| Both small and mid-size business Corporate ERP | | | | good fit for inventory management, light |
| applications: SAP Business One and Microsoft | | | | manufacturing (discrete) or often referred as bill |
| Dynamics GP are serving similar ERP, MRP and | | | | of materials. SB1 has its own CRM module |
| Accounting Systems market. We assume that | | | | (Opportunity management- fat client application, |
| your organization is facing either small business | | | | not web based at this time), where Great Plains |
| Accounting application replacement dilemma | | | | should lead you to the way to purchase and |
| (QuickBooks, Peach Tree or similar) with | | | | implement Microsoft Dynamics CRM (web based). |
| something more scalable for current and future | | | | SAP Business One Professional User or Distribution |
| growth, or you are simply trying to recover, | | | | user license should probably give you more |
| redeploy or upgrade old version of SB1 (such as | | | | functionality and features in warehouse |
| 2005 or 2007 to SAP Business One 8.8) or Great | | | | management, picking and packing, shipping and |
| Plains (GPA for DOS, Great Plains Dynamics 6.0, | | | | receiving, MRP planning, light manufacturing, |
| 7.5, 8.0, 9.0, 10.0 to new version 11.0). Let's try to | | | | Service Contract management. Great Plains has |
| review in brief and compare these two Corporate | | | | comparable features, however they are typically |
| ERP packages, following tiny article genre format: | | | | not included with the purchase of Business Ready |
| 1. Technical Information. Both systems are | | | | Business Essential user license |
| available on Microsoft SQL Server DB platform | | | | 3. SB1 and GP Add-ons and third party extensions. |
| and Windows Server Operating System. Both | | | | Both small business Corporate ERP applications |
| platforms are open for customization and | | | | have the channels of ISV partners, where you |
| integrations via Software Development Kits (SAP | | | | can search for Add-ons. Dynamics GP, as being |
| Business One SDK and Dynamics GP eConnect | | | | more matured ERP solution offers richer business |
| respectively). Both are open for initial data | | | | logic options, directly supported by Microsoft |
| conversion through integration tools: SAP Business | | | | Business Solutions. SAP Business One is younger, |
| One Data Transfer Workbench (typically for initial | | | | comparing to Great Plains Dynamics. For example |
| data migration, however it could be deployed in | | | | SAP Business One doesn't have in core |
| automatic and semi automatic ongoing integration | | | | functionality US Payroll module, where Dynamics |
| scenarios, see our previous publications). Dynamics | | | | GP does. If you have specific unique business |
| GP also has end user (and even VBA developer if | | | | requirements to your future Corporate ERP |
| some alteration is desired) friendly Integration | | | | application - those should be probably discussed |
| Manager module, where you can design, and run | | | | separate |
| (or schedule) integrations. In both SB1 and GP | | | | 4. Internationalization. Here SAP Business One has |
| cases you can either integrate text (coma or tab | | | | additional advantages, as it supports Unicode (16 |
| delimited) files or connect to your source records | | | | bit characters -Chinese, Japanese, Korean), plus it |
| Database via ODBC connection. Data repair - in | | | | is localized in such mega countries as Brazil, Russia, |
| Dynamics GP you can do very precise data | | | | India, China, Japan, Germany, France, Italy, Spain. |
| corrections via SQL update statements, however | | | | Microsoft Dynamics GP in its turn doesn't support |
| in SAP B1 this is not recommended and SB1 has | | | | Unicode (current and probably future Microsoft |
| Early Watch Service to report any data layer | | | | Dexterity restriction). Dynamics GP is in |
| direct interventions | | | | comparison to SB1 available in Arabic speaking |
| 2. Core Functionality comparison. SAP Business | | | | countries (mostly localized: Jordan, Saudi Arabia, |
| One doesn't have batch posting (often also | | | | OAE). From Corporate ERP internationalization |
| referred as batch processing), meaning that when | | | | standpoint both systems are competing in English |
| you add, let's say Sales Invoice - it is | | | | speaking countries and in Latin America. If you are |
| automatically posted all the way to General | | | | multinational (possibly small) corporation and you |
| Ledger. We saw opinions that Batch Processing | | | | are deploying SAP Business One in USA |
| functionality adds flexibility (approval cycles, holds | | | | Headquarters - then SB1 should be natural choice |
| processing) and scalability to Corporate ERP | | | | for you if you are moving to such countries as |
| system. On the other hand we didn't hear serious | | | | Brazil, China, Germany, Russia, Korea, Japan. If |
| complains about SB1 automatic posting and even | | | | you have Dynamics GP in US based Headquarters |
| companies with fifty plus SAP BO users are | | | | - SB1 should help you to expand internationally, |
| working smoothly. Both GP and SB1 should be a | | | | especially considering version 8. |