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Government · head to head

Periscope Holdings vs SAP for Government

Periscope Holdings logo

Periscope Holdings

Government

Statewide e-procurement systems and supplier networks for large public agencies

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
SAP for Government logo

SAP for Government

Government

Intelligent Enterprise for Public Sector

From
$8000/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Periscope Holdings it is scaled and priced for statewide programmes, so a single city or county typically finds both the implementation effort and the cost out of proportion to its needs.; SAP for Government sAP's own G-Cloud 14 SuccessFactors pricing document lists Employee Central at £59.76 per user per year for the public sector, with Recruiting and Onboarding modules charged per transaction at £142.00 and £72.00 respectively
  • They diverge on capability: Periscope Holdings covers Sealed bid solicitation, SAP for Government covers Financial Management.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Periscope Holdings and SAP for Government actually diverge.

Attributes where Periscope Holdings and SAP for Government differ
AttributePeriscope HoldingsSAP for Government
Starting priceOn request$8000/month
Pricing modelquotesubscription
PlatformsWebWeb, Desktop, Mobile
FoundedUnknown1972

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Government).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Periscope Holdings

  • Sealed bid solicitation
  • Supplier registration network
  • Contract catalogues
  • Cooperative purchasing
  • Spend and compliance reporting
  • Supplier diversity tracking

Only in SAP for Government

  • Financial Management
  • Procurement
  • Human Resources
  • Analytics
  • Grants Management
  • Microsoft
  • Oracle
  • Third-party Systems

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Periscope Holdings

  • A state building a central procurement portal serving many agencies and local entitiesnot SAP for Government
  • A large agency needing statutory sealed bidding with a public opening recordnot SAP for Government
  • A purchasing programme that must report spend and supplier diversity across entitiesnot SAP for Government
  • A state wanting local governments to buy from its awarded cooperative contractsnot SAP for Government

SAP for Government

  • Citizen Servicesnot Periscope Holdings
  • Records Managementnot Periscope Holdings
  • Public Safetynot Periscope Holdings
  • Civic Engagementnot Periscope Holdings

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Periscope Holdings

  • It is scaled and priced for statewide programmes, so a single city or county typically finds both the implementation effort and the cost out of proportion to its needs.
  • The interface reflects the age and regulatory weight of the platform, and suppliers routinely describe registration and bidding as harder than on newer portals, which can suppress bid response.
  • Ownership has changed twice since 2021, from independent to mdf commerce to KKR, so roadmap and support continuity should be written into the contract rather than assumed.
  • Sibling products inside mdf commerce cover adjacent procurement ground, which means an apparently competitive shortlist may contain two products with the same owner.
  • Statewide implementations are multi year projects with heavy configuration and change management, and the professional services cost commonly exceeds the software over the contract term.

SAP for Government

  • SAP's own G-Cloud 14 SuccessFactors pricing document lists Employee Central at £59.76 per user per year for the public sector, with Recruiting and Onboarding modules charged per transaction at £142.00 and £72.00 respectively
  • RISE with SAP is listed on G-Cloud 14 as a subscription requiring a minimum three year contract term, per SAP's own pricing document

Pricing, plan by plan

Periscope Holdings

On request
  • BuySpeed$undefined/year
    • Quoted per programme, scaled to entities served and transaction volume
    • Multi year statewide contracts with implementation priced separately
    • Supplier side registration fees form part of the commercial model on some programmes

SAP for Government

$8000/month
  • Government Cloud$8000/month
    • ERP
    • Financial Management
    • Analytics

Which should you pick?

Choose Periscope Holdings if

  • You need sealed bid solicitation.
  • You also want supplier registration network.
Periscope Holdings review

Choose SAP for Government if

  • You need financial management.
  • You work on Web, Desktop, Mobile.
  • You also want procurement.
SAP for Government review

Questions people ask

Is Periscope Holdings or SAP for Government better?
Neither clearly leads. Periscope Holdings starts at On request and SAP for Government at $8000/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Periscope Holdings or SAP for Government?
Periscope Holdings starts at On request and SAP for Government at $8000/month.
Does Periscope Holdings or SAP for Government run on more platforms?
Periscope Holdings runs on Web. SAP for Government runs on Web, Desktop, Mobile.
What is Periscope Holdings best used for?
Periscope Holdings is most often used for a state building a central procurement portal serving many agencies and local entities, a large agency needing statutory sealed bidding with a public opening record, a purchasing programme that must report spend and supplier diversity across entities, a state wanting local governments to buy from its awarded cooperative contracts. Of those, a state building a central procurement portal serving many agencies and local entities and a large agency needing statutory sealed bidding with a public opening record are not what SAP for Government is typically brought in for.
What can Periscope Holdings do that SAP for Government cannot?
Periscope Holdings covers Sealed bid solicitation, Supplier registration network, Contract catalogues, Cooperative purchasing. SAP for Government covers Financial Management, Procurement, Human Resources, Analytics.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Periscope Holdings: Who owns Periscope Holdings?

mdf commerce acquired it in 2021, and mdf commerce was itself acquired by KKR in 2024.

Periscope Holdings: Is it suitable for a single city?

Usually not. It is built and priced for statewide or very large agency programmes.

Periscope Holdings: What is BuySpeed?

The e-procurement platform behind its statewide deployments, covering solicitation through catalogue ordering and reporting.

Periscope Holdings: Can we see what a state paid?

Yes. State procurement awards are public records and typically disclose the full multi year contract value.

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