SAP Business One versus Local ERP

In the past decade, there has been a significant increase in the number of small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) adopting Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions. According to SAP Business One India, this growing trend is due to the imminent need to invest in technologies that allow SMEs to succeed in a digital economy. If you are one of those growing SMEs planning an ERP investment, then there are myriad of locally developed and global ERP solutions available for your consideration. It is likely that you will evaluate these options on the basis of their features, customization, scalability, customer support, pricing, etc. During this evaluation, it is quite obvious to choose custom-developed ERP solutions, owing to their affordable pricing. These local ERP solutions may help you save some money, still, they may not assure competitiveness and long-term growth. Why is it so? It is because local ERP solutions and global ERP solutions are not designed in the same way. What are the key differences between custom-developed ERP solutions and global ERP solutions? There are several global ERP solutions in the market, and it is not possible to compare all of them with local ERP solutions. This post attempts to make a comparison between SAP Business One and local ERP solutions.

5 Points of Difference Between SAP Business One and Local ERP Software

  1. Market Experience: SAP is a market leader in ERP solutions, and has been helping business organizations of all sizes, across various industries to perform their best. SAP Business One is designed for growing SMEs. According to various reports, today, SAP Business One is used by 60,000+ SMEs across the globe. Custom developed ERP solutions may have a limited customer base. Due to their lack of market experience, product development may continue for years. It may take longer to introduce new functionalities. As a result, the users may lose on competitive advantages offered by advanced features.
  2. Customer Support:SAP has one of the largest ecosystems of partners who have been helping customers to implement SAP Business One. All customer support related issues are escalated through partners to SAP that provides 24/7 support.In the case of local ERP software, the support is usually localized, which may be beneficial in certain cases. However, this support may not be available 24/7 due to lack of resources. It is widely seen that in such cases the service and support are provided on-demand basis.
  3. Technology Updates:The technology landscape is fast evolving, so it becomes important for technology-driven businesses to incorporate these changes and future-proof their products. Being a leading market player in ERP Solutions, SAP is regularly investing in new computing technologies to make their products future-proof.Although promising software companies may make technology investments over time, it is unlikely that they match the pace of industry giants like SAP. When investing in local ERP solutions, it is important to check if the system utilizes a new technology stack or legacy technology stack with a new interface. If it is the second case, the system may soon outgrow due to its obsolete technology stack.
  4. Scalability:As businesses expand, their needs also increase. They may expand their existing facility or may start new facilities across multiple locations. In both cases, there will be increase in number of users at one location or across multiple locations. SAP Business One is designed to support scalability. It can support multiple users at one location or across various locations. However, the same cannot be expected from local ERP providers, because they develop products on requirement basis. Also, these products are developed for limited users, and they cannot be scaled to accommodate new users.
  5. Flexibility:As with any other software evaluation, ease of use and customization capabilities are important considerations to be made while selecting an ERP software for your business. SAP Business One allows users to customize fields, forms, and even exchange rates according to their business requirements.
Nowadays, many local ERP solutions also assure flexibility, still there are certain limitations. They may allow certain customization, still, it may not be sufficient to meet the growing business needs. In such cases, a customer has to rely on product vendor, who may take time to accommodate the changes or may not even appreciate these changes.The above-discussed points will certainly help ease your selection process. However, the final decision will be entirely yours on the basis of your requirements. It is important to ask yourself before the evaluation -what I want? A short term business investment that fulfills today’s needs or a long term investment that takes care of my future business needs. If you aim for a long term investment, SAP Business One is what you may be looking for.If you have made a decision to incorporate SAP B1 software, it is important that you approach a trusted company like Accelon Technologies. The company has been helping fastest growing SMEs like you to realize the benefits of SAP B1 for a long time.

Want more helpful information about processes in SAP Business One? Or would you like a more in-depth understanding of SAP Business One? Then get in touch with Accelon - a Certified SAP Business One Gold Partner & the most reliable ERP software provider in India.

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