Migrating S/4HANA licenses: Perfect use case for SAM?

Many SAP users are currently busy migrating to SAP S/4HANA^® and are stumbling over technical and licensing difficulties. With software asset management (SAM), the project can be led to success.

Currently, many companies are navigating the transition from SAP ECC to SAP S/4HANA, the latest generation of SAP's ERP system. SAP users are not just dealing with a regular project. They are facing a significant system change that comes with challenges in technology and licensing.

Before migrating to SAP S/4HANA, companies must make important decisions that influence the further migration process.

• Should we simply convert the existing SAP ECC system, along with its contracts, data, and settings?
• Should we establish a new ERP system which is better suited for the future?
• Which data migration strategy fits to our business?
• Should we jump on the "Rise with SAP" bandwagon and go for S/4HANA Cloud?

Why you should have an SAP licensing strategy

SAP HANA and S/4HANA impose stringent technical demands, especially concerning master data quality. Successful SAP transformation hinges on having data in the precise format SAP requires. For many SAP users, this presents a substantial hurdle and additional time investment.

An actual analysis of existing contracts and users is essential for understanding the requirements in the S/4HANA universe. Selecting the right SAP user types can be challenging.

Around 50% of the companies surveyed in the SAP User Group survey discovered that the implementation was more complex than expected. These companies expected a simpler process but encountered unexpected challenges.

Source: DSAG/ASUG

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The change to a user-based access model with four S/4HANA user types allows many SAP users to save money. However, achieving a successful transition, both technically and economically, requires expertise and a strategic approach. 

"Many companies lack strategy or even awareness of the complexity of SAP licensing and the associated costs."

USU Software Asset Management solution focuses on license management and optimization, emphasizing the economic aspect. Many companies lack a strategy and are often unaware of the complexity of SAP licensing and its associated costs. A license management tool can help SAP users keep track of all licenses, monitor their usage, and minimize software audit risks.

4 key benefits of Software Asset Management

1. Cost savings: Software Asset Management enables SAP users to use their SAP licenses more efficiently and thus save costs. An SAP license optimization tool can identify underutilized licenses and reallocate them to other users or systems through re-harvesting. In addition, such a tool can also help to identify and avoid possible license overlaps or double payments.
2. Software compliance: SAP conducts regular license audits to ensure that companies comply with agreed license terms. A SAM solution can help companies prepare for such audits and ensure they meet SAP's requirements. The tool can provide an accurate overview of licenses in use, monitor usage, and provide data for audit reports.
3. Transparency: A license management and optimization tool provides companies with better governance and transparency over their SAP licensing. It enables centralized management and monitoring of licenses and ensures that all users have the right entitlements. Software Asset Management can also assist with license reporting and communication with SAP on licensing issues.
4. Efficiency: SAM tools automate various aspects of license management and reduce manual effort and errors. They streamline processes such as software provisioning, license tracking, entitlement reconciliation and reporting. This automation saves time, improves accuracy, and allows IT teams to focus on more strategic initiatives.

How to stay on an equal footing with SAP

The new SAP S/4HANA licensing model with cloud-based applications offers some advantages. However, the need for license management and optimization in the context of software asset management remains. Why? Because SAP customers are becoming more transparent. SAP no longer relies on customers' self-disclosure when it comes to evaluating permissible user types or compliance issues. Instead, SAP determines SAP usage - often non-transparently for the user companies - and confronts its customers with the results.

A migration to S/4HANA therefore requires proactive license management to ensure compliance and to be able to deal with SAP at least on an equal footing in the future. Good software license optimization is key to getting the best out of the project economically as well.

Software Asset Management can cover complex and time-consuming tasks that SAP users cannot or do not want to handle, mainly due to a lack of resources, time, and knowledge. USU is the only SAM provider on the market to offer a service platform that can handle all key operational SAM tasks.

Learn more about our software asset management tools and services and schedule a free consultation.