While announced with a big bang in 2013, not many SAP customers are taking advantage of the limited license retirement program that has got the disguising title ‘Other requests’. The demand to get relief from shelfware maintenance fees that represent no value whatsoever is clearly visible, however the individual negotiation is still done on an ad-hoc basis with uncertain outcome. However, when carried out carefully and according to a master plan, several large user organizations have successfully leveraged the program. Late-comers still have an opportunity to execute, but time is running short:
- Typical sequence of phases to retire licenses without new purchase
Before sending a request letter to SAP stating the amount of licenses to retire, a careful analysis is advised to avoid loss on your investment. Because revoking the use of license foreever should be justified by a significant reduction of the related maintenance fee. SAP’s way of re-valuating the procurement contracts over the whole licensing history may not provide enough value!
To get an idea of the project structure, see also Steps to SAP License Retirement:SAP_OtherRequests_DrL