SAP S/4HANA Cloud is a modular cloud ERP software designed for every business need – powered by AI and analytics. SAP S/4HANA Cloud enables users to run mission-critical operations in real time from anywhere, introduce new business models in an industry, and expand globally. It can be deployed either on premise, in the cloud, or in a hybrid combination for quicker time-to-value.
$0
per month FUE users*
Zuora
Score 6.2 out of 10
N/A
Zuora is one of the best-known subscription billing platforms. Zuora is an enterprise-level product and, as such, provides comprehensive metrics, tax automation, and support for multiple currencies. It also offers Salesforce and NetSuite integration out-of the-box. It often replaces cumbersome ERP (enterprise resource planning) systems that does not focus exclusively on billing.
N/A
Pricing
SAP S/4HANA Cloud
Zuora
Editions & Modules
SAP S/4HANA Cloud
Custom Pricing
per month FUE users*
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
SAP S/4HANA Cloud
Zuora
Free Trial
Yes
No
Free/Freemium Version
No
No
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
Yes
No
Entry-level Setup Fee
Required
No setup fee
Additional Details
* FUE = Full user equivalent, which allows flexible customer choice among: 1 Advanced user, 3 Core-users, or 30 self-service users per FUE. Minimum purchase is 35 FUEs.
SAP S/4HANA Cloud selection depends on the need of the organization in the end-to-end processes. E.g. in the travel industry client of ours, the tracking of the usage of air travel was key for the subscription-based charging and billing and thus SAP BRIM on top of SAP S/4HANA …
SAP S/4HANA Cloud leverages an in-memory database, allowing for real-time data processing and analytics. This enables organizations to make informed decisions based on up-to-the-minute information S/4HANA Cloud integrates various business modules, including finance, procurement, sales, manufacturing, and supply chain. This integration facilitates seamless data flow across different functional areas
Zuroa is very well-suited for B2B businesses that primarily have a subscription stream of revenue. It is less appropriate for B2C and retail, if you are only selling one-time products or services, this tool would be overkill and confusing instead of helpful. However, if you need to recognize revenue from subscriptions over the service period, Zuora is a lifesaver.
The implementation of Zuora is very helpful. Their interactive training guides are one of the best I've used. It is very thorough and any salesperson can learn how to use it very quickly.
Their subscription management offers many ways to sell a subscription. These subscriptions can be evergreen (renewing every month) or termed subscriptions. The subscriptions can be amended to add/remove products very easily.
The ability to quickly pass through large amounts of usage data for our clients is allowing us to perform billing in a time-effective manner. Once usage data is loaded, a few clicks and all of the invoices for our client base can be generated. Invoices are clean and detailed which help us maintain a good customer experience even with our somewhat complex billing model. The reporting is extremely helpful in calculating the end of month commissions, recognizing and deferring revenue, and overall bookkeeping.
The complex integration we have with ERPs make it difficult to move or upgrade to SAP S4 HANA. Reimplementing all integrations and not impact business is a challenge
Requires a lot of tedious testing so that no role or function is impacted
Very time consuming to implement or upgrade. For large corporations it would take years to slowly migrate to S4HANA
User Interface - Zuora's UI is still a weak point, however, this is negated through the use of its API's. Zuora has done a lot of work in releasing new products to limit its UI experience and the addition of Orders allows for more functionality to reduce the UI issue.
Complex system - This is both a pro and a con, but in this instance, it is a con because we may not have taken the time to truly understand the implications of all the options that were available. the Flexibility is great however if you do not take the time to understand the product and what problem you are trying to solve, you can make life difficult for yourself later down the track. Take the time to map out your approach end to end and ensure your assumptions at the start are robust.
Reporting - reporting is weak as such we have moved away to our own reporting data warehouse.
The cost of SAP as an ERP is quite high and the switching costs associated with ERP systems are even higher. That being said moving from one ERP to another only happens once in a great while for large organizations. Those switching costs include retraining, IT hardware requirements, outside consultants and more
Our business is now, more than ever, focused on our core business rather than homegrown support tools for quoting, contracts, billing, invoicing, payments and the rest of the subscription economy. We evaluated other solutions and found this the best and most viable solution given the strong ties to Salesforce and it's integration. Zuora works, and it works well.
The system features a contemporary and visually appealing interface, promoting a more engaging user experience.
Role-Based Access:
Users access role-specific dashboards and functionalities, ensuring a personalized experience tailored to their responsibilities.
Intuitive Navigation:
Streamlined menus and navigation paths contribute to an intuitive user experience, reducing the learning curve for new users.
Responsive Design:
The platform is designed to be responsive across various devices, allowing users to access information and perform tasks on desktops, tablets, or mobile devices
I had 20+ years of accounting experience before taking on the revenue role. I had several things to [learn] but was able to easily master the software in a matter of weeks. Zuora is our preferred billing platform that we currently use - very efficient and much more automated than our other platform/process.
There have only been a few days/instances in the past 2.5 years of using zuora that I, personally have had issues or been notified of issues relating to Zuora.
Zuora does a superb job for all the tasks I use it for. Billing - it is trustworthy and accurate. Customer data- it holds it and keeps past records for even cancelled accounts, and subscription builds - it has the ability to make very difficult subscriptions seem easy.
The technical support received by the ITT design teams and OS implementation team has been very useful in ensuring that the SAP ERP is well-tailored to our company's specific needs and operations. This coupled with the training materials, business process maps, and concept demos (sand-box demos) makes adoption easy on end-users.
A support request is emailed to their support team, then an automated response is sent to you in a couple hours saying "Hey, someone will take a look at your support request soon". Then somewhere around 12-18 hours later, an actual support member responds with "Have you checked out our tutorials? Here's one that sounds like it might help you". I don't want a tutorial given to me that I've already read through that only exists because of the terrible user design of Zuora's user interface
Implementation was as expected. We had minor issues with our Z* transactions, but nothing special. Some tables were extended and needed regeneration. Overall satisfactions is good.
I think Zuora did a great job. However, they could have provided more guidance on how to deal with out Payment Gateway and Processor provider, as well as guidance around providing a Mobile Responsive experience for sites using the Zuora HPM.
In our quest for an ERP solution, we evaluated alternatives such as Oracle ERP Cloud and Microsoft Dynamics 365. However, SAP S/4HANA Cloud's reputation for advanced analytics, scalability, and seamless integration with other SAP solutions made it the natural choice for our organization's digital journey.
In its focused area of subscription management, Zuora does well against competitors. There are some aspects of the tool that appear to attempt to be more "platform" oriented, but fall off quickly. NetSuite and SFDC are not reporting tools, but they look great when compared to Zuora in this regard. Zuora has scripting capabilities thru REST and SOAP (deprecated), but I have found it to be confusing and not particularly useful; much of the documentation and KB seems out-of-date or just plain wrong.
Cost Savings and Lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO):
While the initial implementation costs might be significant, the centralized data management and automation features can lead to cost savings over time. This might be achieved through reduced manual labor, better inventory control, optimized procurement processes, and streamlined operations, resulting in a lower TCO.
Better Visibility and Compliance:
The system's ability to offer comprehensive data visibility can enhance compliance efforts, mitigating risks and ensuring adherence to regulatory requirements. This can lead to reduced fines or penalties related to non-compliance issues.
