SAP Business One - What is

Recently, we have noticed (to our delight) a rapid increase in interest in SAP Business One. Among other things, this is probably due to the fact that SAP has discovered what a treasure has developed here. A discovery that then led to the consistent expansion of the application, so that we can say today: SAP Business One has never been better and is closer to setting a real benchmark for midmarket business solutions. The most recent sales figures for SAP Business One, which, according to reports from Walldorf, have exceeded expectations for several quarters in a row, prove just how worthwhile this approach is.

Versino Financial Suite for SAP Business One Finance

The news that a major SAP event in 2012 will focus exclusively on SAP Business One is also fitting.

A publication in the SAP medium sap.info with the title: All Eyes on Business One a. (Unfortunately only in English) goes into depth about the near and also somewhat more distant future of SAP Business One.

As this article is the 200th entry in our SAP Business One blog, we have taken the trouble to reproduce the quintessence of this article in German and to expand on it a little, resulting in a relatively good assessment of SAP Business One.

A look at the upcoming version 8.82

The latest version of SAP Business One now supports the entire campaign management process: from creating marketing campaigns, managing campaign data, generating leads and sales opportunities, to analysing the results.

In addition, version 8.82 significantly expanded the serial number functions. At the same time, the "pick and pack" process, i.e. the selection of items from the warehouse, packaging and dispatch of these products to the customer, has also been improved.

An enhanced MRP module is also delivered with version 8.82. This includes a powerful and flexible MRP wizard with recommendation reports and improved forecasting capabilities.

With the new Framework contract function companies can manage long-term sales or purchase contracts. The resulting information is then also used for expected revenue, cash flow calculations and procurement processes.

Other highlights of the latest version of SAP Business One include an SDK enhancement, dashboard enhancements, integrated multi-language and multi-language support, and the new SAP Business OneDatabase-The new system includes functions for SAP Crystal Reports as well as report and layout management, country-specific enhancements and a master data wizard for cleansing the system of data that is no longer required.

In planning: Business One with HANA / 2012

The next set of enhancements for SAP Business One will be delivered in three versions: Versions 9.0, 9.1 and 9.2. The first release, version 9.0, is planned for Q4 2012, with versions 9.1 and 9.2 expected in 2013. Over the course of these three versions, SAP will introduce many new features and innovations. The most significant of these is, without doubt, the full integration of SAP HANA database technology.

In 2012, SAP Business One will be the first SAP core application to run entirely on SAP HANA. as SAP Executive Board member, Vishal Sikka said in his keynote at SAP TechEd in Madrid.

Further improvements in Release 9.0, 9.1, and 9.2

Among others:

User experience improvements
Integration into the .Net development environment for a standardised development suite
Business workflow improvements
Extensions to the units of measurement and price units
Extension of the pricing engine, including cross-pricing
Storage bins
Expansion of lifecycle management
Banks / Finances Extensions
…

Roadmap until 2015

Versions 10.0, 10.1 and 10.2 of SAP Business One are planned for release in 2014 and 2015. The planned features will focus on the future direction of SAP Business One.
Over the next few years, the application will evolve more and more from an ERP system to an Platform for companies that require constantly growing software.

The SAP Business One Integration Framework (B1iF) is an integral part of this future goal. B1iF is an integration framework based on the SAP Core platform that enables companies to easily connect to SAP and non-SAP systems, including other Business One instances, mobile applications, corporate groups (to map subsidiaries) and EDI systems.

This enables companies to standardise and automate business processes. 1,500 subsidiary companies are already using Business One.

Various delivery models

The now extreme scalability of SAP Business One has also meant that delivery via different channels is both possible and necessary in order to cater for the various user groups.

The starter package can be implemented in three to ten days at a fraction of the cost of the standard application. As companies grow, they can then upgrade to more functionality and eventually to the full version of SAP Business One.

SAP has also recently introduced subscription-based hosting for Business One. This cancels out the lead time for installation in the company and saves IT costs.

Whether as a starter package, hosting or standard application, Business One is not licensed directly from SAP, but via partners. There are around 820 SAP Value Added Resellers (VAR) worldwide and around 300 SAP Software Solution Partners. SAP Business One has so far been sold in over 80 countries worldwide and is available in 40 country-specific versions and 26 languages.

Business One for iPhone and iPad

SAP also offers a mobile app for Business One. The SAP Business One Mobile App for the iPhone and iPad . With over 26,000 installations, it is one of the most frequently downloaded SAP applications in the iTunes App Store.
SAP Business One Mobile not only allows you to access business data in Business One, it also allows you to interact with it. These changes are automatically updated in the Business One backend. Companies do not need to worry about security: There is no data storage or caching on the device, and business data is accessed via SSL or VPN via a secure online server.

To use the mobile app, you need SAP Business One 8.81 in the backend and iOS 4.0 or higher on your mobile device. Every mobile user needs a Professional, Limited (finance, logistics or CRM), or Starter package licence. The mobile application supports all Business One languages.

Depending on the version of the app (1.20, 1.30 or 1.40), there are differences in functionality:

Define warnings for certain events, such as deviations from authorised discounts, prices or credit limits
authorise accesses
Use and sharing of integrated SAP Crystal Reports
Access interactive dashboards and use predefined dashboards for sales, analysis and cash flow
Retrieve customer and partner information and create new entries
Synchronisation of activities with the mobile calendar
Searching for contacts on a map and route planning
Monitoring warehouses and stock levels

Some new features will be introduced with the Version 1.50 will be available . These are only supported in conjunction with SAP Business One 8.82 :

Create customer orders and quotations
Manage service calls
BusinessObjects interactive relationship map support
SAP Crystal Reports with selection criteria and parameters
New UI design for the iPad

The Addons

Today, when SAP Business One has almost reached 36,000 installations and 500,000 users, a few flowers in the "congratulatory bouquet" belong to the add-on manufacturers. The many enhancements have opened the door to sectors that cannot be addressed in this way, or at least not at this speed.

In the German-speaking world, there are a few trendsetters who have driven and influenced the development of Business One. Three examples:

coresystems - The innovators

Of course it says here coresystems in the front row. The young Swiss company has blown a breath of fresh air into the sometimes oh-so-dry ERP world and continues to do so. With their coresuite cloud In combination with SAP Business One, coresystems makes a hybrid solution possible that combines the strengths of both worlds. And the country package with the customiser has become the secret standard for every Business One installation.

Maringo - The Complete

SAP Business One with the MariProject extensionFor project-orientated companies, this makes the SAP midmarket product a truly complete solution that is unrivalled in its depth of functionality. The project planning and controlling software provides everything from a single source. From quotation calculation, employee and article planning, time and cost recording, approval and invoicing to accounting and project evaluation, MariProject supports all central business processes in companies. The company sizes that can be mapped with it have long since far exceeded the original target dimensions. 100 and more users are normal, but 500 and more are no problem.

variatec - The integrated

It is of course true that the standard version of SAP Business One is not suitable for somewhat larger manufacturing companies. However, variatec has more than thoroughly remedied this gap. There is probably no other add-on that is so integrated into Business One and transforms Business One into a thoroughbred PPS, but which can offer all the convenience of the "mother application". The company is currently working on making the purchased package for plant manufacturers (Trimergo) available for plant builder in the same way - it will be interesting to see.

SAP B1 blog