You are probably familiar with the concept of "add-on" solutions for SAP Business One. These solutions are not included in the core SAP Business One product, but connect to your system when you start the software session.
While "add-on" may be a more commonly used term, I have always preferred another moniker: complementary solutions.
More than Just an Add-On
If you look up the definition of complementary, you will see that it means combining to enhance or emphasize the qualities of each other. That is what I look for in these solutions: how well and how easily they link to SAP Business One to drive more value for users.
The trouble with the term "add-on" is that it might imply the product is adding-on functionality that should have been there all along, or perhaps is an afterthought. Let's face it, no one likes to think that their business solution is incomplete or missing functionality.
Instead, there is usually a good reason not to include a set of functionality in to the core product: reducing code bloat, reducing memory consumption, and reducing price in scenarios where not everyone needs the specific functionality in question.
An App for That
This concept of an app store has become second nature as mobile devices continue to evolve the way we use technology in our daily lives. The same applies for your SAP Business One ERP. Complementary solutions enhance your core solution with the flexibility to choose which options best fit your business needs.
And just as there are many great email or calendar apps for your iOS or Android phones, having multiple options is another benefit of complementary solutions for SAP Business One. Rather than one standard option out-of-the-box, you can often choose which solution best applies to the unique requirements of your business processes or addresses challenges of working with a specific industry.
As your business grows and evolves, so can your SAP Business One system with the help of complementary solutions. For now, implementing these solutions with SAP Business One is much more complex than adding a new app on your phone; but one might envision an app store in a not-so-distant, cloud-based future.
(I should emphasize here the difference between complementary and complimentary. When it comes to these solutions, one letter makes a lot of difference: These solutions are not free, and you should work with your Partner to make sure your favorite complementary solution works with your budget as well as your implementation.)
The Plan to Help SAP Business One Customers
One of our goals for ONE.Source | The ASUG Community for SAP Business One is to help make more information available about these complementary solutions. We want to help you find the right choices to better run your business and get the most out of your SAP Business One investment.
As part of our year-round curriculum, we will highlight a few complementary solutions related to each month's topic, showcasing the different approaches and options you have to choose from. You will be able to join live webcasts to ask your questions, watch on-demand replays, or get a high-level overview in blog posts and videos. And while we cannot cover every solution, your Partner should be able to help find a solution that fits.
We will also be working with our partners at G2 Crowd to provide more peer reviews for you to consider when making future buying decisions. (More details to come, but why not get started by reviewing SAP Business One.)
So stay tuned to our ONE.Source community forum or follow us on social media (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook). We will also keep you up-to-date via regular blogs and emails about our monthly themes and year-round curriculum. You never know, the answer to that business problem or challenge may just be out there waiting for you to learn about it!
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