Additional Linux boost

Companies that are either using S/4 Hana productively or are in the middle of the S/4 transformation are increasing in number. This is also confirmed by recent surveys conducted by the SAP user association DSAG. And this is true of both large enterprises and midsize companies.

What is less or hardly known is that the Business One solution (or B1 for short) for smaller mid-sized companies has been on a steep growth path for years now. Experts estimate the number of B1 installations worldwide at around 100,000 (!).

SAP Business One was designed with the idea that smaller companies also need ERP software to manage their business. However, this should not contain complex functional components such as those found in large ERP suites.

10,000 Suse B1 installations

Companies from numerous industries rely on B1. The customer base also includes a number of corporate groups. Especially those with subsidiaries or branches abroad, which are keen to provide their branches with their "own" application system. Often for historical and political reasons.

In other words, S/4 Hana (or ERP/ECC) is used at headquarters and B1 or SAP Business One on Hana at the branch offices. What is referred to here and there as the hub-and-spoke concept. It is important to know that there are far-reaching system application couplings of the two SAP solutions (for example, in the context of financials/consolidation).

It is a fact that recently the general demand for B1 on Hana has steadily increased. At the moment, SAP Business One is available in version 10.0 with a number of innovations compared to the previous version. One of these is a Fiori-style web client. Incidentally, SAP Business One can be used in both one-premises and cloud operation.

The further spread of B1 on Hana is also associated with an additional penetration of Linux. As is well known, the Linux operating system is specified by SAP in conjunction with the Hana in-memory database and has steadily increased in popularity with customers as "Hanaization" has intensified.

Two years ago, 6,000 SAP customers were using B1 under Suse Linux Enterprise for SAP Applications, which is considered the recommended operating system platform throughout the SAP environment. By July 2020, that figure had risen to a whopping 10,000, which represents an increase of 67 percent. It should be noted that Suse Linux Enterprise is the only Linux system certified for SAP B1 Hana use.
Need-based support

SAP Business One is sold almost exclusively by SAP partners and installed/implemented at customers' premises with application software and hardware including operating system in the sense of a general contractor (including maintenance). For this reason, Suse also works with numerous B1 partners or provides them with needs-based support.

For example, the Suse partner program provides preconfigured software images. In addition, technical Linux best-in-class training for companies with recognized Suse Academy certifications. These are customized online training courses that contribute to a better understanding of the solution.

The program also includes a profit-sharing discount for deal registrations. Partners can also use a Suse installation wizard, which is an efficient and optimized automation tool for the implementation of SAP Business One on Hana under Suse Linux Enterprise.