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Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central vs SAP S/4HANA Cloud comparison

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Buyer's Guide
ERP
April 2024
Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and SAP S/4HANA Cloud based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about SAP, Microsoft, Oracle and others in ERP.
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768,857 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Ali Abu Ali
With a robust reporting functionality in place, the tool offers stability and scalability
We have a lot of customization in my organization, and we were looking for something enhanced or fitting for my business on this platform. We are... Read more →
Johannes Bacher
Reliable and powerful but costly
Public cloud deployment is preferred, as I do not have to take care about infrastructure, security and upgrades.
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"We are getting more features after switching to Microsoft 365.""The solution makes everything organized for my organization or enterprise. It makes workflows more than clear.""We use Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central as CRM.""The most valuable features of Business Central for me are its seamless integration with Power BI and the ability to create customized reports.""The most important feature of Microsoft Dynamics NAV is that it lets us centralize all our information so that we don't need to rely on any other software outside of Microsoft.""The initial setup is easy - because it stands on Microsoft offerings, it's simple and intuitive to use.""The solution can scale.""The solution has good dashboard functionalities and export functionalities."

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"It is stable and scalable. In the S4HANA plain version, they have new dashboards and things like that.""It was easy to implement.""I come from a functional consultancy background, and S/4HANA provides excellent procurement solutions for inventory management. One of S/4HANA's best features in the manufacturing module is the ability to calculate product costs.""I have found the financial and production modules to be the most valuable features.""Since SAP S/4HANA Cloud is a SaaS application, it is already providing a lot of standard out-of-the-box features.""Performs well and can be used with a wide range of devices.""The most valuable features of SAP S/4HANA Cloud are the detailed solution costing, integration, and built-in analytics.""The solution is stable."

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Cons
"They need to improve their processes.""For a big company like us with millions of transactions, the scalability isn't enough.""The tool needs to work on reporting issues and user interface.""The performance and virtual machine backup is not good with this solution and need improvements.""I am hoping there is more integration with other platforms, more features, and customization in the next release.""It would be nice if the integration process was easier.""Customization and costs could be improved.""The solution is stable, but it could improve."

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"When it comes to the SAP PM material's module, it would be nice to see the inclusion of predictive analytics.""We'd like to have more of a low-code platform.""The only thing that could be improved would be the complexity of the initial setup.""Public cloud is single-tenant so there are limitations on what can be customized.""The solution's speed and dashboard could be improved.""Difficult to install and difficult to test. Testing needs to be improved. Scalability of this solution also needs improvement.""SAP promotes the cloud, but customers are worried about the security of their data. SAP suggests they have SAP S4HANA with RISE, which is a private cloud environment, but it is difficult to sell many of the customers on the cloud concept because of the privacy issues.""Customer service and support's response time is really long."

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Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "The first time we tried to buy the newest version, it was expensive."
  • "I have some subscription-based customer and a few customers who have perpetual licenses that hosted the application on the cloud."
  • "The price of the solution is reasonable."
  • "The price of the solution is reasonable."
  • "I think the pricing is the best; it's cost effective for sure."
  • "Microsoft Dynamics NAV has a pay-as-you-use payment model."
  • "NAV might be a little pricey for a small or medium-sized company, but all the solutions out there are."
  • "The cost is one of the benefits. If you don't want to go for the full-blown finance and operations, the pricing model is a lot cheaper and has now switched to being based on a per-user subscription. So, if it's on cloud, you now have an expense instead of a large CapEx. If it's on-prem, you obviously still have to continue with the licensing model that they have, but if you compare the features and functionality, in terms of the price that you pay, I find it's better than other products. My answer on the pricing would be slightly different, depending on the country you're in and the return on investment, based on the size of the company. It's well-priced internationally. I think the new model is priced even better because it's now subscription-based and, if you go for cloud, the return on investment is a lot quicker and if it's expense, you can cap it. If you do take the on-prem version, the licensing is still priced as what it used to be, so that would depend on what country you are in."

    • More Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "The pricing is competitive with other products at that level in that category."
  • "I feel the solution is expensive when it comes to what can be obtained with open source software."
  • "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.)"
  • "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."
  • "The licensing process for SAP S/4HANA Cloud has worked well."
  • "It's very expensive."
  • "Pricing wise, SAP S4HANA Cloud is very expensive. The licensing cost can be 100,000 euros per year, depending on the number of users in your company."
  • "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."

    • More SAP S/4HANA Cloud Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    What do you like most about Microsoft Dynamics NAV?
    Top Answer:The most valuable features of Business Central for me are its seamless integration with Power BI and the ability to create customized reports.
    Read all 27 answers   →
    What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Dynamic...
    Top Answer:I would rate the pricing of Business Central as a six or seven out of ten in terms of costliness. We have yearly licensing costs, and the biggest additional expense is for external consultants.
    Read all 25 answers   →
    What needs improvement with Microsoft Dynamics NAV?
    Top Answer:There is room for improvement in the ability to reverse or correct transactions more easily. Currently, if we make mistakes or need to undo something, it can be challenging and time-consuming… more »
    Read all 27 answers   →
    What do you like most about SAP S/4HANA Cloud?
    Top Answer: The manufacturing area is a good feature.
    Read all 26 answers   →
    What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SAP S/4HANA Cloud?
    Top Answer:The solution is affordable.
    Read all 17 answers   →
    What needs improvement with SAP S/4HANA Cloud?
    Top Answer:Their revolving AI should should be better improved.
    Read all 26 answers   →
    Ranking
    3rd
    out of 68 in ERP
    Views
    8,723
    Comparisons
    6,050
    Reviews
    33
    Average Words per Review
    376
    Rating
    8.3
    3rd
    out of 18 in Cloud ERP
    Views
    2,374
    Comparisons
    1,188
    Reviews
    30
    Average Words per Review
    428
    Rating
    7.9
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    Dynamics NAV, MS Dynamics NAV
    SAP S4HANA Cloud
    Learn More
    Microsoft
    SAP
    Overview

    Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is a cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution developed by Microsoft. It is designed to help small and mid-sized organizations streamline and automate their financial, supply chain, and project management processes. Business Central offers a range of tools and features to support collaboration and communication and provides real-time visibility into business performance.

    With Business Central, organizations can manage their financials, including general ledger, accounts payable, accounts receivable, and cash management. It also offers supply chain management capabilities, including inventory management, purchase order management, and sales order management. In addition, Business Central supports project management, including project tracking, project billing, and resource management.

    Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central Features

    Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include:

    • Mobility: Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central provides mobile access, allowing users to access information and perform tasks from anywhere, at any time.
    • Reporting and analytics: The solution includes business intelligence and reporting capabilities to help organizations gain insight into their operations and make data-driven decisions.
    • Security: With its secure platform, the solution protects sensitive data and ensures the integrity of business operations.
    • Customization: It offers a highly customizable solution that can be tailored to meet the specific needs of a wide range of industries and organizations.


    Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central Benefits

    There are many benefits to implementing Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. Some of the biggest advantages the solution offers include:

    • Adapt as your business grows: With full capabilities on desktop, tablet, or mobile, on-premises or in the cloud, across Windows, Android, and iOS devices, the solution allows you to work wherever your business takes you.
    • Rapid deployment: The solution can be rapidly deployed either in the cloud or on-premises.
    • Scalability: With the solution, you can scale as you grow using modern technologies built on the Microsoft cloud, such as machine learning, IoT, and mixed reality to help you adapt to market dynamics.
    • Drive continuous process optimization: When you implement Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, you can Improve outcomes and productivity with real-time system suggestions, based on historical data, to guide employees through workflows.

    Reviews from Real Users

    Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is a solution that stands out when compared to many of its competitors. Some of its major advantages are that it is user-friendly, has good integrations, and is flexible.

    Sasinath V., Project Consultant ( Scale Up) at a tech vendor, says, "For me, the main strengths of Microsoft Dynamics NAV are that it's user-friendly and light. These are its major wins. I have used other ERPs and their architecture was a little more complex when compared to the Microsoft Dynamics NAV architecture."

    "The solution's integrations and interface are very good,” mentions Alonso R., Director de Servicios at Kc ERP group.

    Another PeerSpot reviewer, Kamesh G., Vice President - Information Systems at a media company shares what he likes most about the solution: "I have found the flexibility to be very valuable. It's highly flexible, and at least for us, it has been effective. It is also highly functional."

    SAP S/4HANA stands for SAP Suite 4 HANA. It is a next-generation integrated enterprise resource planning (ERP) software that is designed for businesses of all sizes, in all industries, that require deep and broad functionality combined with a high degree of flexibility. SAP S/4HANA was launched in 2015 and been adopted by more than 3,200 customers over a period of sixteen months. SAP S/4HANA is materially different from anything SAP has done before and represents the company’s biggest innovation since SAP R/3.

    SAP S/4HANA is intended to provide a digital core for an organization. It is fully architected for the most advanced in-memory platform, SAP HANA, and is designed on the most modern design principles with the SAP Fiori user experience to create a personalized and simple feel on users’ device of choice (tablet, laptop, mobile). SAP S/4HANA aims to simplify an organizations’ system landscape and reduce total cost of ownership by shrinking the data footprint while at the same time improving productivity levels in the form of higher throughput. Timelines for cloud deployments average around six months.

    SAP S/4HANA is designed to drive business innovation by connecting people, devices, and business networks in real time to support the development of new business models. It will also help accelerate the adoption of, and connection to, the Internet of Things and Big Data. SAP S/4HANA can analyze big data at unprecedented speed allowing users to access real-time information from anywhere, any way they’d like and thus help managers make truly insightful decisions. The simplified data model allows customers to reimagine their IT, helping to drive lower costs and deliver IT efficiency. This, coupled with the SAP S/4HANA prediction and simulation capabilities allow it to anticipate the impact of business outcomes. By doing all the above, SAP S/4HANA aims to provide ultimate sophistication in the simplest possible manner.

    To learn more about SAP S/4HANA, visit http://go.sap.com/product/enterprise-management/s4hana-erp.html

    Sample Customers
    Harris Farm Markets, Mister Spex GmbH, Bounce Foods, Eurofin Services SA, Medica Medizintechnik, Associated Gaskets, Onduline, Sitka Surfboard Corporation, World Animal Protection
    La Trobe University, Carrefour Comércio e Indústria Ltda, Delaware Consulting and Corning Inc.
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Manufacturing Company24%
    Financial Services Firm10%
    Computer Software Company10%
    Government10%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company14%
    Comms Service Provider9%
    Manufacturing Company8%
    Financial Services Firm6%
    REVIEWERS
    Manufacturing Company41%
    Computer Software Company23%
    University14%
    Energy/Utilities Company9%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company15%
    Manufacturing Company9%
    Government9%
    Educational Organization7%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business55%
    Midsize Enterprise18%
    Large Enterprise27%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business36%
    Midsize Enterprise17%
    Large Enterprise47%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business36%
    Midsize Enterprise11%
    Large Enterprise53%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business26%
    Midsize Enterprise16%
    Large Enterprise58%
    Buyer's Guide
    ERP
    April 2024
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    Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is ranked 3rd in ERP with 62 reviews while SAP S/4HANA Cloud is ranked 3rd in Cloud ERP with 41 reviews. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is rated 8.2, while SAP S/4HANA Cloud is rated 8.0. The top reviewer of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central writes "Easy to deploy, extremely stable, and highly scalable". On the other hand, the top reviewer of SAP S/4HANA Cloud writes "A valuable tool for businesses seeking to enhance their overall performance and competitiveness in the digital era". Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is most compared with SAP S/4HANA, Microsoft Dynamics AX, SAP Business One, SAP ERP and Oracle E-Business Suite, whereas SAP S/4HANA Cloud is most compared with SAP Business ByDesign, Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP, SAP Business One, IFS Cloud Platform and Anaplan.

    We monitor all ERP reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.