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Brief on ERP system giants ORACLE & SAP

With Critical Comparison between the two.
The Enterprise Resource Planning System is a software
package that was specially designed to help companies to run
their businesses better. It consists of many modules. Each of
the modules is used at different departments within one
corporation. All those modules are interconnected with each
other in one coherent system.

Both SAP and Oracle have demonstrated over the last couple
of decades that each had sufficient ability to adapt to the
changing economic climate during the late 1980's through
1990s.

By 2007 Oracle had the third-largest software revenue, after

Microsoft and IBM.

SAP is the world's third-largest independent software vendor.

ORACLE found by Mr. Larry Ellison
 Mr. Larry Ellison and his management team have grown Oracle Corporation from a
purely database company into a purveyor of software components including
middleware, development tools, and ERP/CRM/HRMS.

 Data Collection Advantage reduces transaction time by more than 80 percent by

providing Oracle with accurate information in real time.

 As became apparent with the acquisition of PeopleSoft in January 2005, Oracle has
made acquisitions an important component of a growth strategy.

 Internet integration means that data collection can be supported across virtually any
device that connects to the Internet, allowing Data Collection Advantage to support
mobile terminals and desktops in places where corporate networks are not available.

 The oracle company keeps upgrading and releasing new products into market, new
versions releases which serves better than the earlier versions and thus the performance
is improved much in later versions and thereby retaining the market growth and thus
proves greater satisfaction to the customers using this technology. Thus the advantage
of a higher version is that one would have more features and better capabilities.

 Oracle is a major database which along with its added features passes the ACID test,
which is important in insuring the integrity of data. This is very important because data
is the heart of any system in organization.
Data Collection Advantage Transactions for Oracle ERP*
 Receiving
 Put-away
 Inventory transfers
 Inventory issues and receipts
 Inventory inquiries
 WIP moves and completions
 WIP issues and returns
 Picking
 Shipping
 Cycle count/physical inventory
And many more!
* For discrete and process Manufacturing

Utilizing Data Collection Advantage for Oracle, companies can quickly gain a
competitive advantage through the following:

 Fast response to customer demands

 Direct links to vendors and customers

 Inventory control throughout the supply chain

SAP is a product developed and marketed by the
German company SAP AG
 SAP is a German acronym for "Systemanalyse und Programmentwicklung,"
which can be loosely translated into "Systems and Application Products."
Founded in 1972 by IBM application developers, SAP AG originally developed
application products for the European marketplace.

 The SAP R/3 system runs on virtually any hardware/software platform and can
use many different database management systems.
• IBM DB2 Express Edition & • Microsoft SQL Server

 Since SAP is database-independent, the SAP architecture requires the

database to be defined as a part of the initial SAP installation. Once defined,
the SAP programs (ABAP programs) will generate SQL that is compliant with
the target database product.

 SAP MaxDB is the DBMS developed and supported by SAP AG. It is available
for MS Windows, Linux, Unix. Today more than 13,000 SAP customers run SAP
MaxDB and SAP liveCache installations, proving SAP MaxDB's reliability,
scalability and availability for configurations of all sizes.
 While SAP can be run with many different database products, nearly 85%
of SAP customers now choose Oracle because of its dominance in the
database marketplace.

 The SAP R/3 code is written in an interpretive language called ABAP.

(ABAP is a German acronym that, loosely translated, means "Advanced
Business Application Programming.")

 The SAP R/3 application offers end users the ability to run their entire
business from a single application vendor. Some SAP customers choose to
run their entire enterprise from SAP, while others run SAP only for
specific business processes, such as manufacturing or finance.

 When an SAP application is purchased with Oracle, each of the modules

is delivered with a complete Oracle schema consisting of thousands of
tables and indexes.

 While SAP is available for many different hardware platforms and

operating systems, the majority of SAP systems use Unix-based servers for
hosting SAP and the Oracle database.
ABOUT
The world second-largest software supplier ORACLE
was founded in 1977 in the United States and by 1999 the
company was serving 5000 clients in over 140 countries.
Oracle is well known for their database systems rather than
enterprise resource planning system. It is rating as the
second ERP package vendor after SAP on the ERP market.
Oracle has a reputation as a company with strong software
support, a large financial budget and stable position among
the competitors. At the same time the corporate culture of
Oracle is conservative on benefits from revenues. Which
causes such problems as inflexibility and slow
implementation of their ERP products. In other words, the
company lacks partners and consultants for technical
expertise.
ABOUT
The main player on ERP market is the German company SAP
(Systems, Application, and Products in Data processing) which
was founded in 1972. It was the first time in software history
that a company outside of the United States had gained such
success. In 1999 SAP had more than twice as many customers as
Oracle in 100 countries around the world. Unlike Oracle, SAP
decided to work in close collaboration with many other
companies. The company success derives from the fact that SAP
invests 20 percent of the profit on research and shares 80
percent of the total revenues with their alliance partners.
Moreover, SAP has many consultants who provide help and
training to their customers. And there are even third party
developers who supply a large number of add-in programs that
can work together with SAPs products. As a result, customers
enjoy more flexible and fast implementation of their ERP
systems. There is no doubt about why SAP became a leader.
CRITICAL COMPARISION
Latest Version 11g Latest Version R/3
Next Launch :
Oracle E-Business Suite The client-server concept,
Release 12.1 uniform appearance of
graphical interfaces,
consistent use of relational
databases, and the ability
to run on computers from
different vendors meets
with overwhelming
approval
 For companies whose  For industries that experience
sustainable competitive less dramatic changes, perhaps
advantage rests on an ability to SAP is an acceptable solution.
change direction and adapt
quickly to external pressures,
Oracle Applications, with its
flexibility and configurability, is
a better choice.
 If the company is limited in
 The company with distinguished resources and restrained in time
values which creates a the best solution would be to go
competitive advantage would for SAP products.
prefer to choose the Oracle to
build a unique system that will
fit well to their businesses.
 Oracle Corporation started as a  SAP began its life as an ERP
tools company. company.

 Today Oracle has become a  Today SAP is still an ERP

much different entity. company that some see as
"innovation free,"

Larry Ellison and his The SAP system is a collection of

management team have grown software that performs standard
Oracle Corporation from a business functions for
purely database company into a corporations.
purveyor of software
components including
middleware, development tools,
and ERP/CRM/HRMS.
Oracle became popular as a
manufacturer of developing
products that can be easily
integrated with other
models from other vendors,
enabling them to build a
best of breed system.
Oracle offers a strong
enterprise system that is
able to accommodate more
than 1000 users
The downside of the SAPs
ERP systems is that the
SAP vendor forces its
customers to change or
adapt their corporate
culture to match how SAP
software works.
Whereas the ERP package
from SAP can be scaled
from 25 to 1000 users.
An organization that needs to be adaptable due to
market force changes, industry restructuring, or
regulatory/governance requirements must be able to
partner with a company that will be equally
adaptable in its ERP offerings. A case in point is Dell
Computers whose management, in an effort to
maintain a competitive advantage, designed
innovative manufacturing and distribution
processes that could not be accommodated by the
existing SAP system. Did Dell upgrade to a new
version of SAP? Did it customize the existing SAP
installation? No, Dell migrated to Oracle
Applications.

 Fusion Middleware 11g makes its
debut
 Next-generation adaptability
 Next-generation productivity
 Next-generation manageability
 Oracle acquires Sun Microsystems
 Oracle can now compete one on 
one worldwide with IBM on
everything from chips to business
process software, particularly with financing, the use of new technology, and
solutions made up of integrated
hardware-software stacks.
 Virtual Iron acquisition
 With the acquisition, Oracle
appeared to be gravitating toward  SAP acquired Business Objects
a new customer base, given that
Virtual Iron caters to small and
medium-sized businesses.
 NetWeaver technology for SAP user but
with some more investment.
 SAP is providing our customers with
solutions for end-to-end business
processes. With SAP NetWeaver, your
company can integrate people,
information, and processes within the
company and beyond.
SAP and PlaNet Finance will work
together to improve the microfinance
sector through a combination of micro
the creation of value-chain extensions
that can help entrepreneurs at the base of
the economic pyramid create sustainable
business models.
 Together, SAP and Business Objects,
an SAP company, offers the industry's
most comprehensive portfolio of
business performance and
optimization solutions for companies
of all sizes.
 Oracle's decision to  It is composed of a single, virtual file
raise its list prices by 15% to 20% is structure with no subsystems.
cause for concern for both existing
and prospective customers. But there
are opportunities to offset those
hikes, according to industry analysts.
 Oracle's new price list, updated June
16, includes increased pricing for its  No hardware purchase or
new 11g database Enterprise Edition maintenance costs.
(from $40,000 to $47,500 per CPU)
and for BEA Weblogic, now named
Oracle's lead app server (from $17,000
to $25,000 per CPU).
 Internet integration means that data
collection can be supported across
virtually any device that connects to  In addition, SAP has released “
the Internet, allowing Data Collection MySAP.com” which is software that
Advantage to support mobile provides for data interaction and
terminals and desktops in places processing connections with the
where corporate networks are not Web.
available.
 Consistency:
The database is transformed from
one valid state to another valid state.
Illegal transactions aren't allowed
and, if an integrity constraint can't
be satisfied then the transaction is
rolled back. 
 Isolation:
The results of a transaction are
invisible to other transactions until
the transaction is complete thus
increasing the security on data.  capabilities for
 Durability:
Once committed (completed), the
results of a transaction are
permanent and survive future
system and media failures and thus
ensuring maintenance and
protection of data.
 It provides for a "single data entry
point" where the data entered from
any location is instantly sent to all
other appropriate modules in the
ERP system.
 Available in 14 different languages
(German, English, Spanish, etc.)
and also incorporates multiple
currency features that provide
essential information processing
multinational
corporations
 It provides check writing capability
in its Accounts Receivable
component which very few other
programs offer.
 INDUSTRIES  INDUSTRIES
 Banking  Banking
 Communications  Defense & Security
 Financial Services  Healthcare
 Health Sciences

 Higher Education & Research
High Technology
 Insurance  Insurance
 Public Sector  Public Sector
 Retail  Aerospace & Defense
 Utilities 

Automotive
AutoVue Enterprise Visualization 
 Business Process Outsourcing
Chemicals
  Consumer Products
Customer Relationship Management
 Enterprise Performance Management  Engineering, Construction & Operations
 Product Lifecycle Management  High Tech
 Project Portfolio Management  Industrial Machinery & Components
 Supply Chain Management 

Life Sciences
Transportation Management 
 Financial Management
Mill Products
  Mining
Governance, Risk & Compliance Management
 Human Capital Management  Oil & Gas
 Aerospace and Defense  Retail
 Automotive  Tele communications
 Chemicals  Media
 Consumer Goods  Professional Services
 Education and Research
  Travel & Logistics Services
Engineering and Construction
 Industrial Manufacturing  Utilities
 Media and Entertainment  Wholesale Distribution
 Natural Resources
Oracle is used for almost all large application and one
of the main applications in which oracle takes its
major presence is banking. In fact ten of the world’s
top 10 banks run Oracle applications this is because
oracle offers a powerful combination of technology
and comprehensive, pre-integrated business
applications, including key functionality built
specifically for banks.
SULABH SINGH, MBA - IB 1st SEM, ABS-
LUCKNOW
SULABH SINGH, MBA - IB 1st SEM, ABS-
LUCKNOW
Financials Applications
 The SAP Financials applications contain all of the functionality needed
for enterprise-wide financial management. The modules within the
Financials applications include the following:
 Financial Accounting (FI)
 Provides a complete financial accounting solution, including income
statements, balance sheets, journals, ledgers, and all areas of financial
accounting.
 Enterprise Controlling (EC)
 Assists in controller tasks.
 Capital Investment Management (IM)
 Assists finance organizations in their capital investments and tracking.
 Controlling (CO)
 Assists the controller organization.
 Treasury (TR)
 Assists with transactions related to the U.S. Treasury.
Human Resources Applications
The SAP Human Resources (HR) applications are designed
to provide a fully functioning HR system. They include two
primary modules:
 Personnel Administration (PA)
 Assists with all areas of personnel administration, including applicant
tracking and personnel history.
 Personnel Development (PD)
 Assists with training and educational status of employees.

These systems handle all of the mundane HR tasks, such as

personnel and payroll, and also a number of more esoteric
HR functions, such as seminar and convention
management.
Logistics Applications
 The SAP Logistics applications include SAP's most popular modules. Logistics
was the first area of entry for SAP. This includes virtually every area of
manufacturing, from the initial acquisition of raw materials to the delivery of
finished goods. The modules in this area include the following products:
 Materials Management (MM)
 Manages raw materials, inventory, and all aspects of goods manufacturing.
 Production Planning (PP)
 Offers sophisticated tools for planning large production environments.
 General Logistics (LO)
 Manages logistics for companies that require large-scale deployment of goods and
resources.
 Sales and Distribution (SD)
 Manages the inventory and distribution of finished goods.
 Plant Maintenance (PM)
 Manages the resources required for large manufacturing plants.
 Quality Management (QM)
 Captures and maintains quality control for manufacturing environments.
 Project System (PS)
 Assists with the scheduling of project tasks and interdependencies between tasks.
The SAP R/3 System Architecture
All SAP R/3 applications are delivered in a three-tier
client/server architecture, shown in Figure.
The three layers are:
Presentation layer
 The PC-based GUI interface that is used by the end-user
community.
Application layer
 The SAP application servers that service requests for data and
manage the interface to the presentation layer.
Database layer
 The actual DBMS that communicates with the application
servers to fulfill their requests for data.
 THANK YOU !

SULABH SINGH, MBA - IB 1st SEM, ABS-

LUCKNOW