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Microsoft Dynamics AX vs SAP Business ByDesign 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Dynamics AX
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
59
Ranking in other categories
ERP (6th), Activity Based Costing Software (4th)
SAP Business ByDesign
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
16
Ranking in other categories
Cloud ERP (6th)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Enterprise Resource Planning solutions, they serve different purposes. Microsoft Dynamics AX is designed for ERP and holds a mindshare of 3.1%, down 6.1% compared to last year.
SAP Business ByDesign, on the other hand, focuses on Cloud ERP, holds 4.3% mindshare, down 9.4% since last year.
ERP Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Dynamics AX3.1%
SAP ERP10.4%
SAP S/4HANA6.3%
Other80.2%
ERP
Cloud ERP Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
SAP Business ByDesign4.3%
Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP18.8%
NetSuite ERP17.6%
Other59.3%
Cloud ERP
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2765214 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Sales Support Supervisor at a manufacturing company with 501-1,000 employees
Has required ongoing support and modernization but effectively manages core operations and complex workflows
Microsoft Dynamics AX is a very strong ERP system, applicable for customizations to help companies and organizations streamline their processes. The specific feature I find most valuable about Microsoft Dynamics AX is the applicable permissions. There are many levels of security and permissions for each user to monitor and access specific data relative to their functions. Additionally, the linkage and transition between exploring and moving from window to window, from function to function is valuable. The impact of Microsoft Dynamics AX on managing financial processes is significant. It's a very important element for financial departments as it represents all transactions, references, and records. The adjustments and availability to create more than one virtual company allow large companies, which combined represent one group of companies, to connect and streamline their financials and operations.
MS
Divisional Manager IT at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Valuable features enhance sales and service capabilities while performance improvements are needed
We received a few complaints about the slowness in SAP Business ByDesign last year, so I think SAP can focus on improving performance, particularly when it becomes slow during data saving and handling. My feedback about the modular architecture and customized features of SAP Business ByDesign is that it is only good, but we have not explored much on this one. The initial setup for SAP Business ByDesign was complex. One disadvantage was that we had the legacy system, SAP Business One, and we could not migrate our data to SAP Business ByDesign. They should have provided a migration path.

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 feature of Microsoft Dynamics AX is that it fulfills our requirements. We haven't had any issues with performance."
"It was an okay solution when we delivered hardware and we had to do maintenance."
"The stability is very good."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Dynamics AX is that it fulfills our requirements, and we haven't had any issues with performance."
"In terms of features, GP offers a wide range of strong capabilities, particularly in the financial module."
"The most valuable feature is the workflow of the modules."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Dynamics AX is material planning."
"In current cloud environments, I like the scalability; the security is very strong; we have found the flexibility and the configuration potential of the solution to be very good, and the stability is very good."
"The most valuable features of Business ByDesign are the integration of its modules, analytics, and dashboards."
"When we were using it, we did see an immediate benefit, especially in the inventory on consignment issue. We were a biotech pre-revenue company and most of our manufacturing was outsourced. So being able to track inventory within the system without creating a financial impact was very key for us."
"ByDesign's best features are its speed, real-time data, and reporting."
"I like its modern approach. It is very modern and new technology."
"The most valuable features of SAP Business ByDesign are customer invoicing and cost and revenue, from which I get the data for my project reports."
"The most valuable feature is the feature called Financial Closing Cockpit. This feature allows us to monitor our accounting and processing closely."
"It could be used for any financial use case; production companies can use it, wholesale distributors can use it, and any professional services company can use it."
"The most helpful feature is the integrations. Integrating the tool with SAP S/4HANA Cloud is easy, facilitating implementation and deployment. The runtime analysis checks for real-time analytics to see if the software works properly. This is a powerful feature."
 

Cons

"There is no Arabic interface in Microsoft Business Central, which is a big weak point."
"Microsoft Dynamics AX can improve system performance and security. The security is basic and needs a lot of improvement."
"Even with the POS version, if we go above a certain limit, we can have performance issues."
"The product takes some training to get up to speed on all functionality and modules in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 ERP system."
"Microsoft needs more presence in our region to help with management and maintenance."
"The 2012 version is obsolete, and we don't have any support for it."
"Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 ERP systems development and customizations can be quite expensive to implement."
"Microsoft Dynamics AX can improve by having a more modern user interface. It should be more modular and dynamic. Additionally, the solution could be easier to connect with APIs with other technologies."
"ByDesign could be improved by making screen modifications easier."
"I would say budget controlling needs improvement. I mention this because it does not have all the functionalities that we need in terms of managing the budget."
"The Arabic localization is neglected. It should have an Arabic interface. It lacks Arabic translation or support from right to left."
"The Purchase to Pay process could benefit from further sophistication and additional functionality. It would be helpful for the user community to receive clearer information about the future roadmap of the business. Unfortunately, there were some confusing articles in the German press towards the end of last year about the future of SAP Business ByDesign. Therefore, more clarity is needed in the support function to address this."
"SAP Business ByDesign is a very vast product, but it has to be a bit more centralized. All the models need to be more centralized for a better experience."
"The solution does not support customization for forms and reports. It's not flexible in case you need some enhancements in business processes."
"The database needs to be more customizable."
"SAP Business ByDesign can improve the flexibility and user-friendliness of the reporting during the implementations. Customizing the reports inside the device requires a lot of knowledge and most of the time a developer level is needed. For example, if you want to have a more specific reporting layout."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is expensive."
"One license costs $1,000."
"Microsoft Dynamics AX is not expensive."
"The tool's licensing model is based on user subscription. The pricing needs to be reduced for the Indian and South Asian markets."
"We pay for licensing yearly to use Microsoft Dynamics AX."
"It's too expensive for customers to take this on themselves. As partners, we will buy this on behalf of the customers and then charge this value for each project."
"The initial investment cost goes up due to the hidden cost."
"The price of the solution could benefit from being less expensive."
"We have to pay yearly."
"The tool’s pricing is expensive."
"The cost starts anywhere between fifty thousand dollars and up depending on the number of licenses."
"The tool’s subscription is yearly. There is no flat pricing involved and everything has a range. Pricing depends on the functionality that you would use. You need to also pay for the additional hosting and maintenance costs."
"Everything is included in the licensing cost of the solution. However, they use a per-user model for additional charges."
"I rate the price of SAP Business ByDesign a seven out of ten."
"The pricing depends on company size. It's cheaper for small companies and more expensive for large ones."
"The price of the solution could be better. They have to come up with a new strategy."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Retailer
6%
Healthcare Company
11%
Construction Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business30
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise17
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise5
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Microsoft Dynamics AX?
I think the integration capabilities of Microsoft Dynamics AX need to be enhanced. There are many features for integration, such as APIs and connectors, but I need more ready APIs that link directl...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Dynamics AX?
For industrial companies, I mainly use Microsoft Dynamics AX for those processes. Most of my clients are manufacturing clients, so I work with food industries, steel industries, plastic industries,...
What do you like most about SAP Business ByDesign?
The most valuable features of SAP Business ByDesign are customer invoicing and cost and revenue, from which I get the data for my project reports.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SAP Business ByDesign?
The price is high, as every year SAP increases the price by 3.5%.
What needs improvement with SAP Business ByDesign?
We received a few complaints about the slowness in SAP Business ByDesign last year, so I think SAP can focus on improving performance, particularly when it becomes slow during data saving and handl...
 

Also Known As

Dynamics AX, Axapta, MS Dynamics AX
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

ConQuaestor, D & H Distributing, Sunny Queen, Mesa Associates, Britax Childcare, Ibema, Arafa, Sabo S.p.A.
Standard Bank of South Africa, AOK Bundesverband, PT XL Axiata Tbk, Tvoy Dom, Schaidt Innovations GmbH & Co. KG, DeLaval International AB, EMC Corporation, Lenovo, Castle Importing Inc., Unilever, Rifle Paper Co., RAK Ceramics, Rough Country, B&G Manufacturing, Life is good Inc., Joy Global Inc., City of Cape Town
Find out what your peers are saying about SAP, Oracle, Microsoft and others in ERP. Updated: March 2026.
885,789 professionals have used our research since 2012.