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Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central vs SAP S/4HANA Cloud comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
5.6
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central boosts ROI, productivity, and efficiency, often achieving returns within six months through automation.
Sentiment score
1.9
SAP S/4HANA Cloud offers significant operational benefits and cost efficiencies, with varied return timelines affected by project characteristics.
Now, with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, students register for their own courses, and the system either permits or rejects their registrations based on whether they meet the prerequisites.
Examinations Manager at Northrise University
Automation makes it very easy for us, as that is a time-saving task for us.
VP Sales at Zelite Solution
The transcript suggests SAP S4HANA Cloud may offer cost and time savings.
Ho Finance Methods and Tools at Airbus Atlantic
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
4.2
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central offers good support; however, some users report slow responses and lack of experienced consultants.
Sentiment score
6.5
SAP S/4HANA Cloud support receives mixed reviews due to varying response times, consultation quality, and dependency on premium packages.
The response time before getting someone who can provide a relevant answer is crucial.
Owner at Numex BV
The lack of senior technical consultants means Tier 1 support sometimes has limited experience, which could be better.
Regional Manager at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
I would rate the customer support of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central a perfect 10 out of 10.
Examinations Manager at Northrise University
My experience shows that it often requires another level or two to reach someone who can effectively address the problems.
Managing Director at Global Information Technology Corporation
If tickets are raised to the wrong team, it takes considerable time to be routed to the appropriate team.
DGM (IT) at IndianOil Adani Ventures Limited
SAP is continuously improving the functionalities towards the current versions.
SAP Project Manager at Doha Petroleum Construction Co. Ltd. (DOPET)
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.8
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is scalable for SMEs but faces challenges scaling for larger organizations and extensive users.
Sentiment score
6.7
SAP S/4HANA Cloud is highly scalable, supporting growth and innovation with modular architecture, though budget affects scalability.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central has proven to be scalable and has been able to grow with our needs.
Examinations Manager at Northrise University
We are evaluating how scalable SAP S_4HANA Cloud has been; moving to the latest version poses not much of a challenge compared to on-prem upgrades, as SAP handles the technical areas.
SAP Project Manager at Doha Petroleum Construction Co. Ltd. (DOPET)
The only thing is that you have to have money to scale those things because it is very costly.
Sap Specialist at Victoria's Secret
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central offers high stability, improved from NAV, with occasional update issues swiftly resolved.
Sentiment score
7.2
SAP S/4HANA Cloud is praised for stability and performance, with minimal downtime and high ratings despite occasional infrastructure issues.
For the cloud, we have not faced any downtimes or stability issues.
Regional Manager at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
In my experience, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central has been very stable over the last two years.
Examinations Manager at Northrise University
Usually SAP S/4HANA Cloud is really stable.
Partner at Deloitte
SAP S_4HANA Cloud is very stable, especially for bigger corporates that are geographically spread out.
Chief Operating Officer at Digital365
It is very flexible and can cater to every industry.
DGM (IT) at IndianOil Adani Ventures Limited
 

Room For Improvement

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central needs improvements in pricing, integration, automation, reporting, training resources, and system stability for better functionality.
SAP S/4HANA Cloud users seek better costs, UX, integration, support, and customization for improved flexibility and performance.
There's a gap in advanced features that other platforms like NetSuite handle better.
Regional Manager at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
A basic point of sale would help a great deal because there are certain requirements where Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central could fit in small retail operations, and it is quite expensive, so that addition would be beneficial.
Regional Sales Manager at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
The licensing is also very expensive, so if the prices could be revisited, especially for educational institutions, that would be really helpful.
Examinations Manager at Northrise University
The challenge is that if a customer has already deployed the entire solution on-premises, it becomes difficult to immediately convert to the new product and manage new license costs.
Manager, SAP Practice at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
This reliance on ETL experts or data engineers is necessary to ensure clean quality data, which is critical for the effective operation of the SAP S_4HANA system.
Managing Director at Global Information Technology Corporation
It should have features or facilities so customers can get audit-related queries resolved independently without requiring ticket-based service.
DGM (IT) at IndianOil Adani Ventures Limited
 

Setup Cost

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central's pricing is complex, with variable costs and added expenses for implementation and customization.
SAP S/4HANA Cloud offers higher-end pricing, suitable for large enterprises, but may be expensive for smaller businesses.
However, it was very costly due to the numerous integrations we had.
Automation Engineer
The pricing and setup cost via partner for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central are very attractive, as you get the best discounts and offers.
VP Sales at Zelite Solution
The pricing for Dynamics 365 Business Central is reasonable.
Owner at Numex BV
 

Valuable Features

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central provides integration, customization, and affordability, enhancing collaboration and financial management for diverse industries.
SAP S/4HANA Cloud offers seamless integration, real-time analytics, and scalability, enhancing efficiency with advanced analytics and intuitive UX design.
The value for money is very high as it fits the business well.
Owner at Numex BV
It provides localized compliance for every country, covering VAT compliances, taxing policies, and corporate taxes.
Regional Manager at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
The best features Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central offers include having everything integrated into one system.
Examinations Manager at Northrise University
Some of the most important features include data analytics and real-time data analysis capabilities.
Ho Finance Methods and Tools at Airbus Atlantic
The integration between SAP EWM and S4HANA Cloud is seamless.
SAP Business Analyst at Jante
SAP S/4HANA Cloud provides integration, controls, efficiency, visibility into business operations, and collaboration, especially for geographically spread operations.
Chief Operating Officer at Digital365
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Busi...
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
69
Ranking in other categories
ERP (5th), Activity Based Costing Software (2nd)
SAP S/4HANA Cloud
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
58
Ranking in other categories
Cloud ERP (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Enterprise Resource Planning solutions, they serve different purposes. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is designed for ERP and holds a mindshare of 3.0%, down 6.4% compared to last year.
SAP S/4HANA Cloud, on the other hand, focuses on Cloud ERP, holds 9.5% mindshare, down 17.5% since last year.
ERP Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central3.0%
SAP ERP8.8%
SAP S/4HANA6.1%
Other82.1%
ERP
Cloud ERP Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
SAP S/4HANA Cloud9.5%
NetSuite ERP20.6%
Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP20.5%
Other49.4%
Cloud ERP
 

Featured Reviews

Jacinta Chanda - PeerSpot reviewer
Examinations Manager at Northrise University
Integrated academic workflows have transformed how our institution manages courses and results
For Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, every time we need to make an adjustment, we must make a payment, which is slightly expensive for us as an organization. There are certain modifications we'd like to make, and those come with a cost. The licensing is also very expensive, so if the prices could be revisited, especially for educational institutions, that would be really helpful. Otherwise, it has proven to be a very good tool for us as an organization. I chose a rating of nine for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central because it has been very useful for us as an organization, but there are still a few improvements that need to be made. Sometimes we experience glitches when generating certain reports, and every time we need to make a modification, we have to pay for that. Thus, I will not give it a ten because there are a few areas needing improvement.
PK
Partner at Deloitte
Financial processes have become automated and integrated reporting delivers faster insights
A lot of my clients are complaining about the SAP license policy. I think that is quite intransparent and obviously quite expensive. I think that is a usual complaint. And also the flexibility to shift between different products and getting some kind of credits. People perceive that as intransparent and also not really flexible. This is what I would say. And obviously, as the product is quite complex, it's not intuitive. But this is basically the business processes. I would say the business processes themselves are complex, so I think this is not a problem of the system, it's rather a problem of the business processes that are trying to be reflected in the system. It's not a disadvantage but just a perception clients often quote. Everybody can improve. I think it depends on what kind of support package you have agreed with SAP. It depends, do you have premium service, do you have the basic support? Obviously, the basic support is lacking, but the SAP premium engagement, if you have chosen that one, then that's adequate. It's not, I would say it's not a great experience, but it's a good support. If you pay for it, you get what you need.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
11%
Construction Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Outsourcing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
17%
Construction Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Marketing Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business43
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise19
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business25
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise30
 

Questions from the Community

Is it advisable to purchase Dynamics CRM in addition to NAV 2016?
Short answer: depends on your sales needs. NAV 2016’s built-in CRM is very basic. It’s fine for simple contact management and basic sales tracking, but it lacks: Proper pipeline management Adva...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Dynamics NAV?
Microsoft Dynamics NAV pricing can vary significantly depending on the number of users, deployment model, customizations, and implementation scope. In my experience, the software license is only pa...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Dynamics NAV?
The only thing that could be improved is integration with WhatsApp, which I can see for Microsoft that it has to be available, and that becomes a challenge sometimes. Everything else is perfect.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SAP S/4HANA Cloud?
SAP S/4HANA Cloud is very expensive, both to purchase and maintain. It's important to evaluate the costs of recruiting and maintaining trained personnel as it's not just a one-time payment yet requ...
What needs improvement with SAP S/4HANA Cloud?
I do not have the details with me at this moment as it is very difficult to share. However, there are a lot of SAP forums where we have participated and provided inputs, especially in the retail se...
What is your primary use case for SAP S/4HANA Cloud?
We are using SAP S_4HANA Cloud for a company that specializes in retail and fashion products. Because the company I am referring to is one of the top brands of retail and beauty products, SAP S_4HA...
 

Also Known As

Dynamics NAV, MS Dynamics NAV
SAP S4HANA Cloud
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Harris Farm Markets, Mister Spex GmbH, Bounce Foods, Eurofin Services SA, Medica Medizintechnik, Associated Gaskets, Onduline, Sitka Surfboard Corporation, World Animal Protection
La Trobe University, Carrefour Comércio e Indústria Ltda, Delaware Consulting and Corning Inc.
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