Here’s what to look for when choosing a cloud ERP

For fast-growing SMEs looking to move to the cloud, there are scalable alternatives to on-premise developed ERP Services.

SAP is essentially perceived as a provider for large companies and the upper midmarket. In the meantime, however, smaller companies are also placing themselves in the manufacturer’s care. This is because SAP is leaving other doors to the cloud open for SMEs besides S/4HANA Cloud. Certainly, the SAP S/4HANA Cloud is the suitable solution for companies with great process depth and strong company and data growth. SAP Business ByDesign, on the other hand, was developed from the outset for the public cloud and therefore brings with it all the advantages of a software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution.

Most importantly, it is easy to scale and is therefore suitable for companies (five users or more) that want to grow quickly. This is because the possible number of users is open towards the top. This does not apply to SAP Business One. Hosted ERP is intended for micro companies (the S of SMEs) that want to move away from Excel or solutions that are not integrated end-to-end and want to cover all business areas with one software and uniform, end-to-end processes.

Pay attention to scalability

This ERP is sufficient for companies that mainly want to cover important business functions in the areas of finance, operations and human resources. Like Business ByDesign and S/4HANA Cloud, it can be extended with add-ons to include numerous industry-specific functions. However, it is not a multi-client system. For companies with high growth targets or those that want to add new business units and services over time or reach new customer groups, Business ByDesign is the more suitable choice.

Switching from Business One to Business ByDesign would be tantamount to a new implementation with the corresponding migration effort. Business One also relies consistently on standard processes, but only the data can be transferred to a new system. In addition, new functions cannot be easily activated or other business processes mapped in Business One.

Also of interest to international Swiss SMEs: SAP Business ByDesign can be integrated into the SAP S/4HANA Cloud network at the parent company in local branches or manufacturing sites. This is because almost all the important processes offered by S/4HANA are already available in this public cloud solution. This is important for project service providers, the life science industry, retail, but also for production companies with purchasing, manufacturing and warehouse management.

Cloud ERP on the rise

Market experience shows that 70 to 80 percent of SMEs are now looking for cloud ERP. This was quite different just a few years ago. In the meantime, the realization has become established that standard processes for products, processes and IT are better suited than covering in detail all the possible peculiarities and habits of a company that have been established over time.

Instead of claiming unique processes for themselves, SMEs today benefit from services from the cloud. This is because established industry standards have become established worldwide, processes are delivered in full and can be adopted and activated depending on the needs of the company. The ERP system thus grows with the company as a true international platform and is equipped for growth. This frees up funds in IT that are better used for new ideas such as artificial intelligence and much more than for individual requests for the ERP.

Source: Article published in netzwoche 03/11/2022