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Microsoft Dynamics AX vs SAP Business ByDesign 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Dynamics AX
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
58
Ranking in other categories
ERP (5th), Activity Based Costing Software (3rd)
SAP Business ByDesign
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
16
Ranking in other categories
Cloud ERP (6th)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Enterprise Resource Planning solutions, they serve different purposes. Microsoft Dynamics AX is designed for ERP and holds a mindshare of 3.4%, down 6.5% compared to last year.
SAP Business ByDesign, on the other hand, focuses on Cloud ERP, holds 5.3% mindshare, down 6.8% since last year.
ERP Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Dynamics AX3.4%
SAP ERP11.6%
SAP S/4HANA6.4%
Other78.6%
ERP
Cloud ERP Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
SAP Business ByDesign5.3%
Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP16.2%
NetSuite ERP14.4%
Other64.1%
Cloud ERP
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2765214 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Sales Support Supervisor at a manufacturing company with 501-1,000 employees
Has required ongoing support and modernization but effectively manages core operations and complex workflows
Microsoft Dynamics AX is a very strong ERP system, applicable for customizations to help companies and organizations streamline their processes. The specific feature I find most valuable about Microsoft Dynamics AX is the applicable permissions. There are many levels of security and permissions for each user to monitor and access specific data relative to their functions. Additionally, the linkage and transition between exploring and moving from window to window, from function to function is valuable. The impact of Microsoft Dynamics AX on managing financial processes is significant. It's a very important element for financial departments as it represents all transactions, references, and records. The adjustments and availability to create more than one virtual company allow large companies, which combined represent one group of companies, to connect and streamline their financials and operations.
MS
Divisional Manager IT at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Valuable features enhance sales and service capabilities while performance improvements are needed
We received a few complaints about the slowness in SAP Business ByDesign last year, so I think SAP can focus on improving performance, particularly when it becomes slow during data saving and handling. My feedback about the modular architecture and customized features of SAP Business ByDesign is that it is only good, but we have not explored much on this one. The initial setup for SAP Business ByDesign was complex. One disadvantage was that we had the legacy system, SAP Business One, and we could not migrate our data to SAP Business ByDesign. They should have provided a migration path.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Flexibility is the best feature. Because we have the source code, we can develop our ideas. It enables us to develop new functions."
"The installation is extremely simple, and I have had no problems with it."
"The tool's most valuable feature is reporting."
"Dynamics AX is very simple to use."
"From a developer's perspective, the architecture of Dynamics has a well-designed security layer, which prevents coding issues between different layers. This is a significant advantage."
"It's scalable."
"I like that it's a complete ERP solution from production level to branch level."
"The accounting and inventory management features are valuable."
"It has a quick implementation and onboarding of users. It is flexible with reports and powerful."
"The most valuable features of SAP Business ByDesign are customer invoicing and cost and revenue, from which I get the data for my project reports."
"When we were using it, we did see an immediate benefit, especially in the inventory on consignment issue. We were a biotech pre-revenue company and most of our manufacturing was outsourced. So being able to track inventory within the system without creating a financial impact was very key for us."
"I like its modern approach. It is very modern and new technology."
"The most helpful feature is the integrations. Integrating the tool with SAP S/4HANA Cloud is easy, facilitating implementation and deployment. The runtime analysis checks for real-time analytics to see if the software works properly. This is a powerful feature."
"ByDesign's best features are its speed, real-time data, and reporting."
"SAP Business ByDesign is connected to our S/4 HANA system, and we have developed some APIs which help us integrate the system with S/4 HANA."
"I like the tool’s customization."
 

Cons

"The 2012 version is obsolete, and we don't have any support for it."
"This solution could be improved with more expert resources and an easier implementation process."
"The integration could improve for the future."
"At times there are issues related to reporting, sometimes with the integration between two or three modules, and sometimes to the logic itself."
"The database requires a huge CPU and memory resources."
"The support here in Turkey could be better. However, the international support is good."
"We do not have access to daily projections."
"It is being decommissioned."
"With SAP S/4HANA, you can design your release strategy and modify it to include as many people as possible, which is missing in SAP Business ByDesign."
"There might be some hurdles when integrating with SAP ECC, but integration with SAP S/4HANA Cloud is smooth."
"The payroll module of the solution could improve."
"One disadvantage was that we had the legacy system, SAP Business One, and we could not migrate our data to SAP Business ByDesign. They should have provided a migration path."
"Scalability is difficult."
"The Purchase to Pay process could benefit from further sophistication and additional functionality. It would be helpful for the user community to receive clearer information about the future roadmap of the business. Unfortunately, there were some confusing articles in the German press towards the end of last year about the future of SAP Business ByDesign. Therefore, more clarity is needed in the support function to address this."
"SAP Business ByDesign can improve the flexibility and user-friendliness of the reporting during the implementations. Customizing the reports inside the device requires a lot of knowledge and most of the time a developer level is needed. For example, if you want to have a more specific reporting layout."
"The solution does not support customization for forms and reports. It's not flexible in case you need some enhancements in business processes."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The platform's price offering is good."
"It's too expensive for customers to take this on themselves. As partners, we will buy this on behalf of the customers and then charge this value for each project."
"The pricing is expensive."
"In relation to the cloud, it might be expensive for a longer duration. However, it's essential to consider the demands of enterprise users. While it's cost-effective in the short run, it becomes relatively costly in the long run."
"The product's pricing is expensive. The tool costs 210 USD per user for one month."
"The solution is on-premises and we do not pay for a license."
"The solution is expensive."
"I don't know how much this solution costs off the top of my head, but I know that the cloud and SaaS solutions are cheaper."
"The cost starts anywhere between fifty thousand dollars and up depending on the number of licenses."
"Everything is included in the licensing cost of the solution. However, they use a per-user model for additional charges."
"We have to pay yearly."
"The tool’s pricing is expensive."
"I rate the price of SAP Business ByDesign a seven out of ten."
"The pricing depends on company size. It's cheaper for small companies and more expensive for large ones."
"The price of SAP Business ByDesign is less expensive than SAP S/4HANA. However, the price is on par with other similar competitors, such as Microsoft."
"The price of the solution could be better. They have to come up with a new strategy."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Retailer
7%
Computer Software Company
7%
Computer Software Company
18%
Healthcare Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Retailer
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business29
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise17
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise5
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Microsoft Dynamics AX?
I don't know if Microsoft Dynamics AX is still receiving official technical support from Microsoft. I can see most companies working with AX currently transforming to D365, upgrading their ERP syst...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Dynamics AX?
I'm using Microsoft Dynamics AX to process and monitor the sales process from end-to-end, starting from placing orders. First, the order entry and placing the sales order, creating purchase requisi...
What do you like most about SAP Business ByDesign?
The most valuable features of SAP Business ByDesign are customer invoicing and cost and revenue, from which I get the data for my project reports.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SAP Business ByDesign?
The price is high, as every year SAP increases the price by 3.5%.
What needs improvement with SAP Business ByDesign?
We received a few complaints about the slowness in SAP Business ByDesign last year, so I think SAP can focus on improving performance, particularly when it becomes slow during data saving and handl...
 

Also Known As

Dynamics AX, Axapta, MS Dynamics AX
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

ConQuaestor, D & H Distributing, Sunny Queen, Mesa Associates, Britax Childcare, Ibema, Arafa, Sabo S.p.A.
Standard Bank of South Africa, AOK Bundesverband, PT XL Axiata Tbk, Tvoy Dom, Schaidt Innovations GmbH & Co. KG, DeLaval International AB, EMC Corporation, Lenovo, Castle Importing Inc., Unilever, Rifle Paper Co., RAK Ceramics, Rough Country, B&G Manufacturing, Life is good Inc., Joy Global Inc., City of Cape Town
Find out what your peers are saying about SAP, Oracle, Microsoft and others in ERP. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.