How the new ruleset version impacts licensing costs and how to contain them
With the latest categorization of authorizations within the SAP ruleset, many companies risk a cost increase of up to 15–20% if they don’t have accurate license control. In this article, we explain why this happens and how to optimize the situation.
With the rebranding to SAP Cloud ERP and the new features introduced in terms of product packages and structure – topics we will also discuss in the September 30 webinar – the licensing model for direct users (FUE – Full Usage Equivalent) seems to remain formally unchanged.
FUE is the unit of measure used by SAP to calculate licenses: each user license level (Advanced, Core, Self-Service, etc.) corresponds to a certain number of FUEs, and the total sum determines overall consumption – and thus the costs. We have written a dedicated deep dive on this model.
Le regole alla base della suddetta classificazione, che si basano su ciò che gli utenti sono autorizzati a fare, sono definite periodicamente da SAP in delle matrici chiamati ruleset dove possiamo trovare il dettaglio della relazione tra gli oggetti autorizzativi e il livello di licenza richiesto.
However, beware: the latest updates to the SAP ruleset (V91 – Ruleset V1.69) have reclassified several authorizations, directly impacting FUE consumption. This can result in hidden additional costs – not immediately obvious but potentially significant in terms of license budgets.
Nell’ultima versione del ruleset SAP, alcune attività che prima rientravano in categorie meno costose sono state “spostate” verso licenze più onerose (ad esempio da Core a Advanced), mentre altre sono state riclassificate al ribasso. L’obiettivo dichiarato da SAP è una maggiore coerenza nella classificazione, ma per molti clienti il risultato pratico è un incremento dei consumi FUE e quindi dei costi complessivi.
To understand the impact, just look at the numbers. Considering that the value of one FUE is roughly €2,000 per year (note: this is an indicative value and may vary depending on discounts and volumes), we can indirectly deduce that:
From this logic, some important conclusions emerge: upgrades to the Advanced category have the greatest financial impact – each switch from Core to Advanced generates about €1,600 in additional cost per user per year. Conversely, downgrades to Self-Service have a more limited saving effect, reducing the expense by only around €330. It’s easy to see that just a relatively small number of users shifting to the Advanced category can significantly increase the license budget. And if we’re talking about widespread roles – like those related to accounting and controlling – the impact can be very substantial.
To better understand the impact of the new SAP rulesets, at WEGG we conducted a simulation for a manufacturing company with around 5,000 employees. We estimated, function by function, how many staff use SAP and how they are distributed across the various license types (Advanced, Core, and Self-Service).
The estimated result is an annual requirement of 558 FUEs (i.e., 295 + 1115/5 + 1195/30).
With the changes introduced by ruleset V91, the picture changes slightly: some users move from Core to Advanced (+30), others drop from Advanced to Core (−10) or from Core to Self-Service (−10). The new composition becomes 315 Advanced, 1,085 Core, and 1,205 Self-Service – for a total of 573 FUEs. That’s a difference of +15 FUEs, equal to a 2.7% increase and a value of tens of thousands of euros per year.
This represents the “optimistic” scenario, where roles are well managed and authorizations are assigned coherently. In reality, though, it’s common for users to have broader permissions than needed, ending up classified in more expensive license categories than necessary (e.g., Advanced instead of Core).
The problem manifests in various ways: there are oversized roles (e.g., warehouse workers with access to advanced planning and reporting), duplicate authorizations (sales users with unused analytical permissions), hybrid users never optimized (e.g., maintenance staff occasionally accessing MM or SD modules), and old permissions never reviewed (accounts created years ago retaining unnecessary accesses and being automatically classified as Advanced).
If we consider these “less virtuous” cases, the impact grows significantly: assuming 120 users (instead of 30) move from Core to Advanced, with only a few downgrades, the net increase translates into over 16% compared to the base cost.
The conclusion is clear: In the (utopian) case where all roles are perfectly optimized and updated in real time, the changes have little impact (+2–3%). But in reality, the new ruleset can drive up costs by 15–20% in companies of this size.
The good news is that these costs are not inevitable – with a structured approach, waste and surprises can be avoided. Much depends on your current situation.
1) If You’re Migrating to RISE with SAP / SAP Cloud ERP
With the transition to RISE with SAP / SAP Cloud ERP, named licenses must be converted into FUEs. Too often, we see companies performing a simple “one-to-one” conversion without analyzing actual usage. The result? A risk of including inactive, duplicate, or oversized users.
To avoid these issues, it’s crucial to:
Only by defining roles and FUE levels up front can you implement the system without unpleasant surprises.
2) If You’re Already on RISE with SAP
The biggest risk is letting roles expand over time: users receiving more permissions than necessary, old profiles never reviewed, “extra” functions driving up costs without real usage. The key is a periodic review and optimization of licenses, cross-checking authorization data with actual usage.
At WEGG, we support clients specifically in this area: as expert SAP license cost optimization consultants, we use tools like Snow Optimizer for SAP to keep licenses aligned with real needs.
This approach not only reduces the impact of new FUE role rules but also enables more effective internal management of the new cloud suite – where hidden costs are often harder to detect and control.
Having comprehensive reports on user usage and authorizations is also helpful for compliance: it allows you to identify non-compliant accesses before they become a problem.
We will further explore implications and possible response strategies in the September 30 webinar titled: “SAP Cloud ERP: Evolution of RISE or a New Beginning?” → Register at this link!
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