Since 1972, SAP, a multinational German firm, has created enterprise software to manage a range of business operations and customer connections. It is renowned for its Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software, which is utilized by companies all over the world. The several SAP ERP software systems that have been made accessible throughout time include R/1, R/2, R/3, ECC, and S/4 HANA. The SAP ERP software that is now utilized the most is ECC ERP. Let’s now contrast SAP ECC vs. SAP HANA.
What exactly does SAP ECC mean?
A crucial piece of technology in business and practically every other sector is SAP ECC. It has existed as a financial software solution ever since it was created.
The official name for it was RF. SAP ECC is short for SAP ERP, the original set of business applications. Over time, the software package has expanded to incorporate new modules like RM/1. The suite was renamed R/1 a few years after it was first released.
1979 saw the initial release of R/2. The program included a range of commercial activities. It is utilized in a number of sectors, including accounting, human resources, manufacturing, and supply chain management. The most popular client/server technology that didn’t need mainframes was this variation. A broad variety of databases and computer systems were compatible with R/3.
What exactly does SAP HANA mean?
Business Suite 4 SAP SAP S/4 HANA is another name for SAP HANA. It is the most recent version of SAP’s ERP solution, and it is based on the HANA in-memory database, which enables organizations to carry out transactions and do real-time data analysis. The fourth version of the SAP Business Suite is created exclusively for HANA.
S/4 HANA’s Fiori-powered user interface, real-time analytics, and in-memory processing to manage massive amounts of operational and transactional business data make it easier, faster, and more efficient for businesses to run. Additionally, S/4 HANA does away with traditional ERP systems’ drawbacks of batch latency, manual operations, and data sprawl.
Similarities
There are several similarities between the two ERP systems.
Both SAP ECC vs. S/4 HANA provide support for sales, purchasing, manufacturing, distribution, service, quality, accounting operations, and facility management. Both systems offer a single source for operational reporting, standardization and automation of common procedures, and a consolidated database for a company’s operational data. ECC and S/4 HANA are both modular systems that let companies use the components they currently have set up in a way that makes sense for their requirements.
The majority of the fundamental features and capabilities of S/4 HANA and ECC are probably compatible. However, as technology advances, there will be variances and potential benefits for businesses.
Differences in ERP Systems
- ECC may operate on external databases like Oracle, MaxDB, and IBM. Differences across ERP systems: only HANA, a contemporary in-memory technology, can power S/4 HANA.
- Customer vs. Vendor to Business Partner: ECC maintains separate customer and vendor files even when a company collaborates with another company for both tasks. The S/4 HANA business partner record comprises standard arrangement components.
- Controlling (CO) and finance (FI) are combined: FI In ECC, GL accounts are linked to CO basic cost components. The universal journal structure is used in S/4 HANA to record both the GL account and the pricing element.
- New General Ledger (GL): SAP ECC’s GL structure options include “traditional” and “modern.” S/4 HANA uses just the new GL, which is functionally very similar to the new GL in ECC. The additional GL capabilities are essential in S/4 HANA, though, and they could be needed for a completely new asset accounting system.
- Consumer rebates are being replaced by settlement management using condition contracts in S/4 HANA in place of the current SD rebate processing in ECC.
The architecture changes have provided businesses with new ways to handle the data they acquire, which is one of the biggest distinctions between SAP ECC vs. SAP HANA. From a financial perspective, it combined accounting ledgers into a single universal record. The finance department of a corporation will find it simpler to conduct profitability studies as a result of this change.
The functional scope underwent a number of important alterations as a result of the introduction of SAP HANA. One of the most important developments was the union of the two general ledger architectures. The new accounting architecture was automatically implemented as part of the SAP HANA migration.
A number of functional upgrades offered by SAP HANA vs. SAP ECC made it desirable to upgrade. Although there are compatibility packs available to enable ECC functionalities to work on HANA, they will not function at their best. Existing ECC users must comprehend all functional changes and evaluate each one’s benefits in order to get the optimum utilization and return on investment from SAP HANA.
S/4HANA advantages vs ECC
Compared to older ERPs like SAP ECC, SAP S/4HANA has a number of significant advantages. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that SAP decided to discontinue supporting earlier ERPs in 2027 because the advantages of SAP S/4HANA’s ERP system make it a far more sophisticated platform. Let’s examine the salient advantages.
Improve Performance
With its underlying SAP HANA database technology, SAP’s most recent ERP platform enables real-time data insights and generally quicker access to your whole data volume. This makes it possible for you to perform large data analysis, which supports flexible decision-making, corporate-wide planning, and the speedy execution of intricate transactions.
Streamline Your Procedures
One advantage of SAP ERP is that it enables you to reorganize your IT infrastructure in a way that is more obvious and centralized. Your whole workflow and all related business operations perform more effectively and are considerably simpler to manage following an integration thanks to the automation capabilities. As a consequence, SAP S/4HANA will benefit each department in your business.
Innovative Business Practices
The combination of SAP S/4HANA and cutting-edge technology increases the effectiveness of your workflow. The platform may easily include cutting-edge advancements like artificial intelligence, machine learning, the internet of things, or robotic process automation. These options maintain your company’s productivity and prepare it for the future.
Develop More Flexibility
The fact that you have a number of deployment options is one of SAP S/4HANA’s biggest benefits versus ECC. Opt to run SAP S/4HANA on-premises, in a private, public, or hybrid cloud. Making your business really flexible and responsive requires granting its data resources global access.
Enhance User Experience
The platform’s improved usability is another key benefit of SAP S/4HANA. With SAP Fiori, you receive a simple and personalized user experience that consistently provides you with crystal-clear insights into all of your company data and transactions. Never before has keeping track of everything been so simple!
Preserve Resources
One major benefit for organizations that encompasses all of SAP S/4HANA’s ERP system benefits is cost reduction. You gain significant financial resources that you may reinvest in the expansion of your firm since the robust and centralized ERP system requires less hardware and maintenance labor.
MRP in real-time (Material Requirement Planning)
Batch jobs must be executed during off-peak hours in SAP ECC in order to finish material need planning (MRP). S/4HANA by SAP modifies the game. Because MRP may be used in real-time, batch tasks are not required. Additionally, MRP with subcontracting has been made simpler in SAP S/4HANA. It is crucial to keep in mind that MRP can only be used at the plant and MRP area levels. On the storage level, it cannot be operated.
The principal business advantages of switching to SAP S/4HANA
- Business process simplification to enable real-time execution by removing background tasks and aggregate tables
- Planning, execution, report production, and analytics for improved performance using real-time business data
- better business estimates and period ending triggers
- Overall IT landscape simplification Lower total cost of ownership
- Ability to operate with big data sets in a single system, saving money on hardware, operations, and time
- Advanced apps that can forecast, simulate, and propose company activities while still protecting current investments can be driven by innovation using an open platform.
- business processes that have been rethought, reengineered, and reinvented
- quicker decision-making using real-time corporate data insights
Fiori vs. SAP GUI
Fiori is a brand-new visual SAP user interface that replaces the company’s older, linear, menu-driven GUI. It offers the type of simple, consumer-level user experience that the majority of modern office workers want. Users of mobile apps will be comfortable and familiar with Fiori, a new mobile feature. Fiori enables customers to interact with SAP apps from any place and on a number of devices.
Benefits of SAP Fiori versus SAP GUI
Compared to SAP GUI, Fiori offers a lot of benefits. These advantages include increased productivity because of quicker work completion. Fiori is more touch-based, whereas the SAP GUI needs you to navigate through a number of menus in order to complete any task. On a single device, users can start tasks.
SAP Fiori: A Replacement for SAP GUI?
SAP GUI will undoubtedly be replaced by Fiori. This is especially true for businesses making the switch to SAP HANA and S/4 HANA from earlier SAP versions. However, it should be noted that not all SAP businesses are prepared for or enthusiastic about the change. This reluctance to accept Fiori has a multitude of causes. One example is the time and work some companies have put into modifying SAP GUIs. It’s possible that they won’t want to invest the time and money required to replace them.