The Importance of Managing Your SAP Environment
Organizations that implement SAP must continuously manage their SAP environment. However, many companies struggle to achieve a clear understanding of SAP licensing rules and usage rights. Therefore, active license monitoring is crucial to avoid potential license gaps and additional fees from audits or non-compliance.
For SAP clients, the SAP License Administration Workbench (LAW) is an essential tool. It reports license usage statements to SAP for review, which is mandatory for clients participating in annual license audits. However, it is also important to note that LAW only considers the license type set during account creation, rather than the actual usage of the SAP solution. Since SAP contracts prevent any reduction in annual fees, clients must therefore optimize user accounts before the annual LAW measurement to avoid any increase in fees.
To achieve successful SAP license management, organizations need a deep understanding of several factors. For example, they must know their SAP agreements, purchased entitlements, the actual deployment and usage of SAP software, and any specific requirements. This understanding enables organizations to maximize their ROI on SAP investments, while also closely monitoring license consumption.
Some of the challenges SAP clients face include:
- Limited SAP licensing knowledge
- Misinformation or unclear SAP agreements
- Uncertain licensing rules and metrics
- Over-deployed and unused software
- Unknown indirect access from third-party applications
To stay compliant and avoid audit penalties, SAP clients should understand and implement the following methodologies:
The SAP License Audit Workbench measures SAP named users based on their classification. For every user created, clients are required to assign a specific license type. For example, the professional license, which is the most expensive, should be assigned only to users who genuinely need full access. Meanwhile, employee or self-service licenses are more suitable for users with limited access needs. Therefore, misclassification can lead to over-licensing. Failing to lock or expire inactive accounts also results in over-licensing, as LAW counts all active accounts, regardless of whether they are used.
Indirect access is a major issue for SAP clients, as it involves third-party applications interacting with SAP systems. Therefore, it is essential to identify indirect access accurately. For instance, creating an architecture diagram can help map applications linked to SAP and the data they exchange. This approach not only reduces costs but also aids in effective licensing negotiations with SAP.
There are 2 types of SAP license audit; Self-declaration (which happens annually) and an Enhanced SAP License Audit, which SAP can conduct upon provision of notice.
There are two types of SAP license audits:
- Self-declaration: Occurs annually and involves self-reporting of software usage.
- Enhanced SAP License Audit: SAP may conduct this audit upon notice. It includes in-depth analysis by skilled auditors to uncover hidden risks that LAW does not detect.
Aspera Smart Track SAP License Control ensures companies pay only for the licenses they need. This tool includes the most advanced SAP rule definitions in Software Asset Management (SAM). SAP’s complex landscape requires constant reconfiguration of systems and user accounts. Smart Track helps organizations optimize license usage, ensuring compliance with SAP’s standards and minimizing costs.