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SAP Business One vs SAP S/4HANA comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 8, 2024
 

Categories and Ranking

SAP Business One
Ranking in ERP
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
64
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SAP S/4HANA
Ranking in ERP
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Number of Reviews
104
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2024, in the ERP category, the mindshare of SAP Business One is 4.6%, down from 6.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP S/4HANA is 16.2%, up from 14.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
ERP
 

Featured Reviews

Sajith Morais - PeerSpot reviewer
Jul 19, 2023
Caters to the company's B2B business model and highly stable solution
I have seen some limitations. For example, in Sri Lanka, I implemented SAP Business One in the fashion industry, specifically the footwear industry. Currently, the system does not support creating size-wise items with a size grid, which would be a beneficial feature to have. Additionally, in some areas, particularly in budget preparation and cost accounting, there are certain limitations that could be improved. Specifically, the budgeting side needs enhancement. When comparing SAP Business One with Netsuite and Microsoft Dynamics, Netsuite has a feature that allows easy integration with email, whereas SAP Business One lacks this capability. Users need to log in to the SAP Business One application separately to access emails, unlike Netsuite. These minor features make a difference, and if SAP Business One can include and improve such aspects, it would become the ideal product for SMEs. One another thing is SAP Business One consumes a lot of network resources and bandwidth, especially when accessing the web solution, B1 Web Access. While NetSuite is a completely cloud-based solution that can be accessed via a web browser, SAP Business One has this facility but faces some constraints, especially in terms of top performance and speed at the browser level. However, in the network, there are issues regarding application slowness. This could be a major concern with SAP Business One. These are some areas of improvement for me.
VARUN-JAIN - PeerSpot reviewer
May 19, 2022
The solution is highly scalable, with solid performance and integration
S/4HANA implementation is always complex because you need to configure it to work with your infrastructure. SAP only provides the license, not hardware, but they will connect you with a partner like HPE or IBM. It's extremely costly if you ask for SAP to implement it, but you can deploy through some vendor like HCL, TC, Infosys, or Capgemini, and then you need to enlist a hardware partner. The complexity also varies by industry. If it's a small industry with $40 million of revenue annually, the business processes will be simple. However, deployment is tricky for heavy manufacturing, energy, etc.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Its real-time data capabilities initially provided critical insights that supported our decision-making. It effectively meets our data security and compliance requirements."
"Add-ons that can be implemented are most valuable."
"The solution has all the basic features that are required for us."
"Its usability is the most valuable. It is very intuitive and user-friendly. In terms of functionality, it has all the basic functionalities for ERP, such as CRM, sales, and manufacturing. These are the functionalities that we typically use for all SMEs. In terms of localization, SAP Business One is the best. It has got localization across all countries, which is an advantage. No other solution has such localization."
"So there are a lot of features included with the ERP system."
"We bought all licenses for the whole package in the very beginning, and now we're just paying for 404 licensed maintenance. It's a standard fee. Of course, we still pay partners for implementation."
"It's simple to use and very direct."
"The Material Requirements Planning (MRP) feature of SAP Business One has been most beneficial for our reporting needs."
"The Order-to-Cash feature is indispensable"
"SAP S4HANA has good performance and has allowed us to combine our systems."
"S/4HANA is so much faster today than it was before. High performance is one of the best features, but the backbone of S/4HANA is its integration capabilities. They've also shifted to a focus on user experience."
"SAP S4HANA is a stable solution."
"The infrastructure resources are also effectively used. It is very optimized; used in a very optimized manner."
"It is the most stable solution provided by SAP and can be used on all levels."
"The key modules that I find most valuable are material management (MM), financial accounting and controlling (FICO), and human resources (HR)."
"The scalability is excellent, especially on cloud deployment models."
 

Cons

"Lacks an advanced HR model with payroll."
"The solution could improve by providing HR payroll, quality control, and maintenance. These are the missing features which we have to use add-ons solutions to provide the functionality."
"Security could be improved."
"The price could improve for SAP Business One."
"There could be enhancements in plant maintenance, quality assurance, and HR management features."
"The extension of dashboards into mobiles is something which SAP Business One has to improve on."
"Overall, the integration and the reports can be better."
"Business One lacks built-in HR features."
"The initial setup could be better. They can make the process a little easier. The functions that we require will be available in the next release. We specifically need a new model, and I think we have some versions to implement. I already read on the SAP website that some functionalities we are waiting for are available in this new version."
"Items that impact the TCO should be improved because the solution is very complex to integrate and keep running."
"There are areas for improvement. SAP needs to consider both global and regional requirements."
"We would like to see more DevOps capabilities in the future."
"The customer service and support are average. There is room for improvement in response time."
"S/4HANA could be improved with better integration. At the moment, a main issue I see is that there's so much growth in the functionality, complementary modules, and cloud solutions which were acquired by SAP and which extend the functionality of the SAP ERP suite. It looks to me that they tend to acquire more and more functionality from acquisitions, but they don't invest enough effort into making them integrated with S/4HANA or ERP. I would say that the functionality is great, but integration is something which still needs more attention. Instead of focusing on acquisitions, they should invest, integrate, and better the existing portfolio of products in SAP. It would help us, as implementors, to have a more complex or compact solution."
"There should be a place where I can get the best available applications in one place. Currently, Fiori applications are available in different tiles on the dashboards. If anyone wants to check the financial, sales, and inventory reporting in one place, it is not possible in Fiori. We would have to develop a custom Fiori application. If that feature can be incorporated into the standard Fiori, it will be helpful for us."
"The classic interface needs improvement"
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"SAP Business One is a cost-effective solution. The price is good and we pay for a subscription annually."
"We pay annually. It is around 800 a month."
"I would rate Business One's pricing five out of five."
"The licensing cost for SAP Business One is affordable, and I'd rate it as four out of five. The license covers the software, the configuration, and the services, but if you want technical support, you'd need to pay for that separately."
"We compared the Microsoft solution with Oracle NetSuite, as they have a price decrease. It is, however, not that much cheaper, and the price is comparable to SAP."
"It's not cheap but offers good value, particularly for medium-sized enterprises."
"The price of the solution is reasonable."
"In terms of price, it's fair, but the problem is with AMC."
"The solution might be expensive."
"The price could be lower."
"There is an annual license for SAP S4HANA."
"Though we are talking about a competitively priced model, the pricing could be more cost-effective."
"I have heard others saying that SAP is only for big companies that have money."
"SAP S/4HANA is expensive."
"The solution's license cost is on the higher side."
"I feel that the product is a bit expensive."
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Answers from the Community

Shibu  Ms - PeerSpot reviewer
Sep 6, 2023
Sep 6, 2023
Hi Shibu, Here is a brief comparison between SAPB1 and SAP S/4 Hana. SAP B1 was not originally a SAP product it was a product developed by an Israel founder in 195 built only for MAC OS SAP bought it over in 2003, Whereas SAP S/4 Hana is natively built by SAP. Scope and Complexity: SAP B1: SAP Business One is designed for small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and covers a broad range of b...
See 2 answers
Avigayil Henderson - PeerSpot reviewer
Jul 10, 2023
Hello Shibu, I am writing this answer on behalf of a Director at a small tech services company: The key difference is about 2 and a half million dollars - jokingly - we’ve had some clients go with B1 and the projects were smallish - $70k - $120k. We’ve also had clients spending nearly $3m on S/4HANA projects. I’d say B1 is more for mid-market, and S/4HANA is a tier one large company, Fortune 1000 size project. Now of course that’s super generalized from a small sample size - for what it’s worth.
Mohammed Shakir Ibrahim - PeerSpot reviewer
Sep 6, 2023
Hi Shibu, Here is a brief comparison between SAPB1 and SAP S/4 Hana. SAP B1 was not originally a SAP product it was a product developed by an Israel founder in 195 built only for MAC OS SAP bought it over in 2003, Whereas SAP S/4 Hana is natively built by SAP. Scope and Complexity: SAP B1: SAP Business One is designed for small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and covers a broad range of business processes, including accounting, inventory management, and sales. SAP S/4HANA: SAP S/4HANA is an enterprise-level solution designed for larger organizations, offering a more comprehensive suite of applications that include advanced analytics, industry-specific features, and support for complex business processes. It's strong in manufacturing, Service industry, government, and Oil & Gas industries. Database Technology: SAP B1: SAP B1 typically uses Microsoft SQL Server as its underlying database management system, but there is a new variant where you can use the HANA database with Business One. SAP S/4HANA: SAP S/4HANA uses in-memory computing and the SAP HANA database, which enables real-time data processing, faster reporting, and advanced analytics capabilities. This technology shift is a major differentiator and provides significant performance advantages. Scalability: SAP B1: SAP B1 is not scalable for large organizations due to the complexity of the processes. SAP S/4HANA: SAP S/4HANA is made for larger organizations which can cater to any complicated business processes. If you need further information you can reach me at shakir52268@gmail.com
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
14%
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Retailer
6%
Educational Organization
37%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
4%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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 do you like most about SAP Business One?
It's user-friendly and comes with comprehensive manuals. So, it is easy to learn to use SAP Business One
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SAP Business One?
Pricing is acceptable, and it is one of the lower-cost solutions.
What needs improvement with SAP S4HANA?
In future releases, I would like to see more availability zones and VPCs so customers have more freedom to choose. Also, more training so customers can utilize the training enablement.
What is your primary use case for SAP S4HANA?
I'm an architect. S/4HANA is an intelligent enterprise. When an organization needs an application or software to run its operations, S/4HANA comes into play. SAP is the market leader in ERP. S/4HAN...
What do you like most about SAP S4HANA?
It's helped with business aspects and improved material planning and RMA processes.
 

Also Known As

Business One
SAP S4HANA
 

Learn More

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Ego Pharmaceuticals Pty. Ltd
Nestle, O.C. Tanner, Sabre, New York Life Insurance Co., MEMEBOX, Siemens AG.
Find out what your peers are saying about SAP Business One vs. SAP S/4HANA and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.
815,854 professionals have used our research since 2012.