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The name SAP has long been synonymous with enterprise business software, one of the original pioneers of ERP software developed back in the 1970's.
ERP software has changed dramatically since those early days and has seen prominence in the last decade with the rise of cloud computing. This major shift in the way software is consumed has allowed other vendors to surpass SAP both in terms of customers and capabilities.
In the last eight years SAP has spent billions acquiring cloud-based software companies in an attempt to play catch up in the cloud ERP space. This post will provide a side-by-side comparison of NetSuite ERP to SAP's cloud-based ERP offering Business ByDesign (ByD) and BusinessOne (B1).
Keep reading to learn more about how SAP's SMB & Mid-Market ERP solutions compares to the #1 cloud-based ERP, NetSuite.
Be sure to bookmark this page as a resource during your ERP evaluation and if you want to talk to a NetSuite expert, lets chat.
Table of Contents
- NetSuite vs SAP (ByD) Overview
- NetSuite vs SAP (ByD) Company Profiles
- NetSuite vs SAP (ByD) Features
- NetSuite vs SAP (ByD) Pricing
- NetSuite vs SAP (ByD) Reviews
- NetSuite vs SAP (ByD) Support
- NetSuite vs SAP (B1) Overview
- NetSuite vs SAP (B1) Company Profiles
- NetSuite vs SAP (B1) Features
- NetSuite vs SAP (B1) Pricing
- NetSuite vs SAP (B1) Reviews
- NetSuite vs SAP (B1) Support
- Conclusion
NetSuite vs SAP (ByD) Overview
Both SAP Business ByDesign and NetSuite offer cloud-based ERP software designed to help mid-market companies run their businesses better.
How are they different...
The key differences between NetSuite and SAP (ByD) center around 1) go-to-market strategy, 2) long term road map and 3) partner ecosystem.
One example, widely noted among users, is that SAP's portfolio is confusing both in the SMB and the midmarket space, citing SAPs portfolio approach and go-forward strategy is vague at best.
With roughly a dozen Value Added Resellers (VAR) partners, the partner ecosystem has struggled to take root. That being said, ByD has very strong capabilities in the manufacturing space, in some areas potentially surpassing NetSuite's native capabilities.
NetSuite on the other hand has been the leading cloud-based ERP for several years now and continues to grow at a brisk pace while receiving tremendous investment from Oracle.
NetSuite has a robust, growing global Solution Integrator (SI) and Independent Software Vendor (ISV) ecosystem and claims to have over 16,000 customers to date.
To identify whether NetSuite or SAP (ByD) is best for your business we've produced this a side-by-side comparison guide below:
NetSuite vs SAP (ByD): Product Profiles
ByD is SAP's first attempt at cloud ERP. After a ~$1.2B+ investment it was released in 2007 only to be pulled back for further re-tooling. Re-released in 2008 with a focus on Manufacturing, Distribution and Professional Services in the mid-market space.
NetSuite ERP is a complete cloud ERP solution, which automates front and back-office processes like financial management, revenue management, fixed assets, order management, billing, and inventory management and more.
(Years):
11
20
~3,500
~16,000
- Manufacturing
- Wholesale Distribution
- Professional Services
- Software and SaaS
- Retail & Ecommerce
- Financials Services
- Advertising, Media & Publishing
- Transportation & Logistics
- Nonprofits & Social Venture
- Services
- Software and Technology
- Manufacturing
- Wholesale Distribution
NetSuite vs SAP (ByD): Feature Comparison
- Accounts Payable
- Accounts Receivable
- General Ledger
- Multi-Currency
- Revenue Recognition (limited capabilities)
- Localization
(limited capabilities) - Budgeting
- Accounts Payable
- Accounts Receivable
- General Ledger
- Multi-currency/multi-tax,multi-language
- Fixed Assets
- Multi-Company & Consolidation
- Revenue Recognition
- Subscription Billing
- Forecasting & Budgeting
- Financial Planning (PBCS)
- Order Management
- Production Management
- Inventory Management
- Procurement
- Warehouse & Fulfilment
- Demand Planning
- WIP & Routing
- Work Orders & Assemblies
- Shop Floor Control & BOM Maintenance
- Order Management
- Production Management
- Inventory Management
- Procurement
- Warehouse & Fulfilment
- Demand Planning
- WIP & Routing
- Work Orders & Assemblies
- Shop Floor Control & BOM Maintenance
Requires SuccessFactors
- Human Resources Management
- Payroll
- Employee Center
Requires SAP Hybris & SAP C4/HANA
- Point of Sale
- Ecommerce
- Order & Inventory Mgt
- Product Content Mgt
- Commerce Marketing Automation (Bronto)
- Project Management
- Resource Management
- Timesheet Management
- Expense Management
- Project Management
- Resource Management
- Timesheet Management
- Expense Management
SAP (ByD) vs NetSuite Demo:
NetSuite vs SAP (ByD) Pricing:
- Standard Enterprise User is $149 per month
- SCM Enterprise User is $199 per month
- ByD requires minimum of 10 Enterprise Users.
- Base application starts at $999 per month.
- User Licenses $99 per user per month
Monthly Subscription often contracted on annual basis; renewed annually or can purchase as one time fee.
NetSuite requires a year-long contract; renewed annually.
Additional fees apply for professional services such as implementation, integration, customizations, data migration and support.
Additional fees apply for professional services such as implementation, integration, customizations, data migration and support.
Annual recurring fees for the software subscription
Annual recurring fees for the software subscription.
Partner
Direct or through Partner
NetSuite vs SAP (ByD) Reviews:
- 4.5 Stars 22 Reviews
- 4 Stars 91 Reviews
"Niche" for Cloud Core Financial Mgt Suites for Midsize, Large and Global Enterprises in 2018
"Leader" Cloud Core Financial Mgt Suites for Midsize, Large and Global Enterprises in 2018
NetSuite vs (ByD) Support:
24/7 toll-free worldwide phone support available
24/7 toll-free worldwide phone support available
Live and/or online training available by SAP training department and by partners.
Live and/or online training available by NetSuite training department and by partners.
SAP has extensive knowledge base available to all users as well as online user groups.
Dozens of local user groups across the United States.
Dozens of local user groups across the United States.
How do they compare? Take the quiz now!
NetSuite vs SAP (B1) Overview
Both SAP Business One and NetSuite offer ERP software designed to help SMB companies run their businesses better.
But how are they different?
Top 5 differentiators of NetSuite vs SAP (B1)...
- SAP Business One is just now making the transformation to a hosted cloud deployment model, and has minimal ERP customers on any of it’s cloud versions to date. Whereas NetSuite has over 16,000+ customers running on the same multi-tenant cloud, making NetSuite a true leader in this area.
SAP B1 is a hosted SaaS solution and customizations may/may not carry forward with upgrades potentially requiring redevelopment efforts. With NetSuite all customizations carry forward with each NetSuite update (twice per year).
Why not future proof your ERP investment? - NetSuite supports drill down, drill through for custom reports. NetSuite uses a consistent data model and database for all its information, which means that even as customers build customized reports & dashboards, you can still drill down and drill through from summary level info to detailed levels.
SAP B1 on the other hand requires additional reporting software (SAP Crystal Reports) for any/all customized reporting, but Crystal Reports does not provide drill down / drill through capabilities. - NetSuite provides a clean, modern and consistent user interface throughout the entire application. While SAP B1 is moving toward a modern and consistent user interface (known as Fiori), it has not yet leveraged this in a consistent manner.
SAP needs to utilize other products in it’s portfolio to provide the same level of feature/functionality that NetSuite does, and each of these products is at a different stage of UI development. Most Business One customers are running pre v9.0 which have a legacy software (old) user experience.
- Techfino and NetSuite can provide a fixed price implementation. Whereas each SAP implementation is generally a custom build, and as such the costs can vary and often run over budget. SAP Business One projects are almost always sold on a T&M basis.
- NetSuite is easily configured and customized. NetSuite supports point-and-click, standards based application customization and rapid configuration of processes, interfaces, roles, and reports that customers can do themselves. SAP Business One needs a separate tool for customization (MS Visual Studio), and often requires professional services for even minor changes driving up the total TCO.
Keep reading to further compare and contrast NetSuite vs SAP B1.
NetSuite vs SAP (B1): Product Profiles
SAP acquired Topmanage Financial Management in 2002 and rebranded as SAP Business One. Business One provides core ERP functionality deployed in a hosted or hybrid model designed for SMB's with <1000 FTEs.
NetSuite ERP is a fully cloud-based ERP solution, which automates front and back-office processes like financial management, revenue management, fixed assets, order management, billing, and inventory management and more.
(Years):
17
20
~50,000+
~16,000+
- Manufacturing
- Wholesale Distribution
- Professional Services
- Nonprofit
- Food & Beverage
- Retail & Ecommerce
- Financials Services
- Advertising, Media & Publishing (AMP)
- Energy
- Transportation & Logistics
- Nonprofits & Social Venture
- Professional Services
- Software and Technology
- Manufacturing
- Wholesale Distribution
NetSuite vs SAP (B1): Feature Comparison
- Accounts Payable
- Accounts Receivable
- General Ledger
- Multi-Currency
- Fixed Assets
- Revenue Recognition (limited capabilities)
- No native support for multi-company-requires middleware (Bizweaver)
- Localization - 100+ countries
- Budgeting
- Accounts Payable
- Accounts Receivable
- General Ledger
- Multi-currency/multi-tax,multi-language
- Fixed Assets
- Multi-Company & Consolidation
- Revenue Recognition
- Subscription Billing
- Forecasting & Budgeting
- Financial Planning via PBCS
- Order Management
- Production Management
- Inventory Management
- Procurement
- Warehouse & Fulfilment
- Demand Planning
- WIP & Routing
- MRP
- Work Orders & Assemblies
- Shop Floor Control & BOM Maintenance
- Order Management
- Production Management
- Inventory Management
- Procurement
- Warehouse & Fulfilment
- Demand Planning
- WIP & Routing
- Work Orders & Assemblies
- Shop Floor Control & BOM Maintenance
- None: Requires SAP SuccessFactors
- Human Resources Management
- Payroll
- Employee Center
- Ecommerce not native to platform
- Point of Sale
- Ecommerce
- Order & Inventory Mgt
- Product Content Mgt
- Commerce Marketing Automation (via Bronto)
- Project Management
- Resource Management
- Timesheet Management
- Expense Management
- Field Service & Repair
- Project Management
- Resource Management
- Timesheet Management
- Expense Management
- Field Service & Repair (via 3rd party)
NetSuite vs SAP (B1) Pricing:
- SAP B1 price is $94 per user per month for professional license plus hosting fees. (subscription)
- Professional license as one time charge $3,213 per user (perpetual).
- Base application starts at $999 per month.
- User Licenses $99 per user per month
Monthly Subscription often contracted on annual basis; renewed annually or can purchase as one time fee.
NetSuite requires a year-long contract; renewed annually.
Additional fees apply for professional services such as implementation, integration, customizations, data migration and support.
Additional fees apply for professional services such as implementation, integration, customizations, data migration and support.
Annual recurring fees for the software subscription
Annual recurring fees for the software subscription.
NetSuite vs SAP (B1) Reviews:
4 Stars 78 Reviews
4 Stars 91 Reviews
Not Listed
(see comments below)
NetSuite vs (B1) Support:
24/7 toll-free worldwide phone support available
24/7 toll-free worldwide phone support available
Live and/or online training available by SAP training department and by partners.
Live and/or online training available by NetSuite training department and by partners.
SAP has extensive knowledge base available to all users as well as online user groups.
NetSuite has extensive knowledge base (SuiteAnswers) available to all users as well as online user group.
Dozens of local user groups across the United State
Final Thoughts...
NetSuite is leading and winning the cloud-ERP battle for SMB and MME sized companies and taking market share by the day.
SAP was never fully committed to cloud ERP for the mid-market and has had to make significant acquisitions to be a serious contender in the space.
NetSuite on the other hand was born in the cloud since day one. If your looking for a
"true" cloud-based ERP solution you'll be hard pressed to find an alternative that's superior to NetSuite in terms of platform breadth, scalability, ecosystem and price.
Still not sure about what solution makes most sense? Take the Quiz
