4 Reasons Why SAP Business One is the Leading ERP for SMEs

In the last 10 to 15 years, the small to mid-size ERP landscape has changed significantly. There are many new players in the market and some of the older legacy solutions have all but disappeared. SAP Business One has the stability of a long-standing solution and continues to be one of the leading ERP systems for small to mid-size companies. In fact, approximately 70,000 SMEs across the globe trust SAP Business One to run their companies. Based on our experience working with Canadian business owners, these are the top four reasons why.

1. SAP Business One is flexible

According to a Mint Jutras report, fit, functionality and flexibility are among the top priorities for small to mid-size companies when evaluating ERP solutions. This is arguably one of SAP Business One’s greatest strengths. SAP (the software publisher) understands that there is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to ERP. That’s why the system is intentionally designed with flexibility in mind. Every company has a slightly different view of flexibility – some want to do simple things like adding additional fields, hiding unused functions for a cleaner user interface, or creating custom reports. Others want to integrate with best-of-breed applications for shipping, eCommerce or marketing automation. Still others want to develop completely unique integrations that suit specific business needs. SAP Business One can accommodate it all.

When you first implement your new ERP solution, you might think you don’t need to do anything more than change a few field names, add some custom fields and maybe create reports. But think long-term. Over time, your business will change, and your needs will change along side it. Don’t restrict your future options by selecting an ERP that has limited flexibility to adapt as your business does. SAP Business One gives you that level of flexibility – and peace of mind – to grow with your business.

“SAP Business One has been a tremendous asset to the company. As the company continues to grow, we continue to change, and our needs continue to change. SAP Business One and our partner, ProjectLine Solutions, have been able to provide and accommodate those changes for us, as a company.” – Tom Boehm, Team Power Solutions

2. SAP Business One has a strong ecosystem

What do we mean when we talk about the ecosystem? There are three important players:

1. SAP – The vendor (or software publisher) that develops and maintains the software.

2. Partner – The company that sells, implements and supports the software. ProjectLine is a partner (or VAR – Value Added Reseller).

3. Software Solutions Partner (SSP) – The companies that develop and maintain companion solutions for SAP Business One. These are often industry-specific solutions.

When you look at the SAP Business One ecosystem, you’ll see it’s well established compared to some other ERP solutions. Over the nearly 50 years that SAP has been around, they’ve become the largest enterprise solution vendor in the world. With over 80% of their customers in the small to mid-size market, they’re invested in the success of the product.

There are over 700 partners in the global SAP Business One network. In the rare case that a customer is unhappy with their partner, this gives them the option to change. If you choose an ERP solution where you work directly with the vendor and you’re unhappy with the service, you’re looking at changing your entire solution instead of just the implementation partner.

As we touched on previously, flexibility is key when choosing your ERP system. There are 300 Software Solutions Partners and over 500 solutions designed to integrate with SAP Business One, giving you options to tailor your system to your needs.

3. SAP Business One is built for SMEs

One of the biggest misconceptions is that SAP Business One is just a scaled down version of SAP’s large enterprise ERP solutions. This isn’t the case. SAP Business One is designed specifically with the needs of small to mid-size business in mind. It offers the features and functionality that SMEs need, without the added complexity that you would see in a large enterprise solution. The system is also designed with ease of use in mind, to increase user adoption among smaller companies that have never run ERP before.

“SAP Business One has a lot of tools in terms of reporting, performance analysis, even CRM, which allows us to understand exactly what the opportunities are for growing the business, right from the start when a new opportunity comes in.” – Aaron Cash, Garage Living

4. SAP Business One can be deployed in the cloud or on-premise

While some people believe a cloud ERP solution is a must, the truth is your deployment method depends on your business requirements. A public (or multi-tenant) cloud solution might work for some companies, but not others. Here again, flexibility gives SAP Business One an edge. If public cloud makes sense for your business, you have that option. Others prefer to host SAP Business One in a private cloud, where you still have the accessibility of a cloud solution, but your system is in a dedicated environment. And if you have specific conditions that require it, you can host your system on-premise at your physical location.

Having options works in your favour – you can choose the option that best fits your business. You also have flexibility to make a change in the future. If you start out with an on-premise solution, but find it too costly to manage in-house, you can always move it to a private cloud and let your partner handle the infrastructure.

We’re big believers in SAP Business One. We’re one of the leading Canadian SAP Business One partners, providing implementation and support services, and we’re among the 70,000+ SMEs that use it to run their business. That’s how confident we are in the solution.