ERP Applications

SAP Jumps into the SaaS Game

When there is a solution on the market that is selling well, everybody wants in on it and, why shouldn’t they?  This is a free market and every business ought to do what they can to be competitive.  Competition benefits SaaS ERP customers as well because it drives down prices.  So, when SaaS (Software as a Service) became a marketable service and started selling like hot cakes, SAP jumped in to play. 

SAP’s SaaS solution is called Business ByDesign.  Business ByDesign provides human resources, finance, and sales functionality. Like all great SaaS solutions, there’s no upfront hefty investment.  You don’t have to buy hardware because all you really need is access to the Internet.  You don’t have to hire IT folks to support your applications because the applications reside at SAP on their servers.  If something goes wrong, SAP fixes it while you relax on the beach with your vodka tonic.  There are no licensing fees because you don’t own the software.  And, there’s no long implementation time and huge associated costs.  For those of you who are ultra techie geeks, SAP SaaS doesn’t allow you to get into trouble because you can’t customize the software.  Yes, this can work for and against you, but this is the nature of all SaaS solutions.

SAP’s SaaS solution is meant for small and mid-size businesses.  However, as large businesses decide to go the SaaS ERP way, SAP will surely jump in to play this game as well.  Currently, the market trend is leading future Enterprise Resource Planning small and mid-sized customers down the SaaS path.  SAP has an incredibility comprehensive on-site ERP solution that will fit just about any kind of business.  You can bet your newest grandson that when big businesses start buying ERP SaaS solutions, SAP will convert their comprehensive on-site solution to a SaaS solution.  Software as a Service makes sense for Enterprise Resource Planning customers and vendors.

SAP’s SaaS solution is growing.  In fact, SAP has plans to create function-specific SaaS applications.  These function-specific SaaS applications will operate in conjunction with on-site SAP solutions.  Customers that paid a lot of money and went through the grueling implementation of an on-site SAP solution will have the best of both worlds.  They’ll have their on-site solution and can link it up to SAP’s SaaS solutions.  Buckle up and hold onto your seats because the future is going to be quite a ride!

Written by :

kristine H