Transformation Backlog in the SAP Community

SAP orchestration in the digital ERP transformation

The number of SAP services, products, and solutions has grown exponentially in recent years. It is rare to find another B2B software provider with such a comprehensive range of offerings, spanning from a database (SAP Hana) to middleware and a platform (SAP BTP, Business Technology Platform) to industry solutions.

SAP offers one or more answers to almost every ERP challenge, which in many cases overwhelms the SAP community. Numerous SAP solutions overlap or are mutually exclusive. Licenses are often difficult to assign and do not always reflect the true use and application. SAP offers a wide range of products, but it remains a major challenge for SAP customers to maintain an overview of their options.

The saying "many roads lead to Rome" is a popular one, but evaluating these numerous paths in terms of business management, organization, technology, and licensing law is a complex undertaking. The complexity of the SAP ecosystem impedes and delays the digital transformation of SAP customers.

SAP price and conditions list as a crystallization point

The SAP price list (PKL, price and conditions list) is the obvious starting point for many SAP projects. Many SAP customers employ their own pricing and license managers to provide commercial guidance and clarity. The time commitment for an S/4 conversion or the negotiation of a RISE with SAP contract can span multiple months, or even years. Digital transformations are at times put completely on hold during the months it can take to negotiate a RISE contract.

The DSAG user association has long advocated for a significant reduction in the complexity of the SAP price and conditions list. The disparate metrics, such as those pertaining to user and engine licenses, introduce complications and delays in contract negotiations between SAP and its customer base.

Multidimensional RISE with SAP

Even SAP's flagship product RISE does not have a single contract, but rather consists of a large number of supplements, web links, and different contracts for cloud subscription, lift and shift, on-prem replacement, S/4 transformation, as well as other requirements, regulations, and IT contracts.

The average duration of negotiations for a RISE contract between customers and SAP is approximately six months, which is a considerable time investment in an economy undergoing transition. In a period of cost reduction and transformation, it is crucial that technical IT contract negotiations do not impede progress. SAP must address the backlog of transformations through greater transparency, simplification, and improved orchestration.

SAP Executive Board member Thomas Saueressig's call for a faster and more efficient transformation at the DSAG Annual Congress 2024 in Leipzig is correct and justified. However, SAP must also make its contribution. SAP must become simpler! RISE contracts must be more transparent, equitable, and free of ambiguity!