Keywords: ERP, Oracle, SAP, Europe, America, Susie West

Oracle vs SAP

Susie West | Article | 25 June 2008

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What struck me as I sat chairing the conference Toning Up Purchase to Pay to Attain Touchless Processing last week in London was how many companies in the room ran off SAP.  I suspected that the majority of the room might raise their hands when asked who ran off SAP, but hadn’t quite readied myself for everyone with the exception of four putting up their hands. 

Why is it SAP has such a strangle hold over companies in Europe?  Occasionally you come across US companies who have subsidiaries in Europe and as a result, they’re placed on the same platform.  But even Kellogg’s who spent a number of years putting in Oracle, then ripped it out and implemented SAP in 12 months. 

Furthermore I find myself coming across more and more applications that were built up around the demands of Oracle, but are now reaching out to be SAP compliant.  Like 170 Systems who, for the past 24 months have had their OCR and workflow solutions available to the SAP market.

Does it really matter that Oracle does not seem to be as prevalent in Europe as SAP?  Is it because they are attracting a market outside shared services?  Or is it because most of their customers are in the US and Asia Pacific?  Some companies infer that there is more room for adaptation in SAP, a feature that is welcome in Europe with its plethora of languages and currencies.

If I were setting up some accounts payable application in Europe that could only sit within one financial environment, I know which one I’d opt for based on the trend I’m seeing.