BetterCommerce vs SAP Hybris 2024 — Which platform is best for you?

BetterCommerce

Headless

SAP Hybris

Monolithic

BetterCommerce

Average cost starts from £150k

SAP Hybris

$100,000 per year for subscriptions

BetterCommerce

No licensing fee

SAP Hybris

Licensing fee about $1/year/names user

BetterCommerce

4-6 weeks

SAP Hybris

6 to 10 months

BetterCommerce

Unparalleled customisation freedom with a 100% API-first architecture. Open REST APIs empower limitless customisation, integration of new technologies, and extension of functionalities. Additionally, a rich library of pre-built, user-friendly extensions allows for faster implementation of new features without extensive custom coding.

SAP Hybris

While SAP Hybris Commerce boasts a robust feature set, extensive customisation can be a challenge. Its multi-layered architecture requires specialised knowledge to navigate. This translates to a steeper learning curve and potentially higher costs for implementing custom changes.

For businesses seeking a highly customisable platform, considerations like the need for specialised SAP Hybris expertise and potentially longer development times should be factored into the decision-making process.

BetterCommerce

BetterCommerce offers a transparent tiered pricing structure, allowing you to choose the plan that best suits your business needs and budget. Each plan is packed with a comprehensive set of out-of-the-box features, from marketing automation tools to loyalty programs. 
This built-in functionality can significantly reduce your development and customisation costs compared to platforms requiring extensive coding or integrations.

SAP Hybris

Implementing and maintaining SAP Commerce Cloud can be a significant investment. While it offers a robust feature set, factors like licensing, hosting, customisation needs, and ongoing support contribute to a potentially high Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). This can be a barrier for some businesses, particularly those where costs might outpace growth.

BetterCommerce

BetterCommerce microservices architecture breaks down functionalities into independent modules, allowing you to scale specific areas (like product management) as needed. The API-first approach ensures smooth integration with future technologies, and the cloud-native design leverages the inherent scalability of cloud infrastructure.

Unlike potential complexities with SAP Hybris Commerce, BetterCommerce seamlessly adapts and grows alongside your business, eliminating the need for cumbersome adjustments to handle increasing user bases or product volumes.

SAP Hybris

SAP Hybris Commerce's architecture can present hurdles when scaling to meet significant growth. Its rigid structure might require complex adjustments to accommodate a rapidly increasing user base or product volume.

BetterCommerce

BetterCommerce prioritises a user-friendly experience for business owners and managers of all technical backgrounds. The platform boasts an intuitive design that minimises the need for IT expertise. Exceptional customer support and a focus on user empowerment ensure users can quickly become proficient and leverage the platform's robust features to their full potential.

SAP Hybris

Building a Hybris store requires significant development and programming knowledge. While tools like Smart Edit simplify the back-end experience to some extent, Hybris isn't a DIY platform. Businesses without in-house development resources will likely need to partner with experienced Hybris developers.    

BetterCommerce

The open-source nature and headless architecture promote greater flexibility for integrations. BetterCommerce can connect with various third-party tools and platforms through APIs. allowing connections to commonly used tools like social channels, accounting software, customer review platforms, and logistics services.

SAP Hybris

While Hybris offers core functionalities, its integration capabilities can be limiting. Out-of-the-box, it only integrates with a select few systems: Data Hub, ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), CSV (Comma-Separated Values) files, ImpEx (an import/export tool), and SAP CRM (Customer Relationship Management).

BetterCommerce

BetterCommerce breaks free from this cycle with an API-driven approach. Integrations happen through APIs, eliminating the need for version-specific extensions. This future-proofs your integrations and ensures compatibility even with future updates. Additionally, BetterCommerce cloud-native design allows for effortless scaling of resources, providing the flexibility to adapt your infrastructure as your business grows. 

SAP Hybris

The platform relies heavily on extensions for various functionalities. However, a major pain point lies in updating these extensions. Every new SAP release necessitates corresponding extension updates, which can be a complex process. The burden of these updates often leads clients to forgo updates altogether, resulting in outdated software vulnerable to security risks and potentially missing out on new features.

BetterCommerce

BetterCommerce offers a unified solution with its built-in recommender module. Recommender empowers you to segment your audience with precision and leverage AI for hyper-targeted recommendations across various models (cognitive, collaborative, content-based). This ensures you showcase the most relevant products to each customer. Furthermore, Recommender goes beyond recommendations.

It facilitates abandoned cart recovery with personalised interactions, personalises emails for better engagement, and integrates seamlessly with your commerce platform. All this is backed by robust analytics to optimise your efforts.

SAP Hybris

Hybris personalisation requires extra purchases like SAP Hybris marketing and lacks a unified solution. The older BTG module is outdated, and the newer SmartEdit relies on a separate customer segmentation module (custom or SAP's), creating complexity.

BetterCommerce

BetterCommerce stands out with its comprehensive and accessible knowledge base and help documentation. All users have unrestricted access to detailed guides, tutorials, and FAQs that are regularly updated to reflect the latest features and best practices.

SAP Hybris

Hybris documentation presents challenges. Partner-restricted access limits information availability. Even for those with access, the search function is poorly optimised, lacking key features and hindering efficient information retrieval. The inability to download documentation adds another layer of inconvenience.

BetterCommerce

BetterCommerce offers a more user-friendly approach. Its built-in configuration tools allow for visual adjustments to the checkout process without coding. Additionally, a well-documented API empowers developers to further customise the experience if needed. This flexibility caters to both ease of use and advanced customisation needs. BetterCommerce also streamlines checkout with features like guest checkout, multiple payment options, and a focus on speed and security.

SAP Hybris

While Hybris doesn't offer a built-in configuration tool for the checkout process, it is customisable through code modifications. This approach grants flexibility but requires developer expertise. A framework is available to streamline these customisations, but it still necessitates a programming background. 

BetterCommerce

BetterCommerce incorporates a built-in Order Management System (OMS). This eliminates the need for additional integrations and provides functionalities for handling various order types, managing complex fulfillment processes, and even creating custom workflows. BetterCommerce's OMS caters to businesses with standard order fulfillment needs, while still offering flexibility for customisation.

SAP Hybris

Prior to 2017, SAP Hybris required a separate order management module as an integrated app. SAP in 2017 by incorporated order management functionality directly into the core Hybris platform.

BetterCommerce

Swapping out fundamental functionalities like search, shopping cart, or checkout within SAP Commerce Cloud is a complex and potentially prohibitive endeavor. The time and resources required, coupled with technical hurdles, might render it close to impossible. While adding or replacing minor features is feasible, it can still be a complicated process. Businesses seeking a platform with a high degree of core functionality customisation might find SAP Commerce Cloud somewhat restrictive.

SAP Hybris

BetterCommerce open and modular architecture allows businesses to seamlessly integrate third-party solutions or develop custom features without extensive time or resource investments. This reduces dependency on the vendor and empowers businesses to tailor the platform to their specific needs with minimal technical hurdles.