FlexNet Manager for SAP Applications

SAP applications are among the most highly valued and widely used in many organizations. Without precise knowledge of how SAP systems are licensed and being used, organizations risk costly and unplanned expenses after submitting the required License Administration Workbench (LAW) report to SAP.

FlexNet Manager for SAP Applications is a scalable solution for optimizing SAP named user licenses by detecting idle users, identifying duplicate users, and assigning the optimal license type for each user based on real usage data. SAP licenses are often over-purchased, and SAP customers can recognize significant cost savings by reharvesting unused licenses and by downgrading user license assignments to avoid future purchases of expensive license types. With FlexNet Manager for SAP Applications, organizations can centrally monitor and analyze their SAP license usage to help ensure accurate and appropriate licensing. By providing insight into employee SAP use, it allows organizations to plan and budget for future SAP purchases.

Until now, enterprises have had a limited view into SAP usage, forcing them to perform many manual, error-prone steps or make guesses about license needs. FlexNet Manager for SAP Applications not only helps uncover who uses licenses and to what extent, but also helps organizations more accurately assign user license types in accordance with their SAP contract.This allows license compliance to be maintained and avoid unbudgeted audit true-up expenses. With an SAP certified integration, FlexNet Manager for SAP Applications helps enterprises accurately chargeback software expenses internally based on actual use. FlexNet Manager for SAP Applications also includes agentless inventory for the collection of user and usage data from all SAP systems, without the need to install any SAP transports on satellite systems.

SAP Package Licensing

FlexNet Manager for SAP Applications also runs package (aka engine) measurements independently of a system measurement, allowing it to collect package metrics at any time. Licensing rules define how these metrics are combined to determine a single license consumption figure for each SAP package. SAP package licensing rules and metrics are encapsulated in the FlexNet Manager for SAP Applications Product Use Rights Library. This allows the product to streamline the process of calculating SAP package license consumption, reducing true-up preparation time and easing SAP license management.

FlexNet Manager Platform

FlexNet Manager for SAP Applications is built on FlexNet Manager Platform and leverages the extensive contract management, business intelligence, and advanced reporting capabilities of the Platform for SAP license management.The Platform also provides a consolidated web portal that allows business users, license managers and SAP administrators to access a wealth of license management and license compliance functions and reports.

FlexNet Manager Platform provides scalable hardware and software asset management across more than 14,000 publishers and 350,000 application SKUs, providing insight into installed software and application usage while delivering purchased versus installed license reconciliation. Its comprehensive reporting capabilities allow users to identify and evaluate areas of compliance concern and make informed decisions that reduce license and maintenance costs.

Software License Optimization for SAP

SAP named user license definitions are vague and administrators are often left to determine which license type should be assigned to each user with little or no information to help them or to substantiate their decisions. FlexNet Manager for SAP Applications takes the guesswork out of SAP license classification by identifying the optimal license type for each user based on an analysis of real usage patterns, in compliance with the SAP contract and in a fully automated and repeatable way. By applying the recommended changes to its SAP systems, license administrators can be confident that future spend will be optimized and unnecessary purchases will be avoided.

In the example shown below, we see that the number of high cost license types, such as Professional User and Limited Professional User are significantly lower in the optimized state, while the least expensive license type, Time Card Users (CAT), is higher.

You may ask, "How do I know that SAP will accept the FlexNet Manager for SAP Applications user license re-classification?" In most SAP contracts, the license type definitions are vague and customers must interpret those definitions on their own. FlexNet Manager for SAP Applications offers a flexible framework and many license rule types that can be used to construct appropriate license rules for your organization and in accordance with your SAP contract. There are a few common techniques that customers use to differentiate the SAP license classifications, such as Professional and Limited Professional users. These include role memberships and usage, where the latter often identifies the percentage of "operational" activity versus "self-service" activity for a given user. The bottom line is that FlexNet Manager for SAP Applications captures your interpretation of the SAP contract terms and conditions, and then automates the process of collecting and analyzing all of the usage data to determine an optimal license type for each user. All changes can be applied to your SAP user master records and will be reflected in the standard LAW report that you provide to SAP.

Due to the lack of standard license classification definitions, you'll ultimately be left negotiating with SAP. What our customers have found is that the detailed reports provided by FlexNet Manager for SAP Applications level the playing field in such negotiations and arm them with an objective and fact-based analysis of usage that enables a constructive discussion with SAP.

FlexNet Manager for SAP Applications license optimizations include:

• Recommendations for optimal license classification for each user based on usage data
• Detection of inactive users that should be retired, returning those licenses to the available license pool
• Accurate identification and consolidation of duplicate users

FlexNet Manager for SAP Applications Optimized License Position

Simulate 'What-If' Scenarios

FlexNet Manager for SAP Applications enables organizations to predict the cost impact of adding users or changing user license classifications. The product allows "what-if" scenarios to be simulated, including best-case and worst-case scenarios. User defined rule sets can be used to drive the simulations and can be saved for future use.

SAP Administration

The FlexNet Manager for SAP Applications administration console allows SAP administrators to review and commit recommended changes to their SAP systems using a familiar SAP interface. This console offers a single point of control for administration functions across all SAP systems, such as running system measurements and activity checks.

A New Level of Insight into Software License Usage

• Know exactly who is using SAP and to what extent
• Ensure software license compliance by allocating license types correctly

Optimize license requirements and spending

• Optimize SAP named user licensing to control costs and avoid future purchases
• Accurately budget for future SAP license needs
• Gain a stronger position in contract negotiations
• Prevent costly surprises at SAP true-ups

FlexNet Manager for SAP Applications is part of the FlexNet Manager Suite for Enterprises, the market leading software license optimization solution that enables organizations to reduce software costs and maintain license compliance to minimize license liability risks. FlexNet Manager Suite solutions go beyond traditional software asset management (SAM) tools to deliver the highest return on investment.

* SAP and SAP Business Suite are registered trademarks of SAP AG in Germany and in several other countries.

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