Why SAP is for SMEs, not just larger enterprises

SAP for SMEs; it’s not always the first association that comes to mind. When people hear ‘SAP’, they often think of global corporations and huge enterprise software. Part of this is down to SAP’s strong reputation across such a variety of industries.  

It may also be down to the size of SAP itself. The company is Europe’s most valuable company listed on any stock market. SAP is the world’s largest vendor of enterprise resource planning software (ERP), recognisable for its sponsorship deals with several sporting teams from FC Bayern Munich to the San Francisco 49ers.  

It’s a lesser-known fact that SAP also delivers powerful solutions specifically designed for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Indeed, at Thinc we have many conversations with growing SMEs who don’t realise that SAP Business One is purpose-built for organisations just like them. 

In this blog, we’ll be taking a look at SAP’s reputation as a world-class ERP provider, and exploring SAP Business One and why it’s a specialty ERP solution that’s perfect for SMEs. We’ll also look at how it lines up with other flagship products from SAP, like S/4HANA and Business ByDesign in a like-for-like comparison. 

The SAP story: a global leader in enterprise software

SAP’s journey started just over 50 years ago, back in 1972. Founded in Germany by five former IBM employees, SAP set out on fulfilling a vision for the business potential of technology, developing applications for business processes like inventory management and financial accounting.  

In the decades that followed, SAP’s focus was to become the global leader in enterprise application software and, by the 1990s, they had developed the first client-server ERP that brought together integrations across business functions – this became the foundation for what we now think of as a modern ERP. 

SAP Business One: the ERP built for SMEs

When looking at SAP for SMEs, we need to go back in time briefly to the origins of its development. In the development of solutions for larger enterprises, SAP realised that the challenges it was helping to tackle weren’t just reserved for the big players. SAP noticed an opportunity to develop an ERP for small to mid-sized businesses, creating a solution that still has flexibility to scale as a business scales. 

Fast-forward to 2002 and SAP had acquired a piece of software from TopManage, an Israeli startup founded in the 1990s. This piece of software was to be rebranded as SAP Business One (B1), with SAP now having a global ERP portfolio that served several markets. 

During the mid-2000s, while B1 was continuing its development, SAP was also working on its flagship enterprise-level solution, with 2010 seeing the launch of SAP HANA (High-Performance Analytic Appliance). A step to follow for SAP was to work up an integration that’d give SMEs access to fast, enterprise-level analytics, without the enterprise-level infrastructure: this came in the form of SAP B1’s version for HANA, released in 2012, combining the accessibility of B1 with the power of real-time performance. 

Today, SAP B1 is a world-leading ERP solution that covers finance, operations, inventory, CRM, HR and more. Over 70,000 SMEs worldwide trust SAP B1, where small and mid-sized businesses have access to powerful, integrated software that large enterprises have benefitted from with SAP’s other solutions.  

It’s an ERP that’s perfect for SMEs looking to improve visibility, control and efficiency without the complexity or cost of enterprise-grade solutions. But how does it differ from the other products that SAP has to offer? Let’s take a look. 

How SAP Business One differs from other SAP products

There are a few key differences that separate SAP Business One from other products, like S/4HANA and SAP Business ByDesign. Let’s break these down: 

• Deployment: SAP B1 has a much more lightweight deployment compared to S/4HANA, where SMEs can be up and running with the solution quicker, with minimal downtime. It can be on-premise, hosted or cloud-based, while S/4HANA is primarily in the cloud and ByDesign is an ‘out of the box’ cloud-only solution. SAP B1 offers the most deployment flexibility, especially for SMEs with existing infrastructure or those wanting a phased cloud move. 

• Cost: it’s the most cost-effective for SMEs as it has scalable pricing based on need. SAP S4/HANA is typical of enterprise budgets, often north of £250K in just its first year of implementation alone, so it’s way out of the league of SME budgets. By comparison, SAP Business ByDesign is around £120 – £200 a month, per user, but doesn’t have the extensive customisation that SAP B1 has.  

• Flexibility: SAP B1 is completely adaptable to industry-specific needs, benefitting from its plethora of add-ons and partner-developed extensions. SAP S/4HANA by comparison is extremely flexible, highly configurable, but complex, while SAP Business ByDesign offers moderate flexibility via pre-configured industry solutions. 

• User-friendliness for non-enterprise businesses: SAP B1 benefits from an intuitive user interface, designed with smaller teams in mind. SAP S/4HANA is feature-rich but can often require training on its more complex offerings, with Business ByDesign offering a modern cloud user interface with guided workflows. 

With these differences, you’ll notice that SAP B1 strikes a nice middle ground; it isn’t as complex as something like S/4HANA, but that’s because it doesn’t need to be. Given it’s more affordable but flexible nature, it’s a perfect choice for SMEs. 

Why SMEs choose SAP Business One

For growing businesses, SAP B1 offers the perfect balance of power, simplicity and scalability. Unlike many enterprise systems that are over-complicated for smaller operations and their teams, SAP Business One is built with SMEs in mind – it’s built for growth and benefits from SAP’s world-class standards, just adapted to support SMEs.  

Its affordability reflects this, too, operating as a powerful ERP without the enterprise price tag of some of SAP’s other products. It also possesses all the tools you need to do your daily tasks; employees at SMEs often find themselves wearing several hats, so it’s imperative that the tools they are provided with help to do their jobs effectively. 

SMEs that use ERPs like SAP B1 will always benefit from a competitive advantage. It allows them to work smarter, faster and with more efficiency, with the freedom to scale up (or down) based on team requirements.  

As with other products by SAP, there are specialist partners that have experience in working with a variety of businesses to provide the perfect tailored solution to support their needs, and working with them will take the strain out of an ERP implementation project. It helps to listen to the experts. 

Choosing the right partner to implement SAP Business One

The right partner can make implementing SAP Business One far more straightforward. A partner can draw upon widespread experience to deliver a solution that is tailored to specific needs. It can also help with speeding up the deployment process, too, while ongoing support and updates are available when working with a partner. 

Here at Thinc, we pride ourselves on our expertise in working with SAP Business One and are pleased to offer these five key factors for what working with Thinc as a partner could mean for your business.  

• Experience: partners that have proven their success with customers are less risky. Thinc has 10+ years’ experience in delivering SAP solutions. 

• Expertise: your partner should have deep expertise in the given solution, your organisation’s domain, and wide services and support. Our SAP experts are certified, with years of experience. We can also provide extensibility and integrations thanks to our careful selection of best-in-class modules from Boyum IT and Avalara, supported by our in-house system integration and development practice. We can also provide broader managed services including cyber security. 

• Approach: A good partner will provide a robust methodology that guides you to the right solution efficiently. Thinc’s approach starts with identifying the best solution for your needs. Central to this is our Amplify framework, which encapsulates our approach to supporting our customers. 

• Cultural fit: You’ll need a partner for ongoing support, so be sure to select one that aligns with your organisation’s culture and values. We start every client relationship by ensuring our values connect. 

• Long-term support: You shouldn’t be left alone after deploying an ERP platform. Look for a partner with proven support credibility. Our support team maintains a 98.9% customer satisfaction score, with 95% customer retention overall. 

Could SAP Business One be right for you?

SAP isn’t just for massive enterprises: SAP Business One is perfect for SMEs, giving them the same strategic advantage that large businesses enjoy from SAP’s other flagship products.  

At Thinc, we pride ourselves on delivering cutting-edge finance software, ERP systems, managed IT support, cyber security and cloud management solutions to help you to unlock your potential. With our experience in delivering an array of solutions, including SAP Business One, we guide organisations through every stage of an implementation journey, right from the initial planning stages through to ongoing support.  

To support you with your initial planning stages for acquiring an ERP, we’ve put together this handy Buyer’s Guide for you to explore more about why SAP Business One might, or might not, be the solution for you. For more information on specifics, get in touch today. We’re always happy to help.