Licensing & Cost Governance
RISE changes how licensing works—from perpetual to subscription, from periodic audits to continuous compliance. Proactive governance prevents surprise costs.
true-up cycles common
based metrics matter
monitoring required
typical optimization potential
Licensing in RISE: A Different Model
RISE with SAP shifts from traditional perpetual licensing with periodic audits to a subscription model with more frequent usage measurement. This changes how you need to think about license governance.
In the on-premise world, many organisations ran informal audits every few years and dealt with true-ups as they came. In RISE, usage is often measured more frequently, and exceeding contracted levels can trigger automatic true-up charges.
The good news: with better visibility into usage patterns, you have more opportunity to optimize. The challenge: you need proactive governance rather than reactive compliance.
Common Surprise
"We thought RISE meant we didn't have to worry about licensing." — False. You need more governance, not less.
Last Updated
January 15, 2026
Sources
- •SAP RISE Commercial Terms
- •SAP License Audit Guide
Information based on publicly available SAP documentation and industry sources. For the latest details, consult SAP official materials or qualified partners.
What Changes with RISE
OldTraditional On-Premise
Perpetual licenses
Buy once, maintain forever
Periodic audits
Every 2-4 years typically
Named user licensing
Count of users by type
Retroactive true-ups
Pay for past overages at audit
NewRISE Subscription
Subscription model
Annual commitment with usage tiers
Continuous measurement
Annual or more frequent true-ups
FUE (Full User Equivalent)
Usage-based metric replacing named users
Proactive governance needed
Monitor before you exceed
Building License Governance
Visibility
Deploy tools to measure actual usage against contracted levels in near real-time.
Ownership
Assign clear responsibility for license compliance—typically IT Finance or SAP CoE.
Process
Establish regular reviews (monthly) with threshold alerts before limits are reached.
Action
Create playbooks for common scenarios: cleanup, role changes, user deprovisioning.
Governance Cadence
Monthly
Usage dashboard review, threshold check
Quarterly
Role cleanup, inactive user review
Annually
Full audit prep, contract renewal planning
License Optimization Strategies
Common opportunities to reduce costs without reducing capability
Quick Wins (30-60 days)
Remove inactive users
Users with no login in 90+ days
Downgrade over-provisioned users
Professional users who only need Limited access
Clean up test users
Non-production users that count in some metrics
Longer-Term (3-6 months)
- →
Role simplification
Reduce composite roles that grant excessive access
- →
Automation for read-only access
Replace user queries with automated reports/dashboards
- →
Contract renegotiation
Armed with data, negotiate better terms at renewal
Metrics to Track
FUE Utilization
Current FUE consumption vs contracted level
Inactive Users
Users with no login in 90 days
User Type Distribution
Professional vs Limited vs Developer
Transaction Usage
Which transactions drive consumption
Role Assignments
Roles per user and role coverage
Cost Per User
Total license cost / active users
License Governance Checklist
Foundation
- Understand your contract metrics (FUE, named, etc.)
- Deploy usage measurement tooling
- Assign license governance owner
- Document current baseline
- Set alert thresholds (80%, 90%)
Ongoing Operations
- Monthly usage report review
- Quarterly inactive user cleanup
- Annual role and access review
- Pre-renewal optimization sprint
- Track cost per user trend