modularity allows for diverse business models and priority-focused implementation. Continuous innovation across all applications Traditional complex and costly upgrades Quarterly SaaS updates Quarterly SaaS updates Quarterly updates allow continuous innovation based on the latest technologies. Budgeting and forecasting across lines of business and data sources Only traditional budgeting and forecasting. Business planning & consolidation (BPC) will not be supported starting in 2027. Only traditional budgeting and forecasting. Will not be supported starting in 2027. Supports connected enterprise planning and multiple planning approaches. Planning and forecasting across functions leverages all enterprise data and gives you a holistic view of the business. Ability to anticipate and react to market conditions and disruptions with scenario modeling Limited capabilities to anticipate and react to market conditions and limited capabilities for scenario modeling. Limited capabilities to anticipate and react to market conditions and limited capabilities for scenario modeling. Supports multiple scenario planning approaches. Scenario planning prepares organizations for disruption and unforeseen events. Embedded risk management across functions Fragmented across multiple application and technology layers. Fragmented across multiple application and technology layers. Pervasive risk management with embedded data science across the applications and platform. Built-in risk management and data science strengthens financial controls, stops cash leaks, streamlines audit, and detects emerging risks. Flexible ledger structures Thick ledger Thick ledger Choice of thick ledger, thin ledger, or structured federated ledger (subledger accounting). A flexible ledger lets users decide how much data flows into the general ledger based on their business and reporting needs. One source of truth for finance and HR data to improve decision-making Legacy application connected to cloud. HR data is in silos. SaaS with multiple acquired disparate HR modules. SaaS solution with a single data model for HR, finance and other lines of business. Unified data avoids overly complex reporting and analysis. No need for IT to normalize data. Configurable, not customizable applications Customizable Configurable Configurable Rule-driven configurations and workflow changes don't require IT support. They also drive security and continuous optimization without business disruption. One solution for small, midsize, and large companies SAP positions different solutions based on company size. SAP Business ByDesign for small/midsize and the S/4 HANA products for large enterprises. SAP positions different solutions based on company size. SAP Business ByDesign for small/midsize and the S/4 HANA products for large enterprises. Single solution to support small, midsize, and large companies. Capabilities can be deployed as needed. A single solution means no need to migrate if the company grows or requirements evolve. You can deploy the same applications across HQ, subsidiaries, and business units regardless of size.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
56%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
7%
Government
5%
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 Oracle Fusion Middleware?
The most valuable features are Oracle Unified Directory and unified identity access management.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Oracle Fusion Middleware?
The tool is best suited for large companies due to high licensing costs.
What needs improvement with Oracle Fusion Middleware?
For improvements, I think Oracle Fusion Middleware could be better at connecting to third-party applications. While it works well with Oracle products, it's more limited to non-Oracle systems than ...
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

No data available
SAP S4HANA
 

Learn More

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Police Department of Izmir City
Nestle, O.C. Tanner, Sabre, New York Life Insurance Co., MEMEBOX, Siemens AG.
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