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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 14.4%, down 15.6% compared to last year.
SAP S/4HANA Cloud, on the other hand, focuses on Cloud ERP, holds 15.3% mindshare, up 12.5% 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

"I find the Production Planning Cockpit (PPC) and Material Requirements Planning (MRP) most valuable modules."
"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."
"The processing time has been reduced, and the screens have become more intuitive, leading to a faster user experience."
"SAP S4HANA version 1909 is stable. We have not gone live with 2020 yet."
"I have no issues with the stability of the product, as everything seems to be fine."
"The product rating is ten out of ten."
"Provides multiple tools for easy integrations"
"It's helped with business aspects and improved material planning and RMA processes."
"The tool selection is really robust and scalable for multiple scenarios."
"The most valuable feature of SAP S/4HANA Cloud is the new UX design."
"SAP S4HANA Cloud has improved the efficiency and visibility of business operations, leading to potential cost and time savings."
"S4HANA Cloud is reliable and accurate. Our existing team also has expertise in SAP, so it was simple to migrate to the cloud solution. S4HANA Cloud has advantages because we don't need to maintain the infrastructure, and there aren't any huge upfront costs."
"The reporting that we are doing from SAP S/4HANA Cloud is a valuable feature."
"The solution is stable."
"For supply chain management, we are using WMS. When you go to public cloud, you get a full-fledged EWM."
"The guidance SAP offers for implementing the product is clear and the online resources are great."
 

Cons

"The common issues being raised right now by the end users are mostly related to the usability."
"Their yearly licensing is expensive. Improvements are needed on the user experience level and digital work."
"I have found the solution to be stable but it could improve."
"It should have more support. Documentation and support for mobile apps can be improved."
"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."
"The scalability could be better."
"It could be improved by focusing on user-related challenges, as end users might face certain difficulties."
"The platform could improve by simplifying the analytics processes, which currently require significant preparatory work outside the platform."
"Variant configuration is needed."
"The initial setup can be complex, depending on the environment."
"The only thing I would improve is the overall user experience, particularly the mobile app. S/4HANA is a powerful, scalable platform, but the user experience isn't positive. It's a bit complex. The look and feel aren't attractive, and the mobile experience isn't great."
"The price is mainly suitable for larger companies, even then, there may be other, cheaper solutions. Additionally, this solution is the result of multiple acquisitions leaving room for there to be issues with performance."
"One thing that could be better in SAP S/4HANA Cloud, especially in the public cloud, is how easily you can make changes."
"I would like to see enhancements in certain features."
"Analytics could be improved."
"The solution’s reporting could be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is an expensive solution. On a scale from one to five, with five being the most expensive, I would rate the price at four."
"The pricing model is based on an annual license."
"Licensing costs are not transparent"
"We pay for an annual license."
"As for pricing, it depends on the business size and flow. If it's a medium-sized business, it might seem affordable, but for larger businesses with complex processes, it could be considered expensive."
"I rate the pricing a ten on a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is too expensive. It is an expensive tool."
"It is on a quarterly basis. There are no additional costs. There is just the standard fee."
"The product is expensive. On a scale of one to ten, one being the lowest price and ten being the highest, I rate the product price as seven or eight."
"I'm not directly involved in the pricing discussions; it's more of a concern for the finance team."
"The solution's costs have significantly increased, and we have not seen any anticipated cost savings."
"The pricing is competitive with other products at that level in that category."
"Its pricing is way over any of the other ERPs. I'd rate it one out of ten in terms of pricing."
"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."
"The solution’s pricing is very high."
"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."
"This is a pricey solution that best serves large enterprises. Be sure to ensure that your company's requirements need to be fulfilled by SAP. There are many other ERP's that are cheaper yet highly functional. However, it is still cheaper than some of the competition (i.e. Oracle, ESD, etc.)"
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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
40%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
University
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?
With the public cloud, now everything is being pushed into BTP. This has created challenges, as it requires us to redo our coding and development. This presents a significant learning curve for our...
What is your primary use case for SAP S4HANA?
We work in a very niche area within the livestock industry. We have a SAP-certified solution for the poultry industry, and as part of our livestock solution, we cover poultry, dairy, and fishery. W...
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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