SAP provides highly flexible ERP software, which can be used for Back office business and it is acclaimed for its great depth in functionality. It is also known for high cost of implementation and adaptability. SAP works on three tier distributed architecture and hence, it claims that it can be integrated to any other database. It also introduced another architecture called NetWeaver, which is service oriented architecture.
SAP is one of the largest providers of ERP software in world market and its ERP solution are structured to offer solutions to manufacturing units, consumer product industry, financial services and service industry. It has five hundred fifty micro-vertical solutions for small and mid size companies. It is known globally for its implementation in process manufacturing, consumer goods, financial sector, government and public sector.
1. It has many levels of features and functionality, and any kind of industry finds it easy to adopt SAP functioning. It is appropriate for large business organizations, multinational companies and government sector, which follow complex business plans.
2. It provides appropriate solution for work flow and back office processes.
3. It offers extremely flexible ERP solution as it defines business plans at many stages and the companies buying the software can easily define their rules in SAP's architecture.
4. It provides automation at three levels, which helps in automating business processes and workflow.
5. It can be implemented even to very complex business units and government organization.
6. It comes with the flexibility of integration to a range of database unlike Oracle and it is easy for SAP to work on databases of different vendors.
1. It appears complex for easy business processes and implementation of SAP is a very tough procedure.
2. It gives a highly professional service to business organizations, but the cost of software and implementation is very high.
3. It has too much flexibility, which increases the risk factor.
4. Maintenance of enterprise software is very expensive.
5. Its deployment may take many years for completion.
SAP holds a major market in enterprise resource planning software and its top rival is Oracle. Other vendors offering high quality enterprise software are Infor, Microsoft and QAD. SAP is one of the most expensive enterprise resource planning solutions that take a long time for implementation. In the changing scenario in enterprise software, how to define the future of SAP and Oracle?
It is expected in future that SAP and Oracle may enter the enterprise software as a service market. SAP has been trying to improve its market in global tier structure where Oracle is dominating market. About fifty percent of the enterprise software market is dominated by SAP and Oracle. SAP and Oracle both are trying to improve their bases in software as a service.
Oracle started its software-as-a-service (SaaS) venture in 2006 with the acquisition of Siebel and Oracle CRM on-demand, is one of leading product of Oracle. SAP announced its SaaS venture through Business ByDesign in the year 2007 and the initial product is aimed to attract small and mid size businesses.
