SAP Vs Oracle – Operational Stability and Post-implementation benefits

Despite the industry buzz over the past few years, benefits realization and simple operational stability after go-live are arguably the biggest challenges companies are facing when implementing their new ERP systems. Recently, 60% of organizations failed to realize the business benefits they expected from their ERP implementations!

Among the business management tools available today, numerous studies illustrate the key factors to consider before choosing an ERP system for your business. The “Clash of the Titans” report by Panorama Consulting summarized quantitative results from hundreds of ERP implementations across the globe. The results showed that implementing the SAP ERP system, and implementing the Oracle ERP system produced very different results for different businesses!

For instance, an Oracle customer spends less on its implementation. Compared to this, a SAP customer is able to offer an implementation timeline that is relatively close to what was forecasted to be.

Another research considered a data set of over 2000 respondents from 61 countries, to illustrate the value of the people’s respective ERP implementation. The results showed that SAP held the largest market share of three vendors, with a 22% share.

The Key Factors That Make SAP Stand Out

SAP or Systems, Applications, and Processes deal with data planning.
The use of SAP has been compatible with large corporations such as Microsoft and IBM. Oracle, on the other hand, stands for Object Relational Database Management Systems (ORDBMS) and can be hosted in a number of platforms.
SAP is a business management tool that allows real-time tracking in addition to the management of sales, finance, accounting, and human resources.
SAP does not follow the traditional information system management where each management tool is considered as an individual system that operates independently.
SAP integrates business applications using ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning Software) and on the other hand, Oracle, an Object Relational Database Management System (ORDBMS), is used in enterprise environments.
Development and deployment in SAP can include Oracle as a database system as it can be integrated with numerous databases.
SAP performs with a single information pathway alone for their entire enterprise and all other common information.
SAP applications cannot interact with their own systems but can interact with other processes in order for tangible business events to happen.
SAP ensures easier functions of management. This includes integration and other functions.
The SAP model runs on a programming language of the fourth generation. It is known to us as Advanced Business Application Programming (ABAP).

On the other hand, Oracle is an Object Relational Database Management System (ORDBMS) that comes from the massive Oracle Corporation.

The Oracle Database Management System is created with at least a single instance of a particular application. These specific instances are specific processes of the operating system, also benefit the storage!

In a nutshell, the key differences between Oracle And SAP are as follows:

SAP	Oracle
The highest share of the market	Highest selection rate when shortlisted
Highest short-listing rate	Longest implementation duration
Lowest selection rate when shortlisted	The highest delta between planned and real implementation time frame
Longest payback period	The tiniest percent of users who realized between 81- and 100-percent of its advantages

Who is King In The Area Of Business Software?

SAP and Oracle compete mainly in the areas of Business Software like ERP, CRM, and SCM. SAP is said to have more installs than Oracle in bigger companies. Let’s have a walk-through across some key reasons:

SAP Being The Pioneer

SAP ERP ran to the list first. SAP was already well established as a full ERP solution when Oracle was just starting to establish a Financials package for companies! By virtue of being first, SAP is well embedded in this environment.

A Much Better Integrated Solution

The core SAP ERP modules were built from scratch to full integration. So when a change is made, all other related modules are updated immediately. This comes useful when you extend it with a CRM or SCM functionality.

Mind-Share And Brand Recognition

Most companies/ people tend to have considered ERP implementation also as a status decree! They believe it increases their brand value.

Support Factors

SAP has a much larger pool of developers and consultants with a much larger installation base!

Read: 5 Tips For Getting The Best Out Of Your ERP System

CIO Strategies Matter! – How SAP Drives Ahead Of The Game!!

There are several case studies to validate why SAP is preferred over Oracle by many Business and CIOs. They are as follows:

SAP being the pioneer in ERP implementation

As SAP has been the leader and the pioneer in implementation, it preferred over Oracle with a brand value which indicates ERP leadership and preference.

SAP is an in-house built product

SAP was built in house. It has worked with industry experts to evolve the ERP processes and is able to build a robust solution. It allows customers to customize SAP functionality and yet get the client specific processes defined in ERP.

Robust integrated and scalable ERP

SAP has designed a highly integrated ERP which has world-class performance and scalable to multiple solutions. It also easies integrations with 3rd party solutions.

IS –Solutions

SAP has provided additional IS solutions which are optional but they allow businesses to have specialized processes on single ERP which is well integrated and reap benefits for “best industry solutions”

SAP Analytics

Integration on ERP and BI is notable and provides unbeatable performance and flexibility to define reports. Analytics based reporting Management to take real-time decisions

SAP Support services

SAP provides class support services which give Business assurance of resolution in critical situations.

SAP provides implementation methodology and Best practices and Tools

These tools provide a fool-proof implementation road map and reduce risks during the course of implementations. Following this guidance one can implement SAP in as less as 4 months; which means faster ROI.

SAP Hana Features

SAP HANA with its “in memory” capability ensures super speed of processing data. The new UI solutions via Fiori give top class User experience.

In a nutshell, hiring the best qualified, focused and unbiased ERP can make your business more successful. So stay focused with our latest articles and blogs on SAP versus Oracle ERP implementation to go-live successfully!!

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About the Author

Ashok Kumar

Ashok leads Fingent’s SAP Consulting practice for ANZ, SE Asia, The Middle East and Africa (EMEA), and other global clients. More specifically, he helps companies improve operational efficiency by enhancing their digital cores and improving their application integration. Ashok has amassed over 20 years of leadership and consulting experience having worked with Global giants like SAP, IBM Consulting, Capgemini, & Oracle in his previous assignments. Connect with Ashok via LinkedIn and learn how your business can excel with recent SAP trends.