SAP was founded in 1972 by five German engineers that worked for IBM in Mannheim, Germany. The company originally took the name SAP from the abbreviation for Systemanalyse und Programmenentwicklung (‘systems analysis and program development’ (German).

In the 1970’s, SAP initially struggled to sell the concept of a completely integrated software product that could be adapted for an exact fit in the running all of a company’s processes. However, by the 1990’s, SAP had grown from start-up obscurity to the business software applications vendor of choice for nine of the ten largest U.S. corporations, one-third of the Fortune 500, seven of the ten largest Business Week Global 1000, and 80% of the Fortune 100 companies in software, computers, peripherals, and semiconductors.

After the acquisition by SAP the product was rebranded as SAP Business One and introduced to the U.S. market in 2003. The new product acquisition allowed SAP to reach out to the small business market with a simpler yet robust product.

Since the release of the product in 2003, SAP Business One has undergone eleven significant new version releases, resulting in a product that can be deployed (implemented) in a timeframe and at a cost reasonable for a small and growing business.

SAP IN THE SMALL AND MID-SIZED BUSINESS MARKET

A large enterprise may have multiple locations in numerous countries and teams of people doing what might be a part-time role in a small business or subsidiary operation. But just because a business is small doesn’t mean it can’t be complex – it just means it has different needs and priorities.

One of those needs is software; small businesses need software that’s designed, implemented, and integrated differently from that of large enterprises. SAP understood this when they purchased Top Manage in 2002 and continue to embrace the idea as they enhance SAP Business One.

SAP Business One was originally a multi-national product for small businesses. The original designers (and SAP today) understood the needs for multi-lingual, multi-currency functionality, effortless data extraction, and ease of use.

Since the release of the rebranded product in 2003, SAP Business One has undergone eleven notable new version releases, resulting in a product that can be deployed (implemented) in a timeframe and at a cost reasonable for small and growing businesses.

From financials and accounting to inventory and customer relationship management (CRM), all of your key business areas are integrated to provide clear visibility into your entire business. By capturing data into a single centralized location, you can access critical real-time information to make fast, informed decisions.

SAP CHOICES FOR SMALL AND MID-SIZED BUSINESSES

SAP released several products over the years for the SMB market. Some were pre-packaged versions of the “big” SAP product; some were designed as brand new products for mid-sized companies only. Only SAP Business One can claim.