We use the solution as an enterprise application.
CIO & HEAD IT at H-ENERGY
An easy-to-use enterprise solution with features such as high availability and connectivity
Pros and Cons
- "The tool's most valuable features are ease of use, high availability, and connectivity."
- "The product should improve its cost."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
The tool's most valuable features are ease of use, high availability, and connectivity.
What needs improvement?
The product should improve its cost.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the product for two years.
Buyer's Guide
SAP S/4HANA
August 2026
Learn what your peers think about SAP S/4HANA. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: August 2026.
910,956 professionals have used our research since 2012.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I rate the tool's stability a ten out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I rate SAP S/4HANA's scalability a seven out of ten. My company has 2000 users who use it daily.
How was the initial setup?
I rate the tool's ease of deployment an eight out of ten.
What about the implementation team?
A third-party consultant helped us with the deployment.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
SAP S/4HANA is expensive.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We evaluated Oracle before SAP S/4HANA.
What other advice do I have?
I rate the overall product a six out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
SAP MM Consultant at Applexus Technologies Inc.
Offers good stability and can be used in various sectors, including retail and manufacturing
Pros and Cons
- "The initial setup is not complex; it's more at a medium level. Not too easy, but with the right knowledge, you can configure it."
- "The user interface should be much more convenient and user-friendly."
What is our primary use case?
I have been a consultant for SAP retail, SAP Fashion as well as generic. I also have been exposed to many business sectors.
What needs improvement?
The user interface should be much more convenient and user-friendly.
In future releases, there could be more use of AI.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for more than five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution offers good stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I would rate the scalability a nine out of ten. It is reliable. I have a lot of customers using this solution. There are more than 500 end users.
How are customer service and support?
The customer service and support are fast. SAP addressed my tickets quite quickly.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is not complex; it's more at a medium level. Not too easy, but with the right knowledge, you can configure it.
What about the implementation team?
For a migration process, it took around six to seven months, which was the fastest I've done. For implementation projects, it typically takes around one year, sometimes one and a half.
It was implemented in a waterfall approach, and one was brownfield. I would suggest, not from the SAP side, but from the client side, if the hardware components are powerful, the system would run faster. In migration projects, data migration can take a lot of time, so having a reliable server is important.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We recommend annual licensing. It is expensive, but for large-scale companies, it's manageable.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate the solution a nine out of ten. I would say that SAP should make the user interface more user-friendly, which would be a plus point, especially in pre-sales.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Buyer's Guide
SAP S/4HANA
August 2026
Learn what your peers think about SAP S/4HANA. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: August 2026.
910,956 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Co-owner / Board Member at ITS
Very easy to integrate and the new UI is user friendly
Pros and Cons
- "The solution's new UI called Fiori is user friendly."
- "The solution is complex technically because both an old and a new path exist."
What is our primary use case?
Our company implements the solution for customers. It is used for order management, finance, purchasing, and manufacturing. We currently have two customers using the solution.
What is most valuable?
The solution's new UI called Fiori is user friendly.
The solution is very easy to integrate.
What needs improvement?
The solution is complex technically because both an old and a new path exist. Some more development work is needed for Fiori before a complete switchover can happen. Right now, they are enhancing and developing Fiori. In two to five years, things may change because Fiori will be finished and in the market.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support could be better so I rate it a five out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
How was the initial setup?
The setup is complex. We were given instructions but setup was not easy.
What about the implementation team?
We implement the solution for customers. Implementation can take between six months to two years depending on the scope and customer.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing model is based on an annual license.
What other advice do I have?
I recommend the solution for big companies because they have a lot of SAP users and can handle the specs of implementation. I do not recommend the solution for mid-sized or small companies because there won't be enough users or support.
Because two systems are being used within the solution as it iterates over to Fiori, the system is currently very technically complex. A lot of workarounds are needed and this creates a bad experience for customers.
I rate the solution an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Implementer
Associate Manager - Strategy and Transaction at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
The solution is highly scalable, with solid performance and integration
Pros and Cons
- "S/4HANA is so much faster today than it was before. High performance is one of the best features, but the backbone of S/4HANA is its integration capabilities. They've also shifted to a focus on user experience."
- "SAP support provides resolves all our problems, but the response time is slower than our customers expect. Maybe it's because they have such a large customer base and are always occupied, but that's one area all our customers mention."
- "Pricing is one area where S/4HANA has room for improvement. It's too costly for many people."
What is our primary use case?
There are a lot of options for deploying S/4HANA. It depends on the industry and the customer's budget. It is usually deployed on-premise in the public sector, but tech companies mostly choose the cloud option.
SAP provides you with single-tenant and multi-tenant options when you opt for the public cloud. When it is a single tenant, it's typically a private cloud managed by SAP, but the customer's budget also factors in. If they're working with a large budget, a customer might opt for a public cloud, but government clients might opt for a completely on-premise solution because of data security regulations.
Most of our customers plan to move to S/4HANA. We usually start with central finance and later prepare a migration plan. By the time we're ready to deploy, SAP may have released a new version, so the customer might choose the latest edition depending on their budget go for the latest version, or they may only be interested in whatever version was on the market when we were in the planning stage.
What is most valuable?
S/4HANA is so much faster today than it was before. High performance is one of the best features, but the backbone of S/4HANA is its integration capabilities. They've also shifted to a focus on user experience.
The UIs used to be slightly boring, but the user experience has dramatically improved since the acquisition of Sybase, Callidus, and several other companies. SAP stays ahead of the curve and is constantly improving. If you want a feature, they're already working on it. It's one of the best ERP solutions on the market.
What needs improvement?
The ERP market is competitive, and other solutions may have advantages over S/4HANA in some industries. I work in fintech, and central finance is essential to all industries. S/4HANA provides all the features there, but when you talk about ranking the industries, manufacturing would be No. 1.
Initially, S/4HANA was getting bested by PeopleSoft in the HR sector. Now, they are catching up. In particular, SAP wasn't strong in expense management, but they acquired a company last year and Ariba several years back. Their SRM was not hit.
For how long have I used the solution?
We've been using S/4HANA for the last two and a half years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
S/4HANA is stable. Many companies were skeptical because it was costly and untested. It has proven far more stable than people had expected. People thought they would only switch to SAP in 2025 once the solution had matured and provided services, ECC, etc. However, customers are now willing to spend on S/4HANA because they see it's stable and stacks up well against other ERP solutions.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
S/4HANA is highly scalable because of the cloud, and it integrates with various publicly available software, it is highly scalable. S/4HANA has always been scalable, and now you have more ways to scale up with the subscription model as well as the multi-tenant and the single-tenant deployment options. Scalability is never a question.
How are customer service and support?
SAP support provides resolves all our problems, but the response time is slower than our customers expect. Maybe it's because they have such a large customer base and are always occupied, but that's one area all our customers mention.
How was the initial setup?
S/4HANA implementation is always complex because you need to configure it to work with your infrastructure. SAP only provides the license, not hardware, but they will connect you with a partner like HPE or IBM.
It's extremely costly if you ask for SAP to implement it, but you can deploy through some vendor like HCL, TC, Infosys, or Capgemini, and then you need to enlist a hardware partner.
The complexity also varies by industry. If it's a small industry with $40 million of revenue annually, the business processes will be simple. However, deployment is tricky for heavy manufacturing, energy, etc.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Pricing is one area where S/4HANA has room for improvement. It's too costly for many people. They have come up with the subscription-based model also. The annual cost is $3,000 per user.
The only other expense is maintenance, but if you're paying for a subscription, you don't need to pay anything. However, there is a minimum commitment of $100,000.
Maintenance is always calculated as a percentage of your annual spending. For example, if you have implemented the solution, and it costs you $10 million in your first year, roughly 20 to 25 percent will be the operating cost. That is the maintenance fee SAP will charge. You will pay $2 million on a $10 million budget.
You can think of that $2 million as $100,000 you would pay per employee to a team of consultants. If a company is relatively small and only implemented a few million, then we would recommend that they buy SAP business and outsource all the non-SAP activities.
What other advice do I have?
I rate SAP S/4HANA nine out of 10. If you want digitization in your organization, go for it. S/4HANA is advanced and highly integrable. It's one of the best ERP solutions, but it depends on your budget because SAP is always costly.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Consultant
SAP BC CONSULTANT at a consultancy with self employed
A powerful solution with Fiori interface
Pros and Cons
- "We use the solution for a retail customer. As an administrator, my activities involve system installation, troubleshooting, and performance management."
- "The tool could improve development, particularly during upgrades or conversions from ERP systems to the solution. Adapting the code to the new standards can be challenging, especially when customers try to keep their old ERP developments."
What is our primary use case?
We use the solution for a retail customer. As an administrator, my activities involve system installation, troubleshooting, and performance management.
What needs improvement?
The tool could improve development, particularly during upgrades or conversions from ERP systems to the solution. Adapting the code to the new standards can be challenging, especially when customers try to keep their old ERP developments.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the product since 2018.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I rate the tool's stability a ten out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
SAP S/4HANA's scalability is good.
How are customer service and support?
I have contacted SAP's technical support, mainly for incidents rather than during installation. They're about 90% accurate, but sometimes they can be slow or misunderstand the issue.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
The product's deployment is easy and fast. The deployment time varies depending on the scenario and environment. From development to production, it can take a few weeks. Starting the development system doesn't take long if you have all the preparations done - like sizing, setting up the final systems, and accessing them.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The tool's licensing is very expensive. They've changed their licensing model from the old ERP system to a new model using FUEs, which is somewhat better but still expensive.
What other advice do I have?
I'm not directly involved in financial operations. However, from conversations with colleagues in finance, I understand there have been improvements since using the tool. The main challenge is often user resistance to change, as they're used to working with the previous system.
I advise new users to get an overview or take a course to understand the system's capabilities. Preparing the end-users for the implementation is crucial, especially when moving from old systems to new ones.
I rate the product a nine out of ten. It's a really powerful tool that has been improving since around 2016. The improvements in the Fiori interface and its integration with the system are particularly impressive.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Project Manager at EVC
Provides many functionalities and a high level of detail
Pros and Cons
- "SAP has many functionalities and a high level of detail so that you can manage all processes in detail without any issues."
- "It would be very good to merge the SuccessFactors or other solutions with S/4HANA to make it one suite. They could have a single dashboard for all types of products. I have many embedded solutions."
How has it helped my organization?
SAP has many functionalities and a high level of detail so that you can manage all processes in detail without any issues.
What needs improvement?
It would be very good to merge the SuccessFactors or other solutions with S/4HANA to make it one suite. They could have a single dashboard for all types of products. I have many embedded solutions.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using SAP S/4HANA for four years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I rate the solution’s stability a ten out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Six hundred users are using this solution.
I rate the solution’s scalability a nine out of ten.
How are customer service and support?
SAP needs to improve its support. They don't provide a quality response.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have used IBM and Microsoft.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is easy.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There is an additional cost for migration.
What other advice do I have?
Only one consultant is enough for the solution's maintenance.
Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
ABAP HR Consultant at Sapcha
Helps build features that help companies integrate their end-to-end departments
Pros and Cons
- "C4C is a good application of SAP S/4HANA, and it helps many companies."
- "The solution’s pricing could be reduced and made more cost effective."
What is our primary use case?
SAP S/4HANA helps build features and functionalities that help companies integrate their end-to-end departments. A company has different departments, such as sales, finance, and marketing. The solution helps us integrate the data for each of these departments. It also helps the management team get dashboards for different reports.
What is most valuable?
C4C is a good application of SAP S/4HANA, and it helps many companies. Since the solution is now on the cloud, it has many interesting features.
What needs improvement?
The solution’s pricing could be reduced and made more cost effective.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using SAP S/4HANA for eight years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
SAP S/4HANA is a stable solution.
I rate the solution’s stability a nine out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Our clients for the solution are mostly medium-sized businesses.
I rate the solution a nine out of ten for scalability.
How are customer service and support?
The solution's after-sales services and technical support are really good compared to other ERP tools in the market.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
On a scale from one to ten, where one is difficult and ten is easy, I rate the solution's initial setup an eight out of ten.
What about the implementation team?
The solution's implementation takes approximately eight to 12 months. It really depends on the features and functionalities the client is looking for.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution's license cost is on the higher side. Sometimes, many companies are unable to afford SAP S/4HANA and look for cheaper solutions like Oracle and Microsoft.
On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a nine out of ten.
What other advice do I have?
The real-time analytics of SAP S/4HANA supports our clients' decision-making processes. I would recommend the solution to other users. It has features and functionalities that help organizations grow and make good decisions, especially on the management level.
Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
Head it at Ace Designers Limited
Provides excellent features and easily integrates with other systems
Pros and Cons
- "It is easy to integrate the solution with other systems."
- "The initial setup was difficult."
What is our primary use case?
The solution supports our business transformation process.
What is most valuable?
The features related to finance are beneficial for our day-to-day operations. It is easy to integrate the solution with other systems.
What needs improvement?
The initial setup was difficult.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We did not face any problems with the product’s stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I rate the product’s scalability an eight out of ten. We have 500 users in our organization. We use the tool daily.
How was the initial setup?
The deployment took one year.
What about the implementation team?
A third-party integrator helped us with the deployment. We needed 40 people for the deployment and three people for maintenance.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The product is expensive. The price must be improved.
What other advice do I have?
I will recommend the tool to others. It is a good solution. Overall, I rate the product a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
System Architect at marudham software solutions
Streamline financial operations and supply chain management
Pros and Cons
- "The processing time has been reduced, and the screens have become more intuitive, leading to a faster user experience."
- "SAP S/4HANA is a robust front-end solution compared to other web technologies available. However, screen design in SAP EFI might not be as extensive."
What is our primary use case?
We use the solution for transaction purposes.
How has it helped my organization?
SAP S/4HANA has streamlined financial operations and supply chain management.
What is most valuable?
The processing time has been reduced, and the screens have become more intuitive, leading to a faster user experience. Additionally, the integration has improved by 30%. The introduction of new tools, including cellular apps, has made system configuration and readiness much simpler. Compared to previous versions, the latest upgrades offer enhanced features and pre-configured solutions, making them highly beneficial.
What needs improvement?
SAP S/4HANA is a robust front-end solution compared to other web technologies available. However, screen design in SAP EFI might not be as extensive.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using SAP S/4HANA for one year.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
200 users are using this solution. SAP S/4HANA is scalable, and the availability of support from others reassures us that scalability shouldn't be a problem.
How are customer service and support?
When seeking assistance, we typically prefer to hold an annual company support conference. When requesting support, we ask for the SCC and some additional support.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
How was the initial setup?
The solution is easy to configure.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The product is affordable.
What other advice do I have?
SAP S/4HANA has improved the response time of all applications. This improvement was noticeable within just two months of implementation.
Developing a system can be time-consuming, but once it's developed, a set of licensing elements is in place. Companies in India do not extensively utilize solution management. Consequently, we face challenges in storing documentation alongside our projects within the system. Exploring alternative methods for storing these documents within the project would be beneficial. However, it's important to note that companies in India may not prioritize solution management as extensively as elsewhere.
The data consistency and integration have been addressed effectively. This has greatly supported us without extensive customization regarding invoicing and other features within SAP.
SAP S/4HANA is more like an extensive, sophisticated system than a giant airline. It's designed to handle large-scale operations efficiently. While it's true that smaller businesses may find it more challenging to adopt due to its complexity and cost, many mid-sized and large enterprises are utilizing it. Different deployment options are available, such as on-premise or cloud-based solutions catering to various business needs. Additionally, while SAP S/4HANA is primarily known for its ERP capabilities, it also offers modules for HR management. However, some industries have found the HR implementation process to be cumbersome.
Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Practice Head at Panfish
Helps us provide customers with better visibility, forecasting, and smart data for decision-making, but the pricing should be more flexible
Pros and Cons
- "We leverage the finance and add-on modules of SAP S/4HANA, including Alibaba integration, CRM integration, and production planning. These features are highly configurable and provide excellent visibility into our systems. While I appreciate the introduction of in-memory computing as a feature, I haven't had the opportunity to delve deep into this feature."
- "It would be beneficial if the pricing structure could be made more flexible and adaptable to suit the needs of different organizations.Besides this the scalability also needs consideration improvement. I believe support could be improved by providing more specific and detailed answers rather than generic responses."
What is our primary use case?
We've integrated SAP S/4HANA into our implementation projects for customers, not internally. We use SAP S/4HANA for real-time analytics and decision-making.
How has it helped my organization?
It helps us provide customers with better visibility, forecasting, and smart data for decision-making. This streamlines our business processes, enhancing operational efficiency, saving costs, and providing a 360-degree view of our business processes.
What is most valuable?
We leverage the finance and add-on modules of SAP S/4HANA, including Alibaba integration, CRM integration, and production planning. These features are highly configurable and provide excellent visibility into our systems. While I appreciate the introduction of in-memory computing as a feature, I haven't had the opportunity to delve deep into this feature.
What needs improvement?
It would be beneficial if the pricing structure could be made more flexible and adaptable to suit the needs of different organizations. Besides this, the scalability also needs improvement.
I believe support could be improved by providing more specific and detailed answers rather than generic responses.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using SAP S/4HANA for the past six years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability could be made easier. While it's theoretically scalable, there are practical challenges and complexities that could be addressed for better flexibility and scalability.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support needs to improve.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
How was the initial setup?
The installation is not very simple, rather complex and dependent on the systems. The maintenance can be challenging due to frequent product changes and a lack of subject matter experts for quality support. It's essential to have a strategic approach to understand product changes before implementing them to ensure stability.
What other advice do I have?
SAP S/4HANA has its pros and cons like any other product. It offers a lot of features, particularly the robust finance module and supply chain capabilities. However, there are areas like HR processes that could use improvement. Overall, it's a good product that competes well based on factors such as pricing, flexibility, scalability, and configuration options. I will rate it seven out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Integrator
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Updated: August 2026
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