IT Application Software: SAP Concur - A Detailed Analysis Report

This report provides a detailed analysis of SAP Concur, an IT application software used for travel and expense management. The report begins with an introduction to information technology and the role of SAP Concur in enhancing business operations, highlighting its Software as a Service (SaaS) model and cloud computing capabilities. It then explores the usefulness of the software, emphasizing its mobile accessibility, assistance with travel arrangements, expense tracking, and ease of use, including features like receipt conversion. The report details the software's features, functions, and characteristics, such as the Application Programming Interface, automated expense reporting, integration with debit and credit cards, currency conversion, and fraud-free payment processing. It also compares SAP Concur with competitors like Coupa and Chrome River, showcasing its market dominance. The report discusses the advantages of using SAP Concur, including easy integration, cloud-based accessibility, and straightforward installation, while also acknowledging limitations such as issues with multiple image uploads and occasional website unavailability. In conclusion, the report emphasizes the effectiveness of SAP Concur in travel and expense management, while also pointing out areas for improvement to enhance performance and service efficiency.

Running head: IT APPLICATION SOFTWARE
Information Technology Application Software
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

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Information Technology Application Software
Introduction:
Information technology is one of the most important aspect of the organization now a
days. The advancement of the information system has given rise to technologies that can used for
enhancing the information technology. Thus for the increase in efficiency of the business
operations, SAP Concur Application is used. The application is readily available on Google play
and installation of the application is free of costs. This technology is based on the SAAS services
which is used for the purpose of travel an expense management. The technology is based on
Cloud Computing and can be accessed from anywhere around the world. The emergence of the
cloud technology has improved the availability of the data which results in providing effective
business solutions.
Figure 1: SAP Concur
Source: https://www.concur.com/app-center/listings/5b247daee204db10003d2872

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Usefulness of the software at work:
The benefits of using the software based on the cloud computing services are extremely
flexible and agile in nature. Thus the usefulness of the cloud services can be utilized by the
organizations as well while using the SAP Concur Application as well1.
One of the most significant benefit of the SAP Concur Application is its availability over
the mobile devices. Smartphone is one of the most preferable media now a days and it is
available with all most everyone. Apart from this, due to globalization, travelling to different part
of the world has become a common aspect of the people. Especially the people working in the IT
industries, have to travel a lot. This application helps in improvement of the travelling experience
of an individual.
Figure 2: SAP Concur in Mobile Application
Source: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.concur.breeze&hl=en_US
It provides assistance to an employee by managing and booking journey routes. The
mileage can be tracked by the company, and the expense report can be obtained. Every dollar

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spent by the employee can be tracked using the application along with easy approval of
invoices2.
The tool is so easy to use and convenient that it can easily convert the receipt used by an
individual to a report easily. User can simply make use of the smartphone camera to create an
expense report. The customized bill is generated from the snap of the bill that is recorded in the
application.
This is very important as it helps in providing an insight of the expense that is caused by
an employee while they are at work or out of station for the work. The application guides the
employees by showing them all the charges and expenses that has occurred due to the trip such
that the reports can be generated.
Features Functions and Characteristics:
There are numerous features of using the application. Its employee benefit is one of the
best amongst them. Some of the features of the application is given in this section.
The Application Programming Interface is easy to use. This allows the user or the
employees to access the application with an ease3.
The expense report can be created and generated easily just with a snap of the bill or the
payment receipt. The approval or the rejection of the reports is fast as well, completely
eliminating the paper usage or manual adjustment from the organization or the employees.
The auto-payment option of the SAP concur solution helps in the delivery of the hassle
free services while an employee is travelling for work.

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For more convenience, the application have the facility of integration of the debit or
credit card with the app. This enables direct payment.
Figure 3: travel and expense management in SAP Concur
Source:https://m.facebook.com/SAPConcur/?ref=page_internal&mt_nav=0
The data can be captured from different areas or websites or places like hotels, flights or
the cars on rents. The payment is fraud free as it is directly done through the bank to bank
transactions4. Moreover the availability of the application over the smartphones have enhanced
the services of the application and made it even faster.
The artificial intelligence and the machine learning technology helps in remembering
certain things regarding the consumer or the user such that user experience is improved for the
organization using the application.
This software has a feature known as the currency conversion which allows the user to
convert the amount to their respective currency. In this way they have an idea about what the
expense actually is. The currency converter helps the employees while they are travelling abroad
for the purpose of the work set up by the company.

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The process of administration using the application is easier as well. This is because, the
managers or the admin can easily track the monetary transaction the employee is making. Each
and every penny spent by the employee while they are abroad on work are monitored. And all
the necessary expenses are done by the organization for which the application is serving.
As mentioned earlier, one of the most unique feature of this application is the generation
of the report using snap technology5. The proper expense report is automatically generated when
the picture of the bill is uploaded by the employee such that the payment is made directly by the
organization to the account of the place from where the bill is generated.
This application is mainly used and targeted for the Travel and Expense management of
the employees and the application is quite efficient for that purpose. Billing and invoicing is
done quite efficiently.
The application is easily integrated with other applications and helps in improving
customer experience and making it more user friendly application.
Comparison with Similar Application:
SAP concur which is one of the leading application is in the Expense and Travel
management has competitors as well. The comparison of such application with SAP Concur is
given in the section that follows.
Comparison of SAP Concur with Coupa, a similar application using the using the cloud
technology shows that there are 3540 websites that uses the SAP Concur solution whereas only
921 websites makes use of Coupa. The market share of SAP is 47.92% whereas Coupa has
12.47%, resulting in SAP Concur at first position.

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Figure 4: Chart showing comparison of the other companies with SAP Concur
Source: https://www.datanyze.com/market-share/tem/sap-concur-market-share
Comparison of SAP Concur with Chrome River, a similar application using the using the
cloud technology shows that there are 3540 websites that uses the SAP Concur solution whereas
only 181 websites makes use of Chrome River. The market share of SAP is 47.92% whereas
Chrome River has 2.45%, resulting in SAP Concur at first position and Chrome River at fifth.
Figure 4: SAP Concur Cloud Services
Source: https://www.concur.com/en-us/financial-system-integration
Comparison of SAP Concur with Oracle iExpense Reporting, a similar application using
the using the cloud technology shows that there are 3540 websites that uses the SAP Concur

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solution whereas only 96 websites makes use of Oracle iExpense Reporting. The market share of
SAP is 47.92% whereas Oracle iExpense Reporting has 1.30%, resulting in SAP Concur at first
position and Oracle iExpense reporting at ninth.
Similarly, there are many other applications using the similar technology for the purpose
of management of the data but SAP Concur technology is one of the best amongst them.
Advantages and limitations:
There are numerous advantages of using the SAP concur application that makes it one of
the very well-known travel and expense management services in the business sector. Especially
the usage of the cloud technology makes it unique and agile in nature. SAAS or the Software as a
Service is one of the most effective solution when an application is taken into consideration. And
the Concur Technologies have taken the scenario into consideration and develop the software
which helps in effective travel and expense management. The advantages of using the SAP
technologies are namely, easy integration with other systems. This helps in benefiting the
organization where multiple sectors are combined and integrated. It gets merged with new User
Experience designs and remains consistent through-out.
As the application is cloud based, just a browser is needed to access the entire system.
Client and agent dependent machines are not required for using this application which helps the
business that has to be relocated.

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Figure 5: Concur Capabilities
Sources: https://blogs.sap.com/2016/03/01/integration-capabilities-of-s4hana-to-sap-cloud-solutions/
The process of installation of the software is very straightforward and hassle free. The
importing of the receipt is easier and less complicated and does not involve the usage of the bank
details, credit or debit cards. The process of the customization of the limits plays an important
role as well. Moreover, the administration of the system is easier than the others6.
The expense reports created by the company is one of the most beneficial aspect of the
organization. The sporadic travellers are benefited with this feature of the application as well.
The corporate card transactions are also transferred automatically. The expense report is
generated within seconds7.

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The claims of the expenses can be sorted down according to the date, location and
currency. The application takes much lesser time to process the data.
All though there are numerous benefits of using the SAP App, there are certain cons as
well which are faced by the consumers while they are using the applications for their everyday
purpose and are mentioned in the section below8.
One of the cons of the application as per a client that has used the application is that
unavailability of the multiple select option while uploading the pictures for the generation of the
reports. Thus when a bulk expense snap has to be sent, the individual receipts has to be clicked
and uploaded separately.
The beta version released by the company was not at all smooth. The performance of the
application was largely affected by the presence of the bugs in the system. The system of
tracking failed even if the employees took up their own expenses.
Often the calculations are mistakenly done without the consideration of the taxes that are
inclusive. This causes confusion in the application and the adjustment of the payment.
The website is unavailable periodically, causing trouble in uploading the receipts. The
issue is resolved within a short time but there is a delay in the efficiency.
All the Expense management and the travel management is easy with the SAP concur
application, there are certain functionalities that are unclear regarding the application. The
shortcuts are not clarified in the application making it difficult for the users to understand. Again
often it is seen that the application struggles to generate results when the nature of the receipt is
varied. Thus the user has to make sure that all the fields are assigned as per mentioned in the
organization9.

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Conclusion:
From the above discussion it can be concluded that the SAP Concur which makes use of
the cloud computing technology for the purpose of the expense management and travel
management is one of the best of its kind. The technology makes use of the SaaS technology of
the cloud computing which provides agility to the system. All though there are numerous
benefits of using the service, there are certain cons as well which needs improvement for
development of the application for a better performance and improved efficiency in the services.

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References:
(1) Concur Job Benefits - SAP Concur Australia. https://www.concur.com.au/jobs/benefits
(accessed Jan 2, 2020).
(2) Concur, S.; Concur, S.; Musabaika, T.; Alexander, K.; Reviewer, A.; Parsons, M. SAP
Concur Pricing, Features, Reviews & Comparison of Alternatives.
https://www.getapp.com/finance-accounting-software/a/concur-travel-expense/ (accessed
Jan 2, 2020).
(3) Concur, S.; sunil, s.; sunil, s.; mishra, n.; mishra, n.; Khalil, J.; Khalil, J.; King, M.; King,
M.; Myers, N.; Myers, N. SAP Concur Features & Capabilities.
https://www.getapp.com/finance-accounting-software/a/concur-travel-expense/features/
(accessed Jan 2, 2020).
(4) Productivity, 1. 10 Apps for Improving Productivity.
https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/4954-best-small-business-apps-productivity.html
(accessed Jan 2, 2020).
(5) concur.com. Corporate Travel Management - SAP Concur. https://www.concur.com/en-
us/business-travel-management (accessed Jan 3, 2020).
(6) sap.com. Travel and Expense Management I SAP Concur Solutions.
https://www.sap.com/india/products/e-procurement/travel-expense-management.html?
infl=0e4c5b79-aa55-4b83-a557-dc38625ac125 (accessed Jan 3, 2020).
(7) concur.com. Business Travel and Expense Management - SAP Concur Australia.
https://www.concur.com.au/index2 (accessed Jan 3, 2020).
(8) capterra.com. SAP Concur Reviews and Pricing - 2020.
https://www.capterra.com/p/380/Concur-Expense/ (accessed Jan 3, 2020).