Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

IFS Cloud Platform vs SAP ERP vs Unit4 Business World comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Mindshare comparison

ERP
ERP
Cloud ERP
 

Featured Reviews

Brendan Fisher - PeerSpot reviewer
Robust, customizable, and modern
IFS is a very large and complex software, and implementation of IFS can be challenging and may lead to a difficult lengthy project. It can take between 12 and 24 months in some cases to deploy. I have found that not all clients are fully aware of how big the task is that they're undertaking when they make a decision to move to software like this. Companies need to be more aware of the complexity of an ERP implementation project and while I fully recommend moving to IFS, it is not easy and does require business change when adopting an ERP solution. New features are a difficult ask - I work across multiple industries and everyone would probably choose a different feature. Maybe BIM in Construction or Customs link-ups for importers/exporters.
Srinivasan Kuppuswamy - PeerSpot reviewer
The amazing, robust framework with unlimited scalability earns its #1 status
The solution is not ready for the current e-commerce environment. Its was built for large enterprises who need to predictably optimize their human, material, and financial resources. ERP has evolved and businesses are changing. There are not many large corporations. Most are small enterprises with the capabilities of large enterprises through networking and platform integration. Some companies promote products but get things done with other enterprises as a network. Companies do not want to create new capacity but want to leverage existing capacity with innovative products. They do not want to spend resources on duplicating capacity or facilities. I do not think any ERP product is ready to support this environment so ERPs as a whole might end up being used for back-office functions only. It is not easy to evolve an ERP product because its intent is to integrate functions and processes within an organization. Whereas, in the new business model, processes are not limited to one's own enterprise but cut across different enterprises. There is no enterprise solution as this point in time for the current e-commerce environment so companies must integrate with many solutions.
Mirchaye Mulugeta - PeerSpot reviewer
A flexible solution that is useful in finance, HR, and procurement
We use the tool in finance, HR, and procurement.  Unit4 Business World's most valuable feature is flexibility. Its dashboards are easy.  I would like to see direct communication support to engage with clients. The parent company should have a direct relationship with clients. Also, the tool's…

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The most valuable features of IFS Applications in the latest version are the new user Arena interface. It's from Apps 9, but it brings more flexibility in usage, especially around different devices, such as mobile usage, which doesn't restrict you from using a computer. We are it for the HR side, and it's proving quite good. It has a new modern feel to it similar to a standard cloud application which enhances the user experience."
"Feature-wise, I like the way it provides inventory details...It is a stable solution."
"The financial posting controls are quite handy. The user interface is really friendly, highly flexible, and pretty intuitive for end users."
"The most valuable feature is the distribution module."
"A high level of ERP can be handled in IFS."
"The main reason for the ERP project was to bring together our fourteen sites, which had until then worked in separate silos."
"Some of the strengths are Enterprise Management Solutions and the series of Management solutions which is number one in Gartner's report and has been for the last five years."
"We could quickly understand what was going on and what the customer wanted to do."
"The solution has far more features, processes, and functionalities than we previously had."
"I like SAP's premade workflows for various areas, such as supply chain, procurement, or finance."
"Everyone who uses SAP ERP has benefited from the functionality."
"The solution is very stable."
"The architecture of the solution overall is great. It's great for development, testing, and production. I've worked with solutions where the architecture wasn't as strong and it was a disaster."
"The stability and performance are good."
"The solution can easily be standardized across processes."
"Its integration is most valuable."
"The product's self-service capabilities have benefited our organization."
"Unit4 Business World is a reliable product."
"Unit4 Business World's most valuable feature is flexibility. Its dashboards are easy."
 

Cons

"Ability to place approval check-points in the custom workflow, so clients can decide what they want it."
"An area for improvement would be transactions, which can be tedious to complete as the process is very complex."
"We would like to see AI-driven CSI functions built into the tool that would allow us to quickly tie our improvement goals to metrics and activities, so Assyst will suggest the next steps to help us get closer to our goals."
"I'm a business analyst, so I do a lot of customer-facing work. I take calls from businesses I have to troubleshoot. One thing that bugs me is the error messages you get from IFS. If I get an error message, I have to dig to find the cause because, often, the error message doesn't precisely describe the problem. It'll hint about where the problem lies, but you have to work to find the root cause. It doesn't help in my situation. You expect an error message to point to the field or what is causing the issue."
"Sometimes from the sales perspective, clients don't always fully understand how large a task or a project they're getting involved in when they decide, "We're going to switch across to IFS." They could probably do a little bit more, maybe around preparing people for these projects."
"I have seen that one of the areas that my company has identified for improvement might be the rental management capabilities within the solution."
"IFS Applications can improve the reporting capabilities and increase the speed of feedback time in the IFS Applications. This would help with the overall performance of the solution and provide better experiences for customers."
"The integration is a bit complex, and post-implementation support services need to be improved. They have a service center based out of Sri Lanka. The support aspect is good, but the response time is a little slower than we anticipated. In the next release, it would be better if Warehouse Management could be improvised. They have a product line that's a data warehouse management system, but it's still premature and requires a bit of enhancement."
"The solution is not ready for the current e-commerce environment."
"There is room for improvement in the integration of the solution, especially in the payroll area."
"The flexibility in using the software could improve. I am from a product background and I've been testing a lot of applications, for example, Informatics. The UI, features, and cloud version could improve."
"It could always be cheaper. There is no doubt about it."
"SAP is more expensive than some of its competitors."
"SAP ERP could improve by integrating additional components such as digital signatures and barcoding."
"The reporting could be improved, such as the casework, production, and activity reports. Our consultants in a subsidiary enterprise have requested that we develop a new production report. They could also improve production, financial, and HR analysis."
"ERP could use better integration with other systems."
"Reporting and analytics features must be improved."
"I would like to see direct communication support to engage with clients. The parent company should have a direct relationship with clients. Also, the tool's licensing, upgrade, and maintenance costs should be reduced."
"I would like to see more flexibility in the customization for us to be able to customize it based on the client's requirements."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Ask for all-inclusive pricing, as they are pretty flexible if you ask for custom models."
"There are varying license levels that you can purchase."
"Compared to SAP, the pricing for IFS Applications was very affordable. People using the solution would find that it's worth the money."
"The pricing of the solution may appear to be expensive for smaller companies with only tens of users; however, for larger and mid-size industrial companies, IFS is able to win deals and the pricing is competitive in the market."
"Pricing is an area that could be improved. They could be more competitive."
"IFS Applications are competitive in terms of pricing compared to other vendors, such as SAP, Oracle, and Epicor. They are generally cheaper, especially for licensing costs."
"The product is reasonably priced."
"It is better to buy implementation services from IFS than from partners"
"I rate SAP ERP's pricing a six or seven out of ten."
"There is a one-time license that is needed to use the solution. The support is what is needed to be renewed annually."
"SAP ERP is an expensive tool."
"The pricing is based on the license per user, which I think makes the solution a bit costly...Basically, the prices of the solution are high, and we don't have that much revenue."
"My company makes early payments towards the licensing costs attached to the product. There are no additional costs apart from the charges paid toward the subscription-based license offered by SAP."
"When we talk about pricing it is expensive. On a scale of one to ten, it would rank a two. There are no additional fees but the user licenses are high."
"It could always be cheaper. They don't have a very easy model of licensing, but large entities would get the upper hand in negotiating the license."
"The licensing costs are slightly on the higher side. They need to make it more competitive."
"I rate the solution's pricing a five out of ten."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which ERP solutions are best for your needs.
865,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
19%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Energy/Utilities Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Computer Software Company
11%
Retailer
7%
University
6%
University
27%
Government
13%
Educational Organization
8%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IFS Applications?
Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a nine or ten out of ten since it is an extremely scalable solution that can be...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IFS Applications?
The product is reasonably priced. The costs are justified by the value provided, considering the comprehensive featur...
What needs improvement with IFS Applications?
I am not able to recall much about batch. Documentation-wise, they need more. There is not much available online, and...
Is Anaplan better than SAP ERP?
There are different aspects of both Anaplan and SAP ERP that I like and dislike. Anaplan improves forecast accuracy a...
What do you like most about SAP ERP?
The solution has made the most significant impact on our human resources function, specifically in HR operations and ...
What needs improvement with SAP ERP?
SAP ERP could improve by integrating additional components such as digital signatures and barcoding. Having such feat...
What do you like most about Unit4 Business World?
The product's self-service capabilities have benefited our organization.
What needs improvement with Unit4 Business World?
I would like to see direct communication support to engage with clients. The parent company should have a direct rela...
What is your primary use case for Unit4 Business World?
We use the tool in finance, HR, and procurement.
 

Also Known As

IFS Applications, Assyst, IFS Cloud
No data available
Agresso ERP
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

China Airlines, Electrolux Group, Babcock, Cimcorp, Sky, Multiplex, Veolia. 
B&G Manufacturing, Unilever, Life is good Inc., Joy Global Inc., City of Cape Town, Bhopal Municipal, Corporation (BMC), adidas Group, Butcher & Packer Supply Company, Franklin Valve L.P., Evoshield, Prime Meats, a Norsan Group company, EMC Corporation, Varian Medical Systems Inc., FC Bayern Mªnchen AG, AkzoNobel Chemicals B.V., T¾V Rheinland, Pacific Drilling S.A., Fire & Rescue New South Wales, University of Amsterdam, Pa_alon S.A.
Media Prima Berhad, IKEA, Cranfield University, The Salvation Army, Avis Europe plc, Nando's
Find out what your peers are saying about SAP, Microsoft, Infor and others in ERP. Updated: July 2025.
865,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.