France and Norway are different but complementary in their approaches to why mid-sized businesses are reassessing ERP, and why SAP is winning.
Why mid-sized businesses in France & Norway are rethinking SAP today
In recent years, digital transformation has gone from being a competitive advantage to a necessity. As enterprise resource planning (ERP) becomes central to agility and scalability, mid-sized businesses across Europe are reassessing their technology foundations. Companies in France and Norway are increasingly turning to SAP to prepare for growth, simplify operations and future-proof their IT landscape.
Historically seen as the domain of large enterprises, SAP has undergone significant evolution. The company’s focus on cloud-first solutions and simplified deployment models means that SAP is now a practical and powerful option for mid-sized companies looking for intelligent ERP platforms that scale with their business.
This blog explores the trends driving this shift, the local context in France and Norway and how mid-sized businesses are preparing for a future built on SAP’s next-gen ERP systems.
Mid-sized companies: ambitious, agile and at a crossroads
In both France and Norway, mid-sized businesses (often defined as those with 50–500 employees or up to €250M in annual revenue) are the backbone of the economy. They significantly contribute to GDP, employment, and innovation. They are often fast-growing, family- or founder-led companies that operate across borders, manage complex supply chains and serve demanding customers.
But their technology infrastructure lags their ambitions. These organisations face a range of challenges that hinder their ability to scale effectively. Many still rely on a mix of legacy software, manual processes, or entry-level ERP systems that operate in silos, preventing seamless communication across departments. As these companies expand into new markets or scale, they encounter increasing demands for compliance, localisation, and language support. The lack of integration between core functions such as CRM, finance, HR, and supply chain results in limited visibility and a higher risk of errors. Additionally, lean IT departments often struggle to manage system maintenance and updates, making technology management a resource-intensive task.
In this context, a modern ERP is not just a back-end system; it becomes a strategic enabler of growth, agility and resilience.
Local market dynamics: What’s different about France and Norway?
Globalisation is a given, but the drivers and obstacles differ by country. France and Norway are different but complementary in their approaches to why mid-sized businesses are reassessing ERP, and why SAP is winning.
France and Norway present contrasting yet complementary landscapes when it comes to ERP modernisation among mid-sized businesses.
France, with its highly industrialised economy encompassing mid-sized manufacturers, automotive suppliers, aggrotech firms, and retailers, is driven by strong national digital incentives, such as the “France Relance” plan and EU-backed funds, that promote investment in cloud infrastructure and process automation. French firms also face increasing pressure from stringent ESG and reporting regulations, such as the CSRD and EU Taxonomy, which demand transparent data flows —an area where SAP excels. Labour market pressures in France impose strict compliance requirements in payroll, labour law, and reporting, with SAP’s localised solutions helping firms navigate these complexities with reduced administrative burden. Furthermore, the challenges of post-COVID and post-Brexit supply chain resilience are prompting French companies to seek real-time visibility across suppliers and partners to improve decision-making.
In contrast, Norway, despite its smaller population, boasts a highly digitalised economy led by sectors such as maritime, energy, engineering, and services. Norwegian mid-sized businesses adopt a cloud-first mindset in line with government priorities, favouring ERPs that are inherently cloud-native rather than merely cloud-compatible. Their export-oriented nature necessitates unified ERP systems that can handle multi-currency, multi-language, and cross-border compliance complexities. Norway’s leadership in sustainability and carbon neutrality is reflected in the adoption of SAP’s integrated ESG tracking tools to meet ambitious environmental goals. However, persistent IT talent shortages have driven Norwegian firms to rely more heavily on SAP’s cloud solutions, which reduce dependence on internal IT infrastructure and the need for manual system updates. Together, these factors illustrate how local economic, regulatory, and technological contexts shape the distinct approaches to SAP ERP adoption in France and Norway.
SAP’s transformation: from enterprise giant to mid-market enabler
SAP is undergoing a significant shift: from being a heavyweight enterprise system to a flexible, industry-specific, cloud-native ERP for businesses of all sizes.
What’s Changed?
- Cloud-first strategy: Solutions like SAP S/4HANA Cloud, Public Edition are pre-configured, modular, and scalable, making them perfect for fast-growing mid-sized businesses.
- Subscription pricing: No more upfront license fees. SAP now offers subscription-based models with OPEX.
- RISE with SAP: This transformation-as-a-service package includes everything you need to move to the cloud, including tools, services, infrastructure, and business process intelligence, which reduces risks and accelerates ROI.
- Simplified deployment: SAP Activate and industry templates mean mid-size deployments in weeks, not years.
- Focus on outcomes: SAP’s Business Technology Platform provides data integration, AI, and automation tools, enabling you to build a competitive advantage beyond ERP.
The business case for SAP: real benefits for SMEs
SAP offers SMEs powerful tools to enhance efficiency, ensure compliance, and foster growth. Here’s how SAP delivers real, measurable benefits for small and mid-sized businesses.
Operational Efficiency
- Automated workflows in finance, HR and procurement
- Real-time reporting for managers and executives
- Standardised processes to scale without losing control
Financial Control and Compliance
- Real-time financial consolidation, automated journal entries and audit-ready documentation
- Compliance with local tax, payroll and reporting laws for France and Norway
Growth Enablement
- Integrated CRM, logistics and production planning for end-to-end visibility
- Multi-entity, multi-currency and multi-language for cross-border expansion
Technology Futureproofing
- Quarterly updates so you’re always up to date with the latest innovations
- Native integration with AI, IoT and machine learning as digital maturity grows
2027 Horizon: Waiting is no longer an option
SAP has announced that mainstream maintenance for SAP ECC will end in 2027. For many existing SAP users, this means a necessary move to S/4HANA. But for others, this milestone is prompting a broader re-evaluation of ERP systems.
Mid-sized firms are asking critical questions: should they modernise existing systems or adopt a cloud-native ERP from scratch? How can they minimise disruption while maximising long-term value? Which ERP solutions best support their ESG commitments, compliance needs, and ambitions for international growth? Can they consolidate multiple tools into a single, intelligent platform? Increasingly, the answers point towards SAP. To make SAP work effectively for the mid-market, companies in France and Norway should focus on alignment between business goals and technology. This includes partnering with local SAP experts familiar with the needs of mid-sized businesses, such as Arribatec.
Conclusion: ERP as a growth platform, not a cost centre
The ERP landscape has undergone a significant transformation and so has SAP. Today, mid-sized businesses in France and Norway can access robust, scalable, and intelligent ERP systems once only available to large multinationals. Whether motivated by growth, compliance, digitalisation, or competitiveness, the question is no longer whether they need a modern ERP, but which one and when to act.
With SAP’s cloud-first mid-market solutions, clear migration paths, and strong partner ecosystems in both countries, the choice is becoming clear. The future is intelligent, integrated, and cloud native. For many mid-sized businesses in France and Norway, that future starts with SAP delivered by Arribatec.
