Mainstream maintenance for SAP Business One 9.3, both for MS SQL and SAP HANA, ended on June 30th, 2020. Patch level 14 was released in the middle of June 2020 and marked the last patch update for SAP Business One 9.3 all up. While SAP will continue to provide 3rd level support, enhancements and corrections will no longer be implemented in release 9.3. As a result, SAP B1 customers should be looking at upgrading to release 10.0, where the entirety of new features and fixes will be.
Alongside a more intuitive user interface and the introduction of several modern features, SAP Business One 10.0 includes a web client focused on creating, processing, and updating Sales Quotes, Sales Orders, A/R Deliveries, and A/R Invoices – with sophisticated analytic capabilities. Chances are, you’ll want to make a move to SAP Business One 10.0 sooner rather than later so you can enjoy the benefits of a harmonized user experience and prevent any interruptions in data, operations, third-party add-ons, or system access from a phased out version.
What is Level 3 Support, and What is in the Last Release of SAP Business One 9.3?
Here is a look at the highlights for what Patch 14 for SAP Business One 9.3 included:
Administration:
Business Intelligence:
Data Protection:
Sales | Purchasing | Service:
Financial Management:
Production:
Inventory | Distribution:
Project Management Updates
Platform:
Lifecycle Management:
As mentioned, this Patch 14 SAP B1 update was the last for version 9.3. Your SAP Business One partner may be able to provide personalized support for your SAP system; however, you’ll likely be encouraged to upgrade while SAP starts to limit or eliminate documentation, fixes, and enhancements. Moreover, third-party applications you may rely on that are integrated with SAP B1 often stop testing and building further compatibility with older versions.
From SAP itself, here is what the end of mainstream maintenance means:
SAP will continue to offer Level 3 Support for SAP Business One 9.3, which includes:
If you want to learn more about the details of each enhancement and fix in SAP Business One 9.3 and get a better understanding of what Level 3 support will provide as the mainstream maintenance ends, you can request it here.
Fresh Face: Introducing SAP Business One 10.0 and the Web Client
With SAP Business One 10.0 (SAP B1 10.1) presenting the web client and adding a slew of new features for administration, financial management, and Office 365 (now called Microsoft 365) integration, you’ll likely be motivated to jump over the 9.3 Patch 14 altogether and go straight to 10.0. The new web client is based on SAP Fiori design principles, encapsulating SAP Business One core processes and business logic alongside an advanced user experience.
In addition to the usability, sustainability, and advanced capabilities of SAP B1 10.0, you’ll still pick up where 9.3 left off. In other words, you aren’t missing anything.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at the release highlights for SAP Business One 10.0:
Web Client:
Usability:
Administration:
Financial Management:
Sales | Purchasing | Service:
Project Management:
Inventory | Distribution:
Production:
Platform | Extensibility:
To ensure your move to SAP B1 10.0 is smooth, doesn’t interrupt any business function, and provides streamlined migration with all your reports and integrated applications, you must enlist a skilled, certified partner with SAP Business One Recognized Expertise designation from SAP.
Looking Ahead – SAP Business One Roadmap
Now that we have a comprehensive view of what has been released this year, it’s essential to look at the road ahead. Since SAP Business One serves as the primary tool in your business process and operational management, planning your technology journey is imperative to your growth and success. The future of your core business application determines how you can transform business models, re-engineer processes, and reimagine work to compete in the fast-moving and ever-changing market.
SAP professes to concentrate on four primary areas in their road map to highlight what is to come:
Since we covered the recent innovations portion with our overview of SAP Business One 10.0 above, let’s dive right into what is on the horizon:
Planned Innovations
Core
Globalization
Analytics
Mobile
Extensibility
Cloud
Product Direction and Vision
Core
Globalization
Analytics
Mobile
Extensibility
Cloud
With a focus on web accessibility, advanced analytics, and cloud deployment, SAP Business One is architected to be an ERP investment customers can make and rely on for the life of their business – from starting small and growing large to everywhere in between.
SAP’s roadmap also suggests SAP Business One continues to remain one of the more attractive, affordable, and scalable options amongst other cloud, mid-market ERP offerings. Especially when compared to NetSuite, SAP B1 offers a much more flexible platform with quicker, easier deployment and set-up.
Planning Your Digital Journey with SAP B1
As SAP Business One Recognized Experts and preferred SAP partners, Clients First has years of expertise and knowledge to help you deploy, upgrade, and tailor SAP B1 to your business needs. There is no one size fits all finance solution or ERP, and our proven methodology ensures that technology is delivered successfully every time. How do we do that? We keep it simple.
That doesn’t mean your needs or your business aren’t unique and complex – it means we don’t have a desire to inflate your technology project beyond what is necessary to reach your goals. We match solutions to your objectives and find the most straightforward path to success, ensuring your tech is both usable and sustainable long-term.
Ready to see the Clients First difference?
Contact us for a demo of the latest version of SAP Business One or to get further details on the features and functions outlined in this article.
Your best interest is our purpose.