B2B project data sheds new light on SAP versus Oracle debate

Those are among top level findings of a survey by B2B specialist GXS and analyst AMR Research aimed at improving the understanding of relationships between B2B integration and SAP and Oracle ERP projects. Their study also indicates rather different challenges experienced by users of Oracle's applications versus companies running SAP. For example, the study suggests that Oracle users experience more ERP project delays than SAP shops. A spokesperson for GXS comments: "One of the primary conclusions of the research was that a significant number of companies experience ERP project delays due to B2B integration issues. In the case of Oracle, 94% of the companies surveyed experienced an ERP project delay due to B2B. "SAP's situation was slightly better, with only 82% experiencing delays. Although, SAP's numbers are better than Oracle, I think we would all agree that neither vendor should be proud of these results." GXS makes the point that it is not uncommon for a multi-billion dollar manufacturing company to spend $1 million per month on consultants and IT staff to support an ERP project. Consequently, each day that an ERP project is delayed can cost $45,000. And that figure takes no account of the potential benefits and ROI that are inevitably also delayed. Next, however, the study appears to show that SAP projects require more B2B staffing than Oracle initiatives. GXS emphasises that any changes made to an ERP application, either through an upgrade, extension or consolidation project, results in changes to maps, business logic and data quality rules. "In the AMR survey, 47% of respondents were expanding the scope of B2B automation either with new trading partners or additional transactions," says our GXS spokesperson. "Both of these activities require trading partner on-boarding and community change management, which demand considerable time and effort from B2B teams." The study found that 43% of the total B2B integration staff was supporting ERP projects at SAP shops. However, at manufacturers with Oracle applications, 31% of total B2B staff was dedicated to ERP. Why are SAP projects apparently more resource-intensive than Oracle initiatives? GXS suggests: "Although, I have no data points to support the claim, I have found, through experience, that SAP deployments tend to be more complex and ambitious than Oracle implementations. Most of the manufacturing companies I speak with hold SAP projects as a higher priority than merger integration, product launches or new manufacturing plants. "I also think that most Oracle upgrades are currently less ambitious due to the development lifecycle of the applications. A few of the Oracle shops I have spoken to are waiting for the Fusion of the various PeopleSoft, JD Edwards and Oracle e-Business Suite applications to be finished before commencing a major upgrade."