The importance of additional analysis
We delve in detail into the new version of License Utilization Information (LUI) within SAP for Me regarding cloud consumption, exploring its benefits and critical issues.
SAP for Me is the centralized platform available in SAP that aggregates SAP support, alerts, metrics and insights on the SAP product portfolio. Officially launched in open beta at Sapphire Now 2019, it recently incorporated within it the icense Utilization Information (LUI) application ensure provided a comprehensive overview of SAP software licensing and usage..
In the past, the LUI access dashboard, which was part of the SAP support pages, looked like this:
Within this application, as well as for the new version in SAP for Me, to add utilization data for on-premise systems, SAP customers need to perform a system measurement (USMM) within the License Utilization Preparation Area (LUPA) and upload LAW (License Administration Workbench) files. While for the Cloud, no additional measurements are required.
Il fatto di Having an overview regarding of both On-Prem and Cloud-based solutions , and being able to go into licensing details, is valuable because it allows you to identify when (and then verify why) you are exceeding the limit of overuse e intraprendere di conseguenza azioni and take actions accordingly to go back or simply procure more licenses.
But above all, as far as the Cloud is concerned, the main advantage is that LUI allows to optimize the time spent in searching for licensing documents (the Measurement Notes), which, before having access to this application, had to be searched in the site and to get them it was necessary to do many individual cloud logins (so you have to find who internally has access and permissions to follow the various click paths). The individual search had to be multiplied by the number of products and then exported to a CSV file
There is no doubt that LUI was an initial step forward in facilitating the management of these aspects. But over time more and more feedback emerged from customers reporting data that was not as detailed as it should have been. This led SAP to recently unveil a new version of LUI , and and a new overview within SAP For Me..
Leaving aside On-premise, which requires additional measurement and verification, let's focus on the Cloud, which is playing an increasingly preponderant role in IT managers' analyses.
Over the past few years we have seen exponential growth of Cloud products in SAP: think of all the acquisitions that have been made (SuccessFactors and Ariba in 2012, Fieldgass and Concur in 2014, Signavio in 2021) so much so that many license managers would like to have a more in-depth view of Cloud subscriptions and related consumption..
Key features in SAP for Me now include Finance&Legal, the dashboard that allows users to review SAP orders, licenses, invoices, consumption, and statements. Addressees also include License Manager (see second bullet)
The dashboard links to an area where you can see consumption, divided by type (Public Cloud Consumption Card, On-Premise Consumption). The important thing is that you have to log in to have access to the content and then you have to register as a user, otherwise you cannot see anything.
You need to apply for authorization separately from SAP.
Once authorization is obtained, a document section is accessed where they are grouped by “Metrics.” They can be recognized by a series of different numbers to see what product we are talking about (e.g., c. 402). If you then open the detailed view you also get the names of the products.
Then there are columns dedicated to measuring consumption, which also highlight the delta (in orange) in case of over-utilization.
At WEGG we do SAM consulting and support our clients in auditing consumption and SAP licenses, both OnPrem and Cloud.
We have already elaborated elsewhere (see here) on the fact that LAW for On-Prem systems may not be detailed enough and fail to flag all non-compliant situations or identify non-optimized allocations. In this regard, SAM practices and tools can help to have the full pulse of the situation and protect us from compliance-level absences or missed optimizations.
On the other hand, with regard to using this tool to perform cloud consumption analysis, there are elements that we feel do not make for an immediate reading:
We do not yet have a statistically high basis for taking a net position, however, we do not feel at this time to consider this new version a reliable basis for analysis and advise everyone to always double-check the data before relying solely on SAP. If you need support for additional analysis with respect to SAP licensing and consumption, please do not hesitate to contact us!
In case the topic of SAP&cloud should be of interest, we rwmind you that in the webinar scheduled for May 22 (go here for sign in!) that we will hold in collaboration with P4I and Accompany we will delve into SAP licensing and consumption related to the S/4 HANA cloud solution and specifically the "Rise with SAP" business package.
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