SAP License and User Management Group Test – The Results

ITAM News & Analysis

SAP License and User Management Group Test – The Results

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Overview – SAP License and User Management Group Test

Managing SAP licenses and users are one of the most complex tasks currently faced by software asset management professionals. With a number of different license metrics to manage and assign to the correct users, understanding the SAP requirements of your user base is a big challenge. One small, simple mistake can result in a user being assigned the wrong license, which could result in non-compliancy or unnecessary spend. A number of leading SAM tool vendors have realised the importance of SAP licensing and having the ability to have complete transparency of an organisations SAP estate, so they have released a number of ‘SAP Solutions’.

Key areas for optimisation with SAP are removing inactive or duplicate users; ensuring users have the optimal type of access for their requirements, managing custom SAP license metrics and indirect usage to SAP.

With that in mind, we have reviewed three of the leading vendors that provide such a solution for SAP license and user management.

 

Tools assessed

SAP powered by SecurIntegration (Brainwaregroup)
FlexNet Manager for SAP (Flexera Software)
Snow Optimizer for SAP (Snow Software)

We assessed tools according to the following criteria:

Criteria – High Level overview

• What product groups does your solution discover and recognize in terms of SAP Licensing and what approaches are used for each product group (SAP ERP, Business Warehouse, Business Objects, Sybase, HANA)
• How does your solution help organizations identify and remove inactive SAP users?
• How does your solution help organizations identify and remove duplicate users?
• How does your solution allow organizations to assign the correct user type against active users?
• Once an initial baseline and compliance position is reached with SAP – How does your solution support organizations with on-going monitoring and optimization of SAP licensing?
• How does your solution help organizations identify and manage indirect access to SAP products?
• How does your solution help organization manage SAP licensing against specific business metrics / SAP packages?

 

Best in Class – FlexNet Manager for SAP (Flexera)

We have selected FlexNet Manager for SAP as best in class for managing SAP licenses and users. FlexNet provides best in class features for successfully managing SAP users and licenses throughout their lifecycle. The data and features within FlexNet Manager for SAP can help users reduce the compliance and financial risks associated with SAP licenses, and also help the user understand what license metrics are needed for certain users.

The ITAM Review feels that it was a close call between Flexera and Snow Software. However, FlexNet has the ability to manage SAP licenses and compliancy directly, whereas you need Snow License Manager to look at any compliancy or license details. We feel that it is better for end users to have the SAP module incorporated into the license management solution, so users can manage SAP users and licenses at the same time, and FlexNet does this very well.

Whilst SAP powered by SecurIntegration (Brainware) is a strong solution, we feel that it is missing key features, such as the ability to manage indirect usage.

 

Strengths and weaknesses summary

	Strengths	Weaknesses
Brainwaregroup	Efficient SAP Account Management Detailed information and actions regarding SAP licence costs optimisation Core SAP application licence management information is detailed, and provides usage stats Simulated licence feature allows you to see compliancy and costs if you made changes	No indirect usage management Reports look complicated and hard to understand GUI looks weaker than competitors
Flexera	Comprehensive SAP license management and optimization based on detailed SAP usage data analysis Includes ‘Product Use Rights’ and standard metrics for SAP packages to provide SAP Package license management; also supports creation of customer defined metrics where no standard metrics exist Helps uncover SAP indirect access to mitigate audit risk associated with indirect usage; ensures that indirect users are checked against SAP users to avoid double counting	Cloud based products not currently supported (HANA);
Snow	Ease of use managing SAP users Helps identify the correct SAP License types for users Really strong data around SAP usage	No SAP contract management feature No SAP license compliancy feature No integration with Snow License Manager Doesn’t look as sleek as other Snow products No support yet for applications like Business Objects

Deep Dives – Tools Assessed

SAP powered by SecurIntegration (Brainwaregroup)
FlexNet Manager for SAP (Flexera Software)
Snow Optimizer for SAP (Snow Software)

 

Disclaimer, Scope and Limitations

The information contained in this review is based on sources and information believed to be accurate as of the time it was created. Therefore, the completeness and current accuracy of the information provided cannot be guaranteed. Readers should therefore use the contents of this review as a general guideline, and not as the ultimate source of truth.

Similarly, this review is not based on rigorous and exhaustive technical study. The ITAM Review recommends that readers complete a thorough live evaluation before investing in technology.

This is a paid review, that is, the vendors included in this review paid to participate in exchange for all results and analysis being published free of charge, without registration.

For further information, please read our Disclosure page.

 

 

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