By Merit Solutions September, 2015 · Tier 1 ERP software companies. ... small or midsize companies that want to limit their IT ... SAP Business ByDesign runs on the SAP HANA Cloud

By Merit Solutions

September, 2015

Eliminating Silos of Data for One System of Truth

Merit Solutions, Inc. www.meritsolutions.com 2

Introduction .................................................................................................. 3

Functionality .................................................................................................. 6

Ease of Use ................................................................................................... 9

Total Cost of Ownership ................................................................................ 10

Must Be An Integrated Suite .......................................................................... 13

Ease and Speed of Implementation ................................................................ 14

Ability to Tailor Functionality Without Programming .......................................... 16

Global Capability .......................................................................................... 17

Role-Tailored User Interface .......................................................................... 18

Flexible Deployment Options ......................................................................... 20

Reporting and Analytics Capabilities ............................................................... 21

Conclusion .................................................................................................. 23

About Merit Solutions ................................................................................... 24

Additional Resources .................................................................................... 24

1749 South Naperville Road, Suite 200 | Wheaton, IL 60189 | +1-630-614-7133

www.meritsolutions.com

http://www.meritsolutions.com/



In business as in life, communication is critical. Not just interpersonal

communication but communication that involves electronically sharing

information seamlessly between departments within an organization.

Any miscommunication or loss of data can significantly disrupt functions and

processes, negatively affecting business operations.

That’s why companies implement enterprise resource planning (ERP) software

– to enable information sharing by integrating the disparate systems used by

the sales, purchasing, planning, inventory, marketing, finance, and human

resources departments.

ERP systems don’t last forever, though. In fact, the Aberdeen Group1

estimates that midsize companies retain their ERP applications for more than

seven years. And when the time comes, many organizations are reluctant to

upgrade their solutions.

The business case for implementing a new ERP system is compelling. The right

system enables organizations to deliver improved visibility and insights into

the business, streamline their processes and cut down duplication, improve

customer management and sales efforts, save money and offer a scalable

foundation for growing their companies.

Here are the top five ways an organization can determine whether to replace

its ERP system:

1. Lack of Features: If an ERP system doesn’t solve an organization’s

business need, it may have outdated features or lack the capacity to

manage a growing business. Running an ERP system that is five or

more years old most likely means an organization is missing out on

new features that can be beneficial to the business. A company that

uses a system that hasn’t kept abreast of changing business needs

doesn’t have the functionality to operate efficiently - and operating

inefficiently severely affects the bottom line. A company that hasn’t

implemented cutting-edge features and functionality will be edged

out of the market by its competitors that have deployed more

sophisticated systems.

2. Obsolete Technology Foundation or ERP Infrastructure:

According to the Aberdeen Group, 32% of businesses replaced their

ERP systems because of “obsolete technology foundation or

1 “The Value of Upgrading ERP”; Aberdeen Group, February 2014




infrastructure of [their current] ERP systems.”2 An older ERP system:

limits an organization’s ability to extend functions via modules and

extensions; slows a decision-maker’s access to key business data;

and also requires additional IT support and staffing levels.

3. Unable to Customize ERP to Meet Business Needs: More often

than not, an organization using an outdated ERP system is unable to

adapt its processes to reflect changes in the business, integrate new

business units, ensure compliance and increase its return on

investment.3

4. Higher Maintenance and Support Costs: Typically, older ERP

implementations are highly customized, which means a company will

be on the hook for big money to support and bring these

customizations forward during a software upgrade. Additionally, the

original ERP vendor may have been acquired by another company,

which either doesn’t support the firm’s ERP system or decides to raise

support and maintenance fees.

5. End of Support from ERP Vendor: If a provider has already

announced the end of support for the ERP system a company is using,

it’s time to replace it. Even though many organizations continue to

use systems that are outdated - obsolete software will do more to

harm the business than help it. The reason: end of support means a

firm won’t continue to receive hotfixes, updates and security patches.

Not only will a business experience extended periods of downtime

and be less productive, it will also have to pay higher IT costs because

free and paid support will also end.

Because an ERP system is the vital backbone of the business, an organization

needs a solution that provides the necessary functionality, is easy and

convenient to use, and enables a competitive advantage. If a company’s ERP

system isn’t meeting these goals, it’s time to look for one that will.

Here are the top reasons a company looks for a new ERP system:

1. Current Functionality Doesn’t Support Business Needs: Early

ERP systems offered pretty limited functionality. One of the best

reasons for a company to replace its current ERP system is if it

doesn’t include all the features and functions necessary to run the

business. An organization should ensure that whatever solution it’s

2 “2014 Business Management and ERP Benchmark Survey”; Aberdeen Group, August 2014 3 Ibid




evaluating has the functionality it needs now and in the future. The

more functions included in the core ERP, the more complete it is.4

2. Company Plans to Expand Business/Consolidate Solutions: If

an organization plans to expand its existing domestic business to a

new site in its home country, then its existing ERP solution may be

sufficient. However, that likely won’t be the case if the company is

adding a new site to diversify, or to expand offshore. If a company is

running different ERP systems in different locations because of

mergers or acquisitions, consolidating those systems will enable

better interoperability as well as collaboration across the business.

Consolidation will most likely also help a company save money.5

3. Technology Is Outdated: Software technology changes rapidly.

And that means that organizations need an ERP system that keeps

pace with new technology so they can remain competitive. “For those

with some sort of enterprise applications, outdated technology tends

to make solutions rigid, requiring invasive customization that creates

barriers to innovation,” according to Mint Jutras. “And without being

able to innovate, you won’t be able to respond as your business

changes.”6

4. Save Money: Companies that are still relying on spreadsheets

and/or desktop solutions are operating inefficiently, and that means

they’re probably making errors that can cost money. While it’s true

that organizations will have to make some upfront investments in a

new ERP system, it will save them money over the long term. “Clearly

the implementation of newer technology and more functionality

should result in productivity gains,” Mint Jutras noted. “Replacement

of outdated technology can also save in terms of maintenance costs,

both preventative and remedial.”7

5. Frustration with Inefficient Systems: Users can easily become

frustrated when they don’t have the applications they need to their

jobs properly. “If whatever you use today to run your business

(including spreadsheets) does not get a passing grade in terms of

ease of use, it could be hiding many other performance issues and

could even negatively impact your ability to attract and retain talent,”

4 “The Top 5 Ways To Tell It’s Time For A New ERP”; Mint Jutras, June 2015 5 IBID 6 IBID 7 IBID




according to Mint Jutras.8 “That alone could justify investment in your

first ERP or a replacement.”

In its report “Are You Asking The Right Questions When Selecting An ERP

System?”, the Aberdeen Group identified the ERP software criteria most

commonly used as part of the selection process of top-performing companies.

Here is a look at how Microsoft Dynamics AX, SAP Business One, SAP Business

ByDesign and SAP All-in-One fare as to Aberdeen’s criteria as well as several

others.

Microsoft Dynamics AX

Microsoft Dynamics AX competes aggressively with other

Tier 1 ERP software companies. The system gives users

instant access to critical business information so they can

make informed business decisions, Although it has particular

strengths in manufacturing and distribution, it is a

functionally broad system and can serve buyers in most

industries. Because of its multi-language and multi-currency

features, Microsoft Dynamics AX is a popular option for companies that want

to centralize operations in multiple locations worldwide.

Microsoft Dynamics AX’s features include financials, human resources,

operations and additional industry capabilities for retail, professional services,

manufacturers and public sectors. In addition to core accounting, Microsoft

Dynamics AX offers a wide range of functionality, including:

Financial Management – General ledger, accounts receivable and

payable, bank management, budgetary control, share service support,

compliance management

Business Intelligence – KPI dashboard, standard, ad-hoc and analytical

reports, as well as role-tailored, pre-defined, multi-dimensional data

views

Sales and Marketing – Campaign automation, lead/opportunity

management, CRM connector

8 IBID

“We didn’t want to go with a

bigger system like SAP...

Microsoft Dynamics AX, on

the other hand, provided the

exact functionality we needed

and we could grow it right

along with our business.”

Mushtaque Ahmed

COO, JJ Food Service




Supply Chain Management – Inventory management, multi-site

warehouse management, trade agreements, order promising,

distribution planning, quality management

Project Management and Accounting – Project accounting, invoicing,

cost control, work breakdown structures, integration with Microsoft

Projects

According to a Panorama Consulting9 report, Microsoft Dynamics had the

highest percentage of respondents indicating that they achieved functionality

of greater than 40% of the modules implemented (70%) and the lowest

percentage of respondents indicating they had achieved 40% or less

functionality (30%).

“This could be due to the fact that Microsoft Dynamics software can be

considered more intuitive to learn and use because its user interface closely

resembles Microsoft Office – a system most end-users are familiar with,”

according to Panorama. “Microsoft Dynamics also uses an implementation

approach that begins with basic functionality, allowing companies to achieve

‘quick wins’ and then opens up additional functionality and optimization during

a later phase when end-users know the system and can truly benefit from its

overall capabilities.”

SAP Business One

SAP Business Ones is aimed at small companies that want to fully integrate

their end-to-end businesses and grow. It is best suited for companies that

have outgrown packaged accounting-only software and need to replace

multiple, heterogeneous applications. It is SAP's most affordable entry-level

ERP solution.

Business One enables companies to manage their entire businesses from sales

and customer relationships to financials and operations. Designed specifically

for small businesses, it helps customers streamline processes, and act on up-

to-date information.

SAP Business One covers various aspects of the business including finance,

logistics/operations and customer relationship management. Functionality

includes:

Accounting and Financials – Manage general ledger, journals, budgets,

and accounts receivables and payables

9 “2014 Clash of the Titans”; Panorama Consulting Solutions




Sales and Customer Relationship Management – Manage the entire sales

process from first contact to closing the sale and from customer data

management to after-sales support

Purchasing and Operations – Control the entire procurement process

Inventory and Distribution – Manage inventory across multiple

warehouses and locations, and track and record stock movements

Reporting and Administration – Create, manage, and distribute reports

that help foster clarity in the business

SAP Business ByDesign

SAP Business ByDesign is aimed at meeting the key needs of the

middle and upper range of the SME market. It is best suited for

small or midsize companies that want to limit their IT

infrastructures and need to replace point solutions, manual

processes, and spreadsheets. SAP Business ByDesign runs on the

SAP HANA Cloud Platform.

A software-as-a-service application, it covers ERP, CRM,

procurement, supply chain management, and beyond. Business

ByDesign Functionality includes:

Customer Relationship Management – Manage sales,

service, and marketing processes – and drive customer

engagement

Financial Management – Offers real-time view of financial

condition

Human Resource Management – Manage HR processes such as

organization management, workforce administration, time and

attendance, and employee self-service

Project Management – Manage, deliver, and monitor projects in real

time

Supply Chain Management – Integrate with customers and suppliers

Manufacturing – Provides real-time view of manufacturing operations

SAP Business All-In-One

SAP Business All-in-One is not a specific product, but the brand name for

industry or country-specific solutions that are based on the same software

package as SAP ERP.

“In terms of competing

products, we looked at

all of them, including

SAP and Oracle. With

Microsoft Dynamics

AX, we are seeing a

substantially lower cost

of implementation and

cost of support than we

see with other

solutions.”

Bill Schlageter

VP and CIO, DENTSPLY




While SAP ERP is heavily customized, Business All-in-One packages features

and functions with best practices and industry expertise. Business All-In-One

is aimed at helping fast-growing small and midsize companies power their

businesses end-to-end and optimize business performances. It is best suited

for organizations that have outgrown current point solutions, legacy systems,

or ERP systems.

Powered by SAP’s NetWeaver platform, Business All-in-One offers a

configurable solution to manage financials, human resources, procurement,

inventory, manufacturing, logistics, product development, and corporate

services, to customer service, sales, and marketing. SAP All-In-One includes:

Enterprise Resource Planning – Manage financials, accounting, human

resources, operations, and corporate services.

Customer Relationship Management – Effectively manage all aspects of

your customer relationships – from marketing, to sales, to service.

Business Intelligence – Gain insight and improve decision making with

tools for financial and operational reporting and analysis.

Industry-specific Functionality – Solutions tailored to requirements of

specific industries.

The easier a software is to use, the faster users will be able to adopt it,

enabling them to be more productive and allowing their organizations to reap

the benefits of the system and increase profitability.


As Microsoft continues to add usability improvements to Microsoft Dynamics

AX, the solution is becoming easier to use in every category from installation

through deployment, implementation, customization, user experience, and

upgrade. For users, simplicity begins with familiar, easy-to-use tools and

access to role-tailored information and tasks, allowing them to get their work

done quickly as well as make the best decisions for the business. The familiar

interface makes the application easy to learn and intuitive to use. Additionally,

Microsoft Dynamics AX is easy to operate across locations as well as countries

because organizations can standardize processes, giving them visibility into

the business and simplifying compliance.

The usability of Microsoft Dynamics AX enables employees to more easily

adapt to the system, which benefits organizations because their workers are

more productive. The easy-to-use and fully integrated system delivers a




holistic approach to the development of the company as well as of the

employees.

SAP Business One

Business One is a fairly user-friendly, intuitive system.

This simplifies the availability of an enterprise

management solution for those SMEs that are unable to

allocate vast amounts of time or resources toward

training. Even though the application handles important

core business processes such as CRM (customer

relationship management), inventory management,

manufacturing and financial management, it’s easy to

customize and use so many users require little to no

training.


Business ByDesign is easy to adopt and use. The

solution helps speed user adoption and productivity

with a built-in learning environment as well as built-in

service and support. The system lets business users configure and adapt the

solution to their unique and changing needs without requiring extensive,

expensive IT resources.

SAP Business All-in-One

SAP Business All-in-One offers a simplified work environment with a user-

friendly interface and role-based navigation that provides employees with

easy access to the information they need. Through integration with Microsoft

Excel, Business All-in-One solutions offer an intuitive approach to analytics

that improves the use of data for ad hoc reporting and visualization – thereby

helping employees make better informed business decisions and execute

activities quickly.

When companies evaluate various ERP systems, they must include the total

cost of ownership (TOC) in their calculations. Much too often companies – as

well as vendors –focus solely on the cost to acquire the system. The reason:

because of budget cycles, organizations tend to focus more on the short-term

impact to their finances. However, the acquisition cost is actually the smallest

part of the overall TCO. In fact, over five years, the cost of maintenance,

upgrades, optimization, management, and training represent approximately

three or five times the cost of the initial acquisition.

“We had a fairly big selection

process composed of associates

from the head office, as well as the

stores, and we weighted between

the store needs, the head office

function needs and the IT team’s

needs. What the stores said was

that they have a lot of churn and a

lot of turnaround in a retail

setting, and unequivocally, the

Microsoft system would be much

easier to learn [than SAP].”

Pat Witiw

VP of IS, Fountain Tire




Consequently, it’s critically important that organizations look past the initial

acquisition and implementation costs and determine how much various

solutions will cost them over the long haul.


Because of its quick installation and simplified maintenance processes,

Microsoft Dynamics AX offers an overall lower total cost of ownership than

other competitive ERP solutions. Microsoft Dynamics AX lets companies

benefit from a standardized platform that allows them to reuse their Microsoft

technology stacks and skills. This helps organizations reduce the cost and

effort associated with implementing and maintaining the application. Microsoft

Dynamics AX is an excellent choice for companies looking for a robust ERP at

a significantly lower cost of implementation and ongoing maintenance.

Microsoft Dynamics AX also offers features to assist in the installation process,

providing quick set up and configuration. Microsoft Dynamics AX customers

also realize lower costs and better control over their licensing, which is based

on concurrent users not named users and has no user minimum or maximum.

Not only are the initial license costs lower, companies pay for new users and

servers only as their businesses grow. Microsoft Dynamics AX’s out-of-the-

box capabilities allow for a quicker and easier deployment, cutting the time

and money associated with developing, training, and overall implementation.

And that means the system can be used sooner, delivering a quicker ROI.

Additionally, organizations can realize a number of advantages to hosting

Microsoft Dynamics AX on Microsoft’s Azure Cloud, including reduced initial

implementation costs, increased implementation speed, more predictable IT

costs by quickly scaling computing power as they need it, and decreasing the

time investment of internal IT resources.

Microsoft Dynamics AX is built to support customers’ ever-changing

requirements more cost effectively so they can adapt, grow, and remain

competitive. According to independent research, Microsoft Dynamics AX offers

a lower overall TOC as compared to other ERP systems, including SAP.

SAP Business One

SAP Business One offers a low total cost ownership by reducing the

expenditures associated with modifications and upgrade cycles and by

eliminating the costs associated with multiple systems. Software licensing fees

depend on the number of users and the type of access required.

Implementation costs vary according to a company’s business requirements.

Depending on current hardware, an organization might need to budget for




upgrades. Business One also has a low total cost of ownership

because it is quick to implement and doesn’t need high-end

servers.

SAP Business One OnDemand

With the SAP Business One OnDemand solution, customers

get the latest functionality of the SAP Business One

application without having to deploy on-premise hardware or

software, bring total costs down. With this on-demand

solution, the customer receives an integrated ERP solution in

the form of a SaaS subscription model. Payment terms are

based on the number of users and the length of customers’

contracts, starting at 12 months.


As a software-as-as-service (SaaS) offering, SAP Business

ByDesign has a reduced cost of ownership since systems and

resources are managed outside of the organization, making IT costs

predictable and easier to manage. Because it is a cloud-based system, there

are no hardware or IT costs associated with maintaining backups, upgrades

or on-going maintenance. All the components of Business ByDesign are fully

integrated out-of-the box and have one licensing structure. The SAP on-

demand solution decreases the overall costs associated with infrastructure,

equipment, and management resources. Companies control usage and costs

according to their needs.


The SAP Business All-in-One fast start program helps smaller midsize

companies evaluate, acquire and implement the solution. This program helps

companies analyze their options, select the right hardware and software and

deploy Business All-in-One quickly and cost-effectively. The fast-start

program reduces implementation time and TCO. The pre-tested, pre-

configured SAP software is configured to select hardware, which simplifies the

buying process. With the preinstalled SAP software, it takes less time for

organizations to get up and running, offering faster time to value. Companies

also realize a lower TCO based on complete, pretested software.

However, many components require expensive add-on licenses, including

additional licenses for bolt-on business intelligence solutions and Microsoft

Office. And maintenance starts at 19%, with an annual inflation increase.

Although it might not make economic sense for companies to walk away from

“Some of the numbers that

came out of SAP… were just

shocking. It was a number

that was just unreasonable.

I saw things… the average

SAP implementation would

be $12 million. And then

they came up with the

average implementation of

Dynamics AX and it was like

$2.5 million. Well, that’s a

huge differentiator!”

Robin Schroeder

Director of IT, Met-Pro Corp.




SAP software licenses they’ve already purchased, at some point it probably

does make sense to start fresh because of rising TCO.

In today’s competitive environment, companies can’t afford to have different

systems for different business processes. Keeping enterprise information in

separate systems makes it more difficult and more expensive to share among

various business units and that can hinder organizations’ growth and

efficiency. Increased competition means that organizations have to have

access to accurate data in real time. They need one version of the truth.


Microsoft Dynamics AX is an integrated ERP suite that helps organizations

more confidently make business decisions. The suite uses the familiar

Microsoft interface and easily integrates with other software products.

Microsoft Dynamics AX uses all of the other products in the Microsoft stack to

extend the application outside of what traditional ERP systems can do natively.

Microsoft Dynamics AX leverages the Microsoft platform to deliver solutions

for the way users work that include embedded business intelligence and

familiar communication and collaboration technologies integrated with lines of

business applications.

And the Microsoft Dynamics AX Application Integration Framework (AIF)

enables companies to integrate and communicate with external business

processes and partners through the exchange of XML over various transport

media. AIF enables both business-to-business and application-to-application

integration.

As a complete, ERP solution, Microsoft Dynamics AX lets organizations

integrate across business processes, effectively streamlining manufacturing,

finance, CRM, HCM, SCM, procurement, sales and marketing, etc... It also

seamlessly integrates multiple business units across locations and

consolidates all the processes. With a centralized database and standardized

information across all processes, Microsoft Dynamics AX enables companies

to make key business decisions faster.

SAP Business One

SAP Business One lets organizations integrate each aspect of the business

using SAP Business One Integration Technology. Business One is also fully

integrated with the Microsoft Office suite of products, including Microsoft

Outlook, to enable communication throughout the organization. Departments

can share contacts, appointments and tasks. Business One also seamlessly




integrates with SAP Business Suite solutions and, because of its open

architecture, it can be easily integrated with solutions from other software

vendors.


SAP Business ByDesign is an integrated solution that can run the entire

enterprise, covering financials, human resources, sales, procurement,

customer service, and supply chain. Business ByDesign supports 35 fully

integrated end-to-end business scenarios, from traditional order-to-cash to

complex third-party order processing scenarios. Business ByDesign can be

integrated with third-party configuration tools using standard Web services.


SAP Business All-in-One is an integrated suite that simplifies organizations’

business and IT landscapes across functions, regions, and teams. This ERP

software provides a fully integrated system to support core business

processes, from financials and purchasing to inventory, production, and

human resource management. It enables companies to complete processes

from beginning to end. Business All-in-One is powered by SAP NetWeaver,

which can integrate SAP and non-SAP software. SAP NetWeaver supports the

evolution of applications to service-oriented architecture.

Because of its complexity and cost, ERP software is probably the most difficult

software application to select. The wrong decision can affect the entire

organization, threatening its very existence. One of the most important

criteria for choosing an ERP system is how easily and

quickly it can be implemented.


Microsoft Dynamics AX is designed with an architecture

that makes it easier for organizations to implement the

application in stages, e.g., in the event a company wanted

to deploy it in new divisions before rolling it out to the rest

of the business. A flexible implementation methodology lets

enterprises select the strategy that’s right for them, while

adhering to ERP deployment best practices.

Microsoft Dynamics AX’s out-of-the-box functionality enables a quicker and

easier deployment, reducing the time and money typically associated with

developing, training, and overall implementation. And that translates to a

“Microsoft Dynamics had the

shortest implementation time

(12.5 months), followed by SAP

(18.5 months) and Oracle (22.5

months).”

Panorama Consulting

Clash of the Titans 2014




system that can be used earlier, delivering a quicker ROI. In addition,

Dynamics AX offers full basic functionality as soon as the system is up and

running. Customizations can be performed later on, after the users test the

capabilities of the system.

Additionally, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R3 can be deployed on Microsoft

Azure virtual machines, which can help companies save on IT costs because

they don’t have to build out or manage infrastructure with Azure. And by using

the cloud-hosted environments tool in Lifecycle Services, organizations can

deploy Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R3 environments on Azure in hours. The

cloud also enables enterprises to easily scale up, or scale down, to meet the

changing needs of their businesses.

SAP Business One

SAP Business One comes with a new collection of preset default values and

simpler data upload features, to help speed implementation. Integrated

lifecycle management features, means companies can spend less time and

money on initial installation, system updates and support. Business One

provides an intuitive user interface and a Microsoft Windows environment to

help users learn the system.


Business ByDesign is a SaaS ERP applications, taking advantage of the cloud

to deliver fully integrated ERP and CRM functions designed to meet

organizations’ objectives, requirements and budgets. The platform-as-a-

service framework and cloud delivery may make system integration a little

easier compared to on-premise systems. Because Business ByDesign is

modular and scalable, companies can add new modules over time or as

needed.


SAP Business All-in-One is a suite designed for medium-size businesses that

want the sophistication of SAP’s Business Suite, but faster implementation and

lower total cost of ownership. Business All-in-All comes out of the box with

preset configurations that help speed the implementation process for midsize

organizations. All the functionality in SAP Business All-in-One is preconfigured

for midsize companies and can reside on a single server, which helps to ensure

a rapid implementation.




The fact is that most ERP implementations require at least some custom

programming. And often, up to 75% of the code in older ERP has been

customized. Even though customizations are common - that doesn’t mean

companies should follow that example. The goal should be to have as little

customization as possible in an ERP system, which is why most ERP systems

today use configuration rather than customization.


Unlike legacy and traditional ERP systems like SAP All-in-One, Microsoft

Dynamics AX lets organizations rapidly and cost-effectively configure and

customize their business applications to support the unique needs of the

business. With Microsoft Dynamics AX, users can do much of the application

configuration so they can create systems that fit their unique business needs

with minimal code modifications and technical involvement. The users are able

to create workflows to mitigate risk, build role-based security, generate alert

notifications for specific conditions, as well as create accounting structures to

manage data and reporting.

Microsoft Dynamics AX offers an advanced architecture as well as tools that

allow companies to make the necessary customizations. These tools give

companies complete customization capabilities so they can add new

functionality and modify existing functionality quickly and with limited coding.

One of the biggest concerns companies have when it comes to customizing

their ERP applications is the increased cost of upgrading to new versions of

their systems. Because Microsoft Dynamics AX uses a layered technology, the

technical staff has clear visibility as to where these customizations live. And

Microsoft Dynamics AX provides advanced tools to enable organizations to

automate integration of these the valuable customizations to new versions of

the application.

SAP Business One

SAP Business One offers a range of customization

and integration features that don’t require

specialized technical knowledge or programming

skills. Users can add new fields and tables, create

custom lookup lists, define field validation rules,

design custom alerts, and set rules for populating the

default values of fields – without writing any code.

For more complex customizations, the SAP Business One Software

“We think Microsoft Dynamics can do

everything SAP can do but at a lower

cost after customization.”

Gustavo Mattedi

Regional IT and Operations Manager

Hunter Douglas




Development Kit (SDK) offers a comprehensive set of tools for software

developers, including UI-API and DI-API.


SAP Business ByDesign was built with the expectation that customers would

want to tailor the system to meet their specific needs. Business ByDesign often

lets users reconfigure and manipulate the system without the need for custom

code. According to SAP, about 80 percent of all project adaptations, such as

adjusting the user interface, building forms, adjusting business processes and

creating new reports can be done without custom programming. Business

ByDesign allows custom integrations to be built through industry standard

web-based protocols without corrupting the data. Changes for all users can be

applied without the need to learn or maintain code.


SAP Business All-in-One is the brand name for industry or country specific

solutions that are built on SAP ERP. Roles and processes can be configured to

align with changing organizational needs leveraging SAP ERP and the SAP

NetWeaver platform. Business All-in-One solutions can also be extended and

enhanced by offerings from SAP business partners to address the special

business needs of any midsize company in any industry.

However, Microsoft Dynamics AX provides a layered architecture to give

partners and customers a platform where they can make customizations

without interfering with each other’s work, making ongoing upgrades and

changes more manageable. Although SAP All-in-One allows partners and

customers to have separate object ranges for personalization, they remain on

the same layer and this could lead to additional expense and even testing.

As more midsize organization begin to go global, they need to ensure that

their ERP systems support their new global operations and supply chain

models. It’s critical, therefore, for providers to ensure they meet the global

needs of customers and potential customers.


Microsoft Dynamics AX is a truly global, multi-language, multi-currency ERP

solution, designed to scale with the business. It overcomes the language

barrier by localizing, translating and supporting different languages. Microsoft

Dynamics AX is simple enough to implement for a single business unit in a

single country, yet it also supports the unique requirements for business




systems in over three dozen countries and in more than 40 languages – all

from a single-instance deployment of the software.

Microsoft Dynamics AX complies with multiple banking and reporting

standards and legislative codes to give organizations the global coverage they

need. Development tools such as Microsoft Visual Studio allow for easy

customization to fit the specific requirements of organizations.

SAP Business One

SAP Business One supports the specific requirements for business processes

in over 40 localizations and in 27 languages. It is globally supported 24/7 and

it can be configured and customized with industry-specific solutions. It is

ideally suited to multi-site/multi-national deployments.


SAP Business ByDesign supports currency translation in all major currencies

and also supports localization – the legal requirements, best business

practices of a given county and international standards (i.e., Unicode,

currency support, and time zone and calendar support) – in more than 18

countries and over 6 languages. Business ByDesign offers customized forms

and reports according to local requirements.


SAP Business All-in-One offers over 50 country-localized versions powered by

the SAP HANA platform. The solutions run on enhancement package 7 for the

SAP ERP application, enabled by SAP HANA and part of the latest version of

SAP Business Suite software. The package includes country localization, new

industry extensions and advanced availability for partners.

The way for businesses to become more agile and

productive in the global economy is to empower individual

workers by giving them tools that improve efficiency and

enable them to focus on the work that will offer the most

value to the business. The key to this strategy is to offer

an interface designed to provide users with quick

overviews of the information most relevant to their jobs,

or roles, so they can focus on their own tasks over all

others.

“We ran a weeklong [AX and

SAP] pilot with half of our

users. All of them felt that

Microsoft Dynamics AX was

the most user-friendly and the

easiest system to navigate.”

Mike Spellman

Applications Manager

ICM, Inc.





Microsoft Dynamics AX uses a role-tailored user interface that includes over

30 role centers to give users easy access to the right information as well as

the ability to share that information across the enterprise. The role-tailored

user interface spans the Microsoft Dynamics AX rich client and enterprise

portal and helps drive productivity and business insight through its familiar

user experience and connection with business processes.

The role centers are configured out of the box based on standard employee

roles such as an operations manager, AP clerk, CEO, shipping manager, etc.,

and deliver productivity-focused, process-driven dashboards that can be

customized according to the responsibilities of each employee.

While both SAP and Microsoft Dynamics AX offer role-specific user interfaces,

their approaches differ. For example, SAP provides a set of user interfaces,

each with its own role structures that can add extra work for the IT team to

deploy and even upgrade. On the other hand, Microsoft delivers role-based

information straight to the role centers, which are customized home pages for

users. The role centers enable the users to cut through the clutter because

they get the information they need, when and where they need it.

SAP Business One

SAP Business One version 9.1 offers a functionality that lets the IT admin

customize the user interface of the windows that are most commonly used.

Using customizable templates, the IT admin can hide the fields and tabs of a

given window, change the location of fields by dragging and dropping, and

change the window’s layout to best fit business needs. This way, the users get

to work with user interfaces tailor made for their roles and needs. The IT

admin can set a default template for each user, or assign multiple templates

to a user.


SAP Business ByDesign enables businesses to present users their tasks in

personal work centers, together with the associated information, news, and

analytics they need to carry them out. As business needs change, the

employee access rights can be modified to match their new roles,

responsibilities, and organizational assignments.





SAP Business All-in-One offers a work environment with a user-friendly

interface and role-based navigation, screen personalization, quick links to key

data, snapshots of recent records, key reminders and alerts, and an advanced

search that help users perform daily tasks more efficiently

Choosing one ERP deployment methodology over another depends on the

project and the organization. So flexibility in setting up a new ERP system is

making new business systems more attractive to owners who want to select

which deployment option is best for their companies.


Microsoft Dynamics AX offers deployment options that give companies the

choice today and the flexibility for the future. Companies can deploy Microsoft

Dynamics AX on-premises or in a cloud ERP model with a single ERP solution

that can be implemented all at once, or in phases according to their needs.

To meet the demand and expectations of both

customers and partners, Microsoft Dynamics AX

2012 R3 is supported to run on Microsoft Azure,

Microsoft’s cloud platform. Companies that choose to

deploy on Azure to meet their changing business

needs can run Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R3 in a

number of deployment scenarios including

production, demo, development / testing, and

disaster recovery environments, which are run in a

private cloud on Azure’s infrastructure as a service.

This means organizations can run Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R3 in their own

data centers, or they can deploy Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R3 to run fully

in the cloud. Companies can choose any of the deployment options to help

them move faster, do more, save money and utilize the power of Azure in the

way that best suits the needs of their businesses.

SAP Business One

SAP Business One is available as an on‐premise or hosted solution through

Amazon Web Services (AWS). The decision to deploy the solution using an

organization’s own infrastructure or through a hosted platform depends on the

company’s overall requirements, system investment, and long‐term goals. As

a certified solution for production on AWS, SAP Business One can be hosted

using a pay‐per‐use model that allows customers to pay only for the resources

they use.

The double digit growth in customer

adoption of Dynamics AX, and

Microsoft’s annual $9 Billion investment

in R&D provides a confidence in the

future of the platform.”

John McCarville

SVP Global Supply Chain & IT

Griffith Laboratories




SAP Business One on Demand

SAP Business One on Demand can be deployed by SAP partners as either a

public, private or hybrid cloud solution.


Business ByDesign is only available in the software-as-a-service delivery

model. There is no purchase option for on-premises installation or a private

cloud deployment.


SAP Business All-in-One is typically deployed on premise; however, hosting

options are available through channel partners.

Increasingly, ERP vendors are including analytics as a standard feature so

organizations are less inclined to use third-party business intelligence (BI)

tools. In the past, many ERP solutions were so customized and crafted to client

specifications that BI and analytics also had to be customized, requiring a lot

of development work. Consequently, add-on BI tools were really only

affordable for large enterprises. That’s been changing over the past few years,

and BI has become more widely available and affordable.

Enabling self-service access to information and analytical tools can improve

employee productivity. While some self-service BI exists within SAP’s ERP

solutions, companies often have to deploy SAP Business Warehouse on SAP

HANA to get a step closer to real-time analytics. Microsoft Dynamics AX, on

the other hand, offers BI capabilities that don’t require a separate analytics

program or costly add-ins.


Microsoft Dynamics AX offers out-of-the-box capabilities so organizations can

get quick access to personalized business intelligence information by using

familiar, easy-to-use tools. Microsoft Dynamics AX enables users to access

and analyze data relevant to their work roles so they can make better business

decisions.

For example, configured out of the box, role centers deliver productivity-

focused, process-driven dashboards that can be customized according to the

responsibilities of each employee. Analysis cubes can be used to analyze

complex data. Each cube consists of several metrics and indicators that focus

on specific business areas.




Integrated with Microsoft SQL Server Reporting

Services, Microsoft Dynamics AX includes predefined

reports that employees can access to verify business

information based on their functional roles. KPI (key

performance indicator) tools for ERP are interconnected

with role centers, analysis cubes, and analytic reports so

companies can more accurately measure performance

against preset values or goals.

SAP Business One

SAP Business One offers integrated analytic and

reporting tools that enable organizations to access

critical business information drawing on all functional

areas. With access to real‐time information, companies

can make better decisions. In addition to creating

custom reports to meet specific informational

requirements, SAP Business One also includes ad hoc

reporting, self-service data visualization and dashboards, predictive analytics,

and mobile apps.


SAP Business ByDesign offers fully integrated, real-time analytics across all

areas of the business – and gives employees the information they need most.

Business users can access role-based dashboards, graphical information

embedded in transaction screens, and ad hoc reporting options through SAP

Crystal Reports and Microsoft Excel. With Business ByDesign, organizations

can give employees intuitive analytics with drill-down capabilities, so they can

leverage real-time insight and make better decisions. Companies can also

customize their reports according to their specific business requirements and

the needs of their individual workers.


SAP Business All-in-One operational and financial analytics tools facilitate

business intelligence, decision-making, and performance management

through one version of the truth. Because the Business All-in-One solutions

can use the SAP HANA database, offer built-in analytics, and work with

Microsoft Excel, employees can make business decisions more quickly and

perform ad hoc analysis and reporting on operational data as needed..

“Microsoft Dynamics AX end users

on average rated their experience

with Microsoft applications more

favorably than SAP users rated

their experience with SAP. In fact,

Dynamics AX beat out SAP by 8% –

27% in every category, including

transactional efficiency, business

insight, collaboration, familiarity,

and flexibility. Users ranked

Dynamics AX as 17% more usable

than SAP.”

Keystone Strategy

ERP End-User Business Productivity




In today’s competitive environment, companies that are looking to implement

new ERP systems must carefully navigate the crowded highway of vendor

solutions that are available. Once implemented, the right ERP systems can

enhance productivity, encourage growth and increase ROI. First, though,

companies have to embark on the journey toward choosing the best ERP

system for their businesses.

However, selecting the right ERP vendor and system doesn’t have to be

complicated. Organizations that use this information as a map to help navigate

them through the process will have a clearer idea of which vendor will provide

the most comprehensive solution and greatest ROI.




Merit Solutions is a global business process consultant and systems integrator

with offices in North America and Europe. We are a focused-strategy company

with the goal of being the very best at helping clients automate, grow, and

transform their business through process mapping and optimization, change

management, and innovative IT consulting and development services.

Merit Solutions works with clients to understand and triangulate their exact

business needs in terms of people, workstreams, and enabling systems. From

future state business process mapping to systems analysis, fit-gap process

definition and scoping, sourcing, design and deployment, integration with

other systems, and on-going support - we provide end-to-end global services

that help clients successfully transform their business and build a foundation

that continuously flows value to their customers.

Our clients are typically medium to large, global enterprises who are

challenged by inefficient workstreams that cost money, waste time, and

reduce quality; information flows and systems that no longer support the goals

of the company; and lack of visibility into business data which impedes

effective decision making.

Related resources to this white paper include:

Why Global ERP?

ERP and the Risks of Being Outdated

ERP Evaluations: How to Select the Best System to Grow Your Business

Information on Merit Solutions or other publications can be found on www.meritsolutions.com

1749 South Naperville Road, Suite 200 | Wheaton, IL 60189 | +1-630-614-7133

www.meritsolutions.com


http://www.meritsolutions.com/resources/whitepapers/Global-ERP-White-Paper.pdf

http://www.meritsolutions.com/resources/whitepapers/ERP-and-Risks-of-Being-Outdated.pdf

http://www.meritsolutions.com/resources/whitepapers/ERP-Evaluations-What-You-Need-To-Know.pdf


Documents

By Merit Solutions September, 2015 · Tier 1 ERP software companies. ... small or midsize companies that want to limit their IT ... SAP Business ByDesign runs on the SAP HANA Cloud