Ask our CEO how SAP License Management makes a difference when migrating to S/4 HANA
Companies have been weighing the costs and benefits of migrating from ECC to S/4 HANA. While S/4 HANA promises many benefits, some companies have concerns about the costs and risks they could incur. The good news is, having a solid license management program in place can reduce the costs and risks of migrating, and make the S/4 HANA platform even more compelling.
Here’s how:
- First, a strong license management program means you won’t pay more than you need for S/4 HANA licenses.
- Second, a strong program allows you to predict the financial impact of any changes to your licensing terms once on the new platform.
- Third, a strong program reduces user access risk.
- Fourth, a strong program reduces migration project risk.
If you are overpaying for user licenses on your current platform, you will continue to overpay when you move to S/4 HANA. But, if you have optimized your licenses on your current platform, then you will pay for only what you need. Furthermore, as you forecast your S/4 HANA budget requirements, you can confidently predict how many user licenses you will need, what kind of user licenses you will need, and when you will need them.
A weak or manual license management program often results in over-licensing. Compliance reports often inappropriately include expired or locked users and expensive license types are often assigned to users that would be adequately covered with a less expensive license type. For example, someone may have a Full Professional license assigned to them, but upon closer inspection of their past activities or current authorizations, they may only require a Limited Professional license.
The skills and tools for optimizing user license allocations can be utilized to predict the financial impact when changes happen to the licensing model. So, those with a strong license management program can foresee the cost implications of moving to S/4 HANA. This means budget surprises are avoided. Additionally, customers have the information they need to be powerful negotiators since they understand the full cost of migrating as well as any benefits from new or custom license terms.
When considering the move to S/4 HANA, many companies wonder if they should move from an activity-based licensing model to an authorizations-based model. There are significant benefits in doing so: 1) license costs become more predictable, 2) licensing and access control processes can be efficiently combined, and 3) there is a quantifiable financial benefit for implementing the principle of least privilege across all users. However, such a move could be a costly decision if the change from activity-based licensing is not understood.
A strong license management program automates the discovery and management of indirect SAP users. Thus, a strong program helps architects understand the integration landscape relative to their ERP application. The same discovery capabilities that identify license-relevant integrations can be used to help architects understand which applications and business processes might be impacted by moving to S/4 HANA. Understanding the complex application landscape means migration plans are more informed, expectations are better set, and project risks are lower.
Please visit with our CEO at the upcoming Sapphire event in Orlando, Florida June 5th-7th, 2018. Our CEO, Terry Hirsch, will be announcing a new product that automates designing and building SAP roles at this year’s event, and will also be discussing how to best move to S/4 HANA. Stop by our booth, 889A, to say hello and see firsthand how we can help you use license management to reduce the costs and risks of migrating to S/4 HANA!
To learn more about Security Weaver’s License Management solution, how it automates and optimizes user license allocations, how its simulation capabilities empower companies to predict their future licensing needs along with the value of custom licensing terms, and how its support for indirect users can help architects better plan their migration projects, click here.