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SAP S/4HANA 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

SAP S/4HANA
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
119
Ranking in other categories
ERP (1st)
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. SAP S/4HANA is designed for ERP and holds a mindshare of 12.9%, down 16.1% compared to last year.
SAP S/4HANA Cloud, on the other hand, focuses on Cloud ERP, holds 19.2% mindshare, up 12.4% since last year.
ERP
Cloud ERP
 

Featured Reviews

Deepak Madhavan - PeerSpot reviewer
Implementation simplifies ERP management with comprehensive data integration and visibility
A lot of people would say the pricing. SAP is seen as quite expensive even now. It doesn't work for smaller or medium optimizations. The licensing and pricing could be looked at. In Brownfield migration, the trade-off between greenfield and brownfield means you either keep it clean or match the business requirements. Sometimes, it's not possible to do both. While ValixAPI provides significant support in making those decisions and the SAP consultant is very useful, we are still dependent on past history and how it was originally set up. I wouldn't call that a real disadvantage, yet more accessible consulting would be beneficial. Incorporating all other cloud products, like APO or IPP, into the S/4 house might also help.
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

"SAP S/4HANA is a comprehensive ERP solution that provides better performance."
"From a technological point of view, the in-memory database is one of the key highlights."
"The key modules that I find most valuable are material management (MM), financial accounting and controlling (FICO), and human resources (HR)."
"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."
"S4HANA is very scalable - we use it across seven or eight factories, and everything is running fine."
"It is more or less a very, very smooth and seamless product. Day by day they are increasing their technology features and they are keen to resolve the issues. India has a complex business scenario and SAP is thinking about that and resolving the issues day by day."
"S4HANA is a completely integrated solution. It's an end-to-end ERP system with strong manufacturing and financial integration, which is not common among ERPs. And it's a solution that's driven by industry best practices."
"SAP S/4HANA is an integrated application, which is its greatest strength."
"The guidance SAP offers for implementing the product is clear and the online resources are great."
"SAP S4HANA Cloud is one of the best products in enterprise solutions, especially in manufacturing, retail, logistics, wholesaling, and distribution."
"The ability to access and analyze data in real-time has significantly improved our reporting efficiency."
"For supply chain management, we are using WMS. When you go to public cloud, you get a full-fledged EWM."
"It is a straightforward solution."
"The technical support team has been responsive and helpful, addressing issues and providing solutions promptly whenever needed."
"S/4HANA Cloud is very stable."
"I like that it saves every transaction, so anything is traceable."
 

Cons

"It would be beneficial if the pricing structure could be made more flexible and adaptable to suit the needs of different organizations.Besides this the scalability also needs consideration improvement. I believe support could be improved by providing more specific and detailed answers rather than generic responses."
"Small businesses that have a small user base find this solution too expensive."
"The two things that need to be improved are price and customization."
"SAP is seen as quite expensive even now. It doesn't work for smaller or medium optimizations."
"Maybe its user interface and reporting can be improved across the board, but it is manageable."
"I think the user interface still needs improvement. While efforts are being made to enhance and make it more user-friendly, there are still shortcomings. Fiori is a great step forward, but work must be done. So, I believe SAP S/4HANA should focus more on improving GUI access. We also had a difficult time migrating the fixed assets."
"There could be a bit more competitiveness in their licensing and pricing."
"SAP S4HANA is not suitable for all-size companies. If you have a small company there are better fit solutions for your needs."
"The solution's speed and dashboard could be improved."
"Generally, there's not much noise or many issues, but we sometimes open tickets. These are mainly due to underestimating business needs at the beginning of deployment or sudden changes in the business. For example, when we suddenly open branches in other countries, add many users or the business grows fast, we might need more memory or disk space. We sometimes underestimate our needs from the cloud. This isn't a problem with the cloud or the vendor but more about our estimation. We raise tickets for things like increasing memory, dealing with one-time errors, or issues with space utilization. We might need to increase resources or improve performance."
"The reporting aspect needs improvement, specifically in integrating the EWM and MM modules into a single report."
"I would like to see a feature where it allows integration with more platforms."
"When it comes to the SAP PM material's module, it would be nice to see the inclusion of predictive analytics."
"The only thing that could be improved would be the complexity of the initial setup."
"The integration with third-party vendors could improve."
"I don't recommend it for very small enterprises."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"In Nigeria, we have to consider currency conversion rates with the Euro and Dollar that impact the final cost. But I believe that it'll be cheaper in the cloud where SAP has to do the maintenance of the server and more in the long run."
"SAP is a costly product in terms of maintenance for an organization who has reached a particular level."
"The product is expensive"
"The price of the solution is reasonable but some modules can be expensive. When comparing SAP S4HANA to other solutions, such as Oracle, it is not expensive."
"The price of SAP S4HANA is reasonable."
"Available at a high price"
"SAP S/4HANA is expensive."
"The solution's license cost is on the higher side."
"The tool's pricing is reasonable."
"The license for S/4HANA is expensive, and the licensing structure is hard to understand. The admin license is something like 500 euros per user. Other ERP solutions allowed you to pick only the modules you need. The SAP ECC version requires you to take all the modules even if you are not using them."
"I'm not directly involved in the pricing discussions; it's more of a concern for the finance team."
"It's very expensive."
"The licensing process for SAP S/4HANA Cloud has worked well."
"I don't remember the specifics about the licensing, but it's scaled and modular. You pay for what you use. It's not a one-size-fits-all license. You have a license for every single module. It's similar to Oracle."
"S/4HANA is an enterprise solution that many can't afford. You must invest a lot to get the most out of it. It isn't cheap. I rate the price seven out of 10."
"The price of SAP S/4HANA Cloud is expensive. However, the benefits are good. We did not purchase any upgrades."
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Answers from the Community

RB
Jun 30, 2021
Jun 30, 2021
The main difference is RISE is associated with S/4 Product Range on Cloud while By Design is modeled after SAP Business One also on Cloud. So both are SaaS but the difference is in enterprise size and also application complexities. Also, RISE offers a bundle of pre-configured modules while By Design is similar to B1 with a lot more flexibility and high scalability. License wise both are per us...
See 2 answers
EB
Jun 28, 2021
Hello @Terry Jones ​, @Sanath Premachandra ​, @Ben Melchionno ​and @ASalman. Can you please assist in answering this question?
PB
Jun 30, 2021
The main difference is RISE is associated with S/4 Product Range on Cloud while By Design is modeled after SAP Business One also on Cloud.  So both are SaaS but the difference is in enterprise size and also application complexities. Also, RISE offers a bundle of pre-configured modules while By Design is similar to B1 with a lot more flexibility and high scalability. License wise both are per user on the cloud.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
36%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
4%
Computer Software Company
16%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Educational Organization
6%
Construction Company
6%
 

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 needs improvement with SAP S4HANA?
There could be a bit more competitiveness in their licensing and pricing.
What is your primary use case for SAP S4HANA?
It is a great product to be implemented for different industries for my customers. Can it be used globally?
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

SAP S4HANA
SAP S4HANA Cloud
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Nestle, O.C. Tanner, Sabre, New York Life Insurance Co., MEMEBOX, Siemens AG.
La Trobe University, Carrefour Comércio e Indústria Ltda, Delaware Consulting and Corning Inc.
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