SAP Business One 2018

SAP Business One 2018 is not just a headline, but also the short form of a promise of many innovations and features relating to SAP Business One. ERP System for SMEs. A number of announcements, official and "semi-official" statements have already been heard from Walldorf. We will try to summarise them at the turn of the year.

SAP Business One 2018 = SAP Business One Cloud 2018

Versino Financial Suite for SAP Business One Finance

The general Group strategy Following on from this, one topic will also take centre stage for SAP Business One in 2018: the cloud. SAP B1 can now also be operated on SAP's own infrastructure. At the same time, SAP is offering new graduated prices for cloud licences. There is also a surcharge for the SAP platform. Of course, we are talking about "thoroughbred" HANA-systems.
As already reported, SAP Business One has also been released for operation on the major cloud platforms. Whether Amazon AWS, Google GCP or Microsoft Azure - SAP B1 also runs here.

Cloudiax for more flexibility

Despite having its own platform for operating the SAP Business One cloud, the offering from SAP cloud partners such as cloudiax remains interesting. Cloudiax has now also introduced scaled prices, which makes the offer even more interesting for customers with many users. At the same time, with cloudiax you can choose between running SAP B1 on a Microsoft SQL Server or SAP HANA. The cloud specialists also make all kinds of special constellations possible. Partner add-ons are just as available as additional servers for other applications.

HANA for SAP Business 2018

In terms of technology, one thing is certain for SAP Business One 2018: SAP HANA is the driving force. In 2018 and beyond, some new and planned features will probably only be available in the HANA version. SAP B1 users will continue to find the greatest benefits in the area of data analysis. However, new apps are also being planned, for example for demand planning.

Further development of the SAP Business One core

Of course, the SAP B1 core programme is also constantly being developed further. SAP never publishes binding information on exactly which functions will be added in 2018 and subsequent years. On the one hand, this has to do with legal considerations, and on the other hand, an ever faster changing business world can only be met with a highly flexible plan.
Nevertheless, there are some things that can be categorised as "certain" to "probable".

The production control of SAP Business One is being further expanded. Although there are large and partly specialised partner add-ons, the basic functions of SAP B1 are becoming more and more "grown-up". New functions for the extended workbench are on the horizon and the handling of orders is also being expanded and made more flexible (e.g. deletion, reopening of orders).
The service module is also to receive extended functions. A low-cost wizard and a new "Service Module Equipment Card" are on the list of innovations here.

the CRM Functions of the CRM module, which has been "separate" since version 9.3, are being expanded. The functions that should facilitate access to the data in the system include new search and chatbots.
The upcoming connection of Microsoft Office 365 to SAP Business One is important and pleasing for communication within the cloud.
Newer modules, such as SAP Business One project management, are constantly being expanded with new features. One example is that the timesheet will also support user-defined fields.
Reporting is constantly being developed further anyway. This naturally concerns the reports from the growing HANA catalogue, but also the increasing integration of Microsoft Excel.

SAP Business One 2018 masters globalisation

SAP Business One is THE SAP application when it comes to mastering the rapid global rollout of ERP infrastructure for large companies. The country versions are constantly growing. Arabic localisations are on the agenda, but Ukraine, for example, is also set to receive a version.
Also on the list of planned innovations are enhancements for the electronic file manager in order to do even better justice to local specialities.
In order to meet reporting requirements, new analysis tools are planned for sales realisation (planned breakdown of sales over time).
Extensions for the electronic file manager are also on the roadmap in order to better fulfil local requirements.
The expansion of reporting for IFRS, US GAAP, group reporting or other local legal reporting obligations is a constant focus.

New web client for SAP Business One in planning

A new native web client has been in the pipeline for some time. The design is based on SAP Fiori User Experience and SAPUI5. This client is intended to enable quick and easy access to SAP Business One from multiple devices and enable fast, uncomplicated processing of various functions. These include, for example, quotations and orders, business partners and articles, calendars and activities, deliveries and returns, analyses and reports.
Mobile apps are being further expanded
In addition to the sales app, new apps for iOS and Android that use the SAP HANA service layer are also being planned. These include an app for field service and a business analytics app.

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