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There is much friction between SAP, Oracle as well as Microsoft Dynamics as these are the three leading ERP vendors in the market. Each of the vendors has its own set of strengths, weaknesses, and tradeoffs that tend to neutralize the appeal of each of these leading ERP systems.
Although each has its own niches and a relatively even market share, the product roadmaps, functionality, architecture and acquisition plans do affect these titans’ standings in the market in the future. Looking ahead to the future year 2020, it is likely that each of the positions of these bigwigs will look slightly different than they are today.
Here are a few of the trends we expect to see with SAP, Oracle, and Microsoft Dynamics between now and 2020:
SAP will continue its dominance of larger enterprises.
SAP has indeed a big challenge to face as is has to meet up to the demands of small and medium-sized organizations that they need its robust as well as broad software – along with the respective complexities, costs, and risks that it does entail. Larger as well as more global as well as complex organizations have indeed been SAP’s favorite spots. SAP has the good foothold in the market. Given SAP’s foothold in this market and its strategy of primarily building its required product from the ground up rather than through acquisition is indeed much stronger for it.
Companies that will be seeking to standardize as well as consolidate business processes across their far-flung operations, since the relatively standardized functionality of SAP is indeed likely to appeal to such types of organizations.
Microsoft Dynamics will, in fact, be increasing its prominence among small and mid-size organizations. By acquiring Navision, Axapta and as well as Great Plains, Microsoft has rather made significant inroads among small as well as mid-size organizations. As the company continues to consolidate these three systems in order to create a more consistent and robust Microsoft Dynamics platform, it will indeed continue to expand its appeal among several organizations thus looking for a less complex solution rather than SAP in order to replace Outlook, Excel spreadsheets and other solutions that are common among the Fortune 500’s smaller counterparts. The other advantage of Microsoft Dynamics is that it has a rather simple look and a feel of Microsoft’s Windows, which is considered to be key purchasing criterion for smaller organizations that have in fact yet to adopt larger and more complex ERP systems.
While SAP, as well as Microsoft, have indeed established solid positions among larger and smaller organizations, respectively, Oracle has, of course, the unique advantage of further penetrating both the sides of the spectrum.
SAP will continue its struggle in the market for smaller set-ups. Organizational change management cum business process re-engineering will indeed remain important for all the three vendors.
It is interesting to observe that each of these vendors will indeed occupy different positions in the market in 2020 and beyond. Two aspects will not change: the fact that all three possess solid positions in the market.
