SAP is an ERP system that helps companies around the globe manage their business through inputs and processes conducted through a centralized system. In this way, all of the departments’ and the company’s data is stored, managed, shared, and maintained for use. Though many SAP competitors exist, one of the main ones being Microsoft Dynamics, and Folio3 being one of the best Microsoft Dynamics partners in the market.
Limitations/Drawbacks and Disadvantages of SAP
- It is costly.
- It is highly complex and not flexible at all.
- It demands staff that is highly trained in sap itself.
- The implementation time for sap is very lengthy.
- Functions that are in-built as inter-module are the main reasons why people go for sap but are very confusing and difficult to be understood by the businesses.
- It has claimed to also cause conflict within organizations internally.
- Sap has new versions twice a year, which means too many updates too soon
5 Best SAP Competitors for SMEs
There are multiple sap competitors in the market for small and medium-sized businesses, but the following are ones that have been found out to be the best options:
1) Microsoft Dynamics
Microsoft Dynamics is an ERP and CRM software application, which sells its services through reselling partners that, are already providing specialized services, and does not sell directly.
The unique thing about Microsoft Dynamics is that it lets you build database-powered apps, create Excel and Word templates for a better outlook of data, and visualize data through charts and dashboards for a clearer picture.
People have reviewed it as being fast, customizable, having adaptable pay scales and being a one-stop solution for all the work to be conducted. But many people say that it is still more expensive than other available options and that its navigation layout could be a little better and more user friendly.
2) ePROMIS
ePROMIS is a complete suite of business management facilities, that include functions such as: ERP, HCM and CRM. It is helpful in managing inventory, financial status, distribution methods, the supply chain cycle and business intelligence analytics.
The USP of ePROMIS is that it is highly competitive in fleet management, which enables tracking of movement and storage across international borders too. Event management is also a USP, whereby users can monitor their status and processes of orders.
Some advantages of ePROMIS include that it is user friendly, has cloud and onsite solution service, the mobile app version is great and there is ample customer support present for help. But, its implementation time is very high, the system is very complex to understand and there are too many features available that confuse the new users.
3) ERPAG
ERPAG has a range of business management functions that it provides its users, such as: inventory management, shipping management, sales management and manufacturing management.
ERPAG has a couple of USPs, including the fact that it has a mobile scanning option through any iOS or Android device, and it allows easy integration with all kinds of eCommerce platforms.
Pros of ERPAG include having a great customer support program, eCommerce integration availability, and a quick and super easy customization process with no confusions. Its cons account for the fact that it has a difficult user interface to work with, the learning curve for this software is very short and you cannot send direct invoices from the mobile app, which can cause a lot of hassle.
4) ERPNext
ERPNext has functionalities that pertain more towards the HR management, project management and financial management area. It’s USP has been highlighted through its feature whereby businesses can create their own websites and provides an overall Gantt chart of the status of process and operation for a better view at results.
ERPNext gives full control to its users, the ease of use it provides for every process, and the fact that it is an open-source tool to be used by all. Though the response time of the system is really slow, just like its offline synchronization, and managing roles and permissions is a bit difficult too.
5) Intacct
Intacct is a software that focuses on core financial management features. Its USPs include that it allows users to track depreciation on any of their assets to the present value, and it supports the 1099 reporting system, especially across the US.
People reviewed that workflows and field names are easily customizable, features keep updating regularly, and no need of any advanced financial training is required. Yet, their customer support team is non-competitive, its reporting module is a little complex, and large volume data causes trouble in extraction and presentation.
5 Recommended SAP Alternatives for Enterprises and Large Scale Businesses
We have already discussed small and medium scaled businesses; let us look at some large scale and enterprise businesses:
1) Microsoft Dynamics
Yet again, Microsoft Dynamics has topped the charts in this category. It is great for large scale and enterprise businesses, who can build database-powered apps of large data and through dashboards and charts, the large data can be clearly viewed in one look.
2) Net Suite
Net Suite is especially known for its powers to help direct critical processes, drive the organizations innovativeness and prosper a growth mindset amongst all.
It allows data to be visually presented, that would give meaningful insight into the business and its processes enhances the process of planning and streamlines the processes. But it takes a little time to accelerate growth and is only customizable after the company enters its growth stage, not before that.
3) Oracle business
Oracle EBS focuses more on the automation of the services that Oracle provides in the ERP and CRM departments. Through its management processes, it can reduce both, over and understaffing.
Some advantages of Oracle EBS are that it reduces extra costs of attendance and record-keeping, company policies are easily implemented, maintains a central repository for skills and candidates, and makes it easier for employees to submit, view and track data. Though decision-making powers may be reduced for the higher management as it is automated, and errors within the system can cause high downtime until fixed.
4) Priority Software
Priority Software, again, offers all CRM and ERP services and works on-premise and in cloud computing as well. The USP of this software is that it enables users to build mobile apps with various tools, and it supports the integration of any third-party applications.
After implementation, its ease of use is high, licensing and consultation are also at lower rates, and it has a very Excel-like interface, making usage a lot easier. However, the customer support team is not very helpful, invoices could be better controlled, and report generation takes a lot of time, making the process tedious.
5) Ramco ERP
Ramco ERP is a cloud ERP solution that is highly comprehensive, and its USP is that it caters perfectly to fast-paced and dynamically growing organizations, especially large scale enterprises.
There are a lot of advantages linked to it, such as its scalability, flexibility, pay-per-use process model, location and geo-enabled apps on the mobile, and its supports multiple operating systems. Still, its toolkit and features could be enhanced to help the user better, it is a little complex, and it’s on-premise features are not as good as the cloud ones.
Folio3 is your best SAP Alternative Tech Partner
Folio3 is one of the best tech partners for any scale of business (small, medium, large or enterprise) in choosing the best sap alternative for your business. It is a one-stop single solution for all your ERP implementation problems and has already partnered with 300+ companies worldwide.
There is a lot of sap competition in the market, but Folio 3 will look into the crucial processes of your business and provide you with the best sap alternatives that fit your business needs and your budget. This is possible as we have a deep expertise team available 24/7 who knows the industry well and have made multiple successful decisions before for many big companies.
One of our features includes the FastTrack F&O solution system, BI, Shopify Ax, Magento Ax, Amazon Ax which is specially designed for business growth acceleration, which can be easily customized to fit different areas of ERP implementation, such as: HR, Payroll, Finance and Accounting, etc.
Other SAP Competitors And Alternatives
Some sap hana competitors have already been discussed, but many more sap hana competitors exist, like the ones discussed below:
1) Financial Force
It is built on cloud computing, especially on the Salesforce ERP platform. It is known for the merging of both, front and back offices and provides its users with real-time data access for better business generation.
2) AscentERP
This was created by a group of business owners, who came together as experts of manufacturing and distribution. Due to it being a brainchild of multiple experts, it is highly sustainable, flexible and extensible.
3) Birst
Birst is focused upon the enterprise businesses and is highly professional and advanced analytics and business intelligence software. It is very expensive, but it makes the complex business processes easy to understand.
4) Epicor ERP
It offers the same generic ERP processes help that other software also do, but in addition, it also offers some tools that include performance indicators that enable users to easily monitor the profitability of different products.
FAQs:
Who is SAP’s biggest competitor in agriculture?
Agriculture ERP helps in analyzing the activities and processes on the field, related to field management, where which crop to grow, what seasons do certain crops prefer, time management, all comes under the same scenario. Famous is a very competitive agriculture based software, which is preferred by many, and is known to be a great competitor of SAP.
Is SAP better than Microsoft Dynamics?
Many people are using SAP, but Microsoft Dynamics is the biggest SAP competitor, and is number one in the list for many users due to its high customizability, its user friendliness, and the visualization it provides in the form of charts and dashboards, making management a much easier task than SAP does.
Is Salesforce and SAP the same thing for SMEs?
SAP used to be great for SMEs when talking in terms of on premise software management, but Salesforce is a SaaS platform, and came as one of the sap competitors, growing multi folds because it does not need a software, and is much cheaper in terms of pricing to SAP, so it is easily affordable for small and medium scale businesses.
