MS Dynamics 365 vs SAP S4\HANA

Both mentioned systems are called Enterprise Resource Planning – integrated management of all necessary business processes. A bunch of interconnected applications whose job is to collect, store, manage, analyse, and interpret data of all programmed activities in the system. Typically, an ERP system holds a united database that supports all the different modules and coherent design. Depending on the customer need, deployment alternatives are on-premises, cloud-hosted, and SaaS.

Dynamics 365 as SAP S4\HANA is ERP systems. So, where is the difference?

Firstly, a short description.

Dynamics 365 comes from Microsoft and is a cloud-based platform that combines Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) with productivity applications and Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools. [1]

SAP HANA is an in-memory, column-oriented, relational database management system from SAP SE. As the database server, it stores and retrieves data requested by the applications. Deployment can be done on-premises or in the cloud. [2]

Secondly, the differentiation: flexibility

SAP S4\HANA is usually a choice of larger companies. It allows to scale and standardise all business processes to improve the global growth of the firm. More authoritative reports, more insight into the organisation’s efficiency. A bigger company may be keener on sacrifice flexibility for the sake of scale and standardization of business processes. There is also a need for wider functionality that often can not be delivered by Dynamics 365.
However, such a solution can seem quite overwhelming for smaller and medium organisations. There comes MS Dynamics 365. Microsoft’s product offers flexible software that is easier to change (without the customization) to meet dynamically evolving business needs. It is not as solid and broad as S4\HANA, but usually, it is quite fine in the category of smaller and medium companies. It may not scale as well as SAP but is provides an agile system that is suitable for the middle-market.

Thirdly, let’s dive into architecture openness.

MS Dynamics 365 is more open than SAP. It leads to easier interference within the system and integration with third-party legacy systems. On the opposite stands SAP: more close architecture, where need to integrate to third-party system grows to an enormous challenge. However, SAP S4\HANA is also the more complex system with a robust functionality which means it is much less likely that connecting with outside systems will be needed.

Additionally: MS Dynamics 365

Pros:

• Naturally, as Microsoft’s product, it is integrating with other Windows’ applications smoothly.
• The multi-lingual system with the ability to support many currencies – very useful for international businesses.
• Intuitive usability.

Cons:

• Narrowed down deployment options only to cloud-based can be limiting for some businesses.

Additionally: SAP S4/HANA

Pros:

• Delivered with great BI features, data storage and report writing
• Perfect for standardization of business processes.

Cons:

• It can be a little time-consuming to master SAP compared to Dynamics 365

The sum up, I would like to say that both ERP systems are great options and neither is perfect. The thing is to choose wisely and make decision-based on the needs of your, and only your business. All the comparisons on the internet and opinions are helpful however, in the end, the success of ERP system implementation depends on matching the company’s requirements with systems specifications (and experienced professionals!).

In Fabres, we know how hard it can be to recognize or the business needs, and because of that, we can help you. During workshops with our excellent specialists, we will help you to find out what your company needs and advise on the choice of the system.

Do not hesitate to contact us 🙂

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[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Dynamics_365

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAP_HANA

Picture: Photo by Kyle Glenn on Unsplash