Data, Processes and Communication Flow in SAP Support Portal

This documentation describes the main processes in the SAP Support Portal.

Managing Customer Numbers

Requesting a New Customer Number from SAP

Customer numbers are assigned by SAP for companies (legal entities). An additional customer number is required, for example, if the site of a new installation differs from the address for your existing customer number. Contact your account manager to request an additional customer number.

Changing Data for a Customer Number

The address details or name belonging to a customer number can only be changed by the contracts department responsible or relevant account manager and must match the official/legal status of the company. The address details for a customer number can be viewed in the Installation Data application.

Deleting Customer Numbers

If a customer number is to be deleted/discontinued because, for example, the subsidiary was closed, contact your local SAP contracts department or your account manager. A customer number can only be discontinued if it is not assigned any installations, open contracts, open orders, or open invoices. S-users that were created under the customer number cannot be reassigned to another customer number and are inactive once the customer number is deleted. To prepare for deleting/discontinuing the customer number, you can delete the installations and systems in the Systems & Installations area. If a customer number is only to be removed from the corporate group function, refer to Removing Customer Numbers from the Corporate Group Function.

Grouping Together Multiple Customer Numbers Using the Corporate Group Function

For value contract customers, SAP provides a corporate group function that allows multiple customer numbers of a corporate group to be grouped together. From a technical perspective, additional customer numbers for the corporate group are assigned to an existing parent company customer number.

This enables S-users with the relevant authorization to access all activated customer numbers and installations of the corporate group and execute all functions in the SAP Support Portal (for example, create cases, request license keys, and perform central S-user management). An exception to this is the Software Download Center, in which you can access only the software that is licensed under your S-user ID's customer number.

The super administrator for the corporate group, who is named by the customer, is granted unrestricted access and can grant authorization to other S-users.

Note that the corporate group function is only intended for companies with multiple associated customer numbers; in other words, only parent companies and subsidiaries with a value contract. In contrast, the corporate group function is not intended for use by partners and their end customers (see KBA 2632518).

How to Activate the Corporate Group Function

  1. Create a case with the future parent company customer number, using component XX-SER-FORME.
  2. Specify which customer numbers are to be added under the parent company customer number.
  3. Specify the name and user ID of the future super administrator. A request to activate this user should preferably be made directly by the relevant super administrator.

Note that the value contract number of all new customer numbers added by means of the corporate group function must be identical. If they are not, the account manager must be contacted so that they can approve activation in writing in the case.

When the corporate group function is activated, the super administrator of the new corporate group receives the maximum authorization from SAP and can therefore access all installations of all customer numbers activated for this group. (This also applies to all installations that are added under an activated customer number following activation of the corporate group function.)

The super administrator of the corporate group is responsible for S-users and the administration of their rights. We recommend that you name at least one additional super administrator, so you always have one available (if someone is on holiday, for example). See also Determining Super Administrators.

Adding Customer Numbers to a Parent Company Customer Number

Additional customer numbers can also be assigned later to a parent company customer number. For this purpose, the super administrator responsible creates a case using component XX-SER-FORME.

Removing Customer Numbers from the Corporate Group Function

If a customer number is to be removed from the corporate group function, for example, because the participation was sold but the company still exists, proceed as follows:

  1. The authorizations of S-users remaining in that corporate group, as well as any being removed from the corporate group, must be modified before the customer number is removed from the corporate group, since subsequent changes can no longer be made by the super administrator.
    • Corporate group S-users' authorizations that refer to the customer number to be removed must be revoked.
    • Authorizations of S-users belonging to the customer number to be removed must no longer reference the corporate group.
    • On request, SAP can provide you with an overview of authorization overlaps to show clearly which S-users require administrative changes. You request this overview by creating a case using component XX-SER-FORME.
  2. Once the S-user authorizations have been modified by the super administrator, SAP can remove the customer number from the corporate group. Communicate this in the case reported and specify the name and S-user ID of the new super administrator of the customer number to be removed. SAP will grant this S-user the necessary authorization.
  3. If a customer number is to be deleted in full, refer to Deleting Customer Numbers.

Managing Installations

Requesting a New Installation

To request your very first installation, use the installation request form (PDF) which can be downloaded from the Installation Data page. Additional installations can be requested by means of self-service.

A new installation is needed, for example, when another SAP product is purchased that does not belong to the same product group as the products you have previously purchased. For example, if you have previously only used SAP ERP, another installation is required if you purchase SAP CRM. There are no limits to the number of production systems you can have under one installation. If you have any questions about the installation request or you need a test installation, contact your local SAP contracts department.

Changing Installation Data

You can change the name of an installation on the Installation Management page. Select the customer number and choose the required installation number. Here, you can carry out the necessary changes.

To make further changes to the installation, for example, to the technical data (hardware, operating system, database), software recipient, or delivery address, contact your SAP contracts department directly.

Assigning an Installation to Another Customer Number

It is not possible to reassign installations to another customer number. A new installation must be created under a different customer number, and the one that is no longer required should be deleted. To do this, contact your SAP contracts department.

An installation can only be deleted if all systems under this installation have been deleted (see Deleting Systems). Beforehand, all systems that you wish to keep should be moved to a different installation or the newly created one (see Assigning a System to a Different Installation). Both actions can be carried out as a self-service on the Installation Management page.

The S-user authorizations must be adapted by the (super) administrator so that the previously authorized S-users can still access the installation.

Deleting Installations

Installations can be deleted through the Installation Management application.

Before you can delete an installation, the following clean-up steps need to be executed in the correct order to avoid any data inconsistencies:

  1. Close all open support cases reported for the systems belonging to the installation you want to delete. Closed cases for a deleted installation can still be viewed via the case search.
  2. Delete all systems belonging to the installation you want to delete, or re-assign them to another installation.
  3. Clean-up all affected user authorization profiles by removing the installation you want to delete from all authorizations objects which have this installation number assigned. Also remove the corresponding customer number, if the last installation is deleted and the customer number will no longer be used. You can easily identify all affected users and make necessary corrections via the Mass Updates of Authorizations function.

These clean-up activities must be executed before the appropriate installation is deleted. Otherwise, it will no longer be possible to process or confirm open cases, to delete or reassign systems, or to update the authorization profiles of the affected users with the accurate values.

Once an installation has been deleted from the contract, the installation number is no longer displayed in the Installation Management application. If you delete an installation by mistake, this deletion can be reversed by your SAP contracts department.

Managing Systems

Creating a New System

You can create a new system using the License Key application.

When a license key is requested, a new system is created that is visible in the support applications (for example, in the Get Support application). For solutions that do not require license keys, systems can also be created without a license key.

Changing System Data

Do this via the System Data application.

In change mode, you can edit the system name, maintain technical information, and delete individual license keys. For more information, see Managing License Keys.

Assigning a System to a Different Installation

Through the System Data application, you can assign systems to a different installation number.

SAP can also help to reassign systems under a different installation number if required. To do this, create a case using the component XX-SER-FORME.

Important: When reassigning systems under a different installation, note the following:

  • Open cases that were created under the system to be reassigned can no longer be processed once the system has been reassigned. Cases should therefore be closed before the system is reassigned.
  • You can find closed cases for a deleted system using the case search function. To process an 'open' case that had to be closed, a new case can be reported under the new installation with reference to the 'old' case (see SAP Note 198140).
  • For SAP systems, a new license key is generated and can be downloaded directly when the system is reassigned. SAP BusinessObjects systems retain their license key (see SAP Notes 94998 and 870871). For SAP Sybase products, this process is not available.
  • To ensure correct license data, the old license key in the SAP system must be deleted before a new license key can be installed.
  • Developer and object keys (SSCR keys) for SAP systems must be created under the new installation number. SAP offers the service of transferring the registered developers and objects from the old installation to the new one. Since the SSCR keys are permanently linked to the installation number, new SSCR keys are generated for the new installation number. These must be requested once in the overview of created developers and objects in the SAP Support Portal and then manually entered in the system. To request that SAP transfers the registered developers and objects, create a case under component XX-SER-FORME.
  • SAP router data might have to be modified for remote access (for example, for service delivery). For this purpose, a case must be created under component XX-SER-NET if necessary.

Deleting Systems

You can delete systems using the System Data application.

Important: When deleting systems, note the following:

  • A system can be deleted or created at any time without any preconditions.
  • When a system is deleted, the license keys are also deleted automatically.
  • Open cases that were created under the system can no longer be processed once the system has been deleted. Cases should therefore be closed before the system is deleted.
  • You can find closed cases using the case search function, but they are no longer available for processing. A new case can be reported under the new installation with reference to the 'old' case (SAP Note 198140).
  • Systems deleted by mistake can be reactivated. Service reports, such as SAP EarlyWatch Alert, are no longer generated. Previously created service reports can still be found using the service message search function.

Managing License Keys

Requesting License Keys

You can request permanent and temporary license keys using the License Key application (see also Creating a New System).

Deleting License Keys

You can delete SAP license keys using the License Key application. Call up the system in edit mode. Here, individual keys can be deleted from a system as long as other keys exist. If there is only one license key entry left within a system, it cannot be deleted and the delete icon is no longer displayed (see SAP Note 94998).

Viewing Maintenance Certificates

A maintenance certificate is required to import support packages. This applies to all SAP products. The maintenance certificate enables the software logistics tools to identify the exact scope of the maintenance agreement and prevents support packages from being downloaded by mistake and being distributed to the wrong systems. You can view and manually extend your maintenance certificates in the License Key application.

With SAP Solution Manager, maintenance certificates for all systems can be extended in an automated process.

Downloading Software

Downloading Software in the SAP Software Download Center

In the SAP Software Download Center, you can access all SAP software that is licensed under the customer number of your S-user ID. Which software products an S-user can view depends on the software contract and the customer number the S-user was created under (not on the user's authorizations). Therefore, a software product can only be viewed under a customer number (for all S-users of the customer), if a valid contract was booked under the customer number.

The global download authorization 'Download software' only defines if an S-user is allowed to download software that has been licensed by the S-user's customer number. If the S-user does not have this authorization, he can view — but not download — the software. When software is accessed in the SAP Software Download Center, there are two different scenarios:

1. Customers with one customer number
In this scenario, licenses are always purchased using the customer number. In the SAP Software Download Center, you can access with your S-user ID all the SAP software that is licensed under your customer number.

2. Customers with a license agreement that contains multiple customer numbers (corporate group)
For corporate groups, licenses are usually purchased through a master agreement on the parent company's customer number. In the SAP Software Download Center you only have access to the software included in your master agreement with an S-user, if one of the following applies:

  • The S-user is created in the parent company customer number
  • The S-user was created in another customer number, and in this other customer number a technical installation exists that points to the licenses of the parent company customer number

This applies regardless of whether the customer number of your S-user is linked to the parent company's customer number via the corporate functions or not. For more information, please consult your account manager or your SAP contracts department.

For corporate groups, in addition to the global master agreement, individual local license agreements (e.g., test and demo contracts) may exist under a customer number different than the parent company's customer number, if only those S-users belonging to the customer number are to be allowed to download and use the software locally. In this case, only those S-users created for this customer can view — and with the relevant authorization — download the software. S-users created under the parent company's customer number (or another customer number) do not have access to the software included in the individual local license agreement, unless their parent company's customer number (or other customer numbers) include a technical installation that points to the licenses of the individual agreement.

If you are unable to view the products you are looking for in the SAP Software Download Center, despite your S-user having authorization to do so, the contractually agreed-upon license scope should be checked. Please check with your internal contracts or super administrator, under which customer number the software was licensed, and if the correct S-user was selected for the download.

An additional central tool for downloading SAP software is the Maintenance Planner in SAP Solution Manager.

How is Access to the Software Initially Made Possible?

As the customer, you give your account manager the name of a contact person in your company to act as the software recipient. The account manager forwards the information to the relevant SAP contracts department. Together with the contract, the contracts department sends a software download notification ("Download Letter") to the customer, containing the software recipient's S-user access data for the SAP Support Portal and SAP for Me portal. The S-user is automatically allocated with the authorization 'Download Software'

By signing the contract and download letter, the customer confirms receipt of the access data and the electronic delivery of the software via the SAP Software Download Center. Once the contract has been posted and the licensed products released, they are visible in the SAP Software Download Center and can be downloaded with the authorized S-user created under the customer number of the contract. The download letter is issued when the contract is created, and it is delivered with the pre-signed contract, or, in the case of first purchases, it already forms part of the contract. For subsequent purchases relating to an existing contract for products that have already been licensed, a new download letter does not have to be issued.

If the download letter is not signed and returned with the contract (not part of the contract), the software is delivered on a data medium. In this case, contact the relevant contracts department and communicate the delivery address of the software recipient.

If you are supported by an SAP partner, this partner will order the software for you and provide SAP with the name of a contact person who is to receive the software. In this case, the contact person also receives a download letter containing S-user access data and the relevant authorizations for downloading software and must confirm receipt of this access data.

Determining Administrators

For a complete overview about the user, authorization and administrator concept at SAP please refer to support.sap.com/user-admin-concept.

What are Super and Cloud Administrators?

For customers with an SAP on-premise product, a super administrator has all authorizations in the SAP Support Portal at the highest possible level, usually for all installations under the customer number or for the corporate group. Besides the installation-specific authorizations (such as Request License Keys), a super administrator receives all non-installation-specific (global) authorizations (such as Software Download).

For customers who have licensed an SAP cloud product, cloud administrators receive all authorizations that are required to fulfill SAP cloud-related tasks.

Both super and cloud administrators can request additional S-user IDs. They can assign any of their authorizations to other users or delete such rights. The existing administrator concept is extremely flexible and allows customers to model different requirements and hierarchies. For instance, administrators can also create other administrators, such as "local" administrators, who are responsible for administration in certain areas or regions (see Managing Users).

Note that a cloud administrator's authorizations are usually specific to certain cloud installations. As a result, they can only assign authorizations that are related to these installations.

How is the Super or Cloud Administrator Determined?

The first S-user of a customer number is automatically created as a super administrator (or cloud administrator for cloud-only customers) by SAP. When an installation is created by SAP, the SAP contracts department must enter the corresponding software recipient named on the customer's installation request form. This person receives a corresponding contact person role (software recipient) and is automatically informed of their S-user ID and password through a password letter. If this is the first installation for this customer number, it is generally also the first S-user for the customer who receives super (or cloud) administrator rights.

How is the Super Administrator Determined for Customer Numbers That are Grouped Together?

When first grouping together customer numbers using the corporate group function, you must nominate a super administrator, who receives maximum authorization from SAP and therefore gets access to all installations for the activated customer numbers. You request that authorization be assigned to the super administrator at the same time as requesting activation of the respective customer numbers from SAP by creating a case under component XX-SER-FORME (SAP Note 2632518). For more information, see Adding Customer Numbers to a Parent Company Customer Number.

Managing S-User IDs

Your company's user administrators can manage your S-user IDs and their authorizations to a large extent themselves. They can request any number of S-user IDs and assign them the required authorizations. For new customers, SAP only creates initial S-user IDs for SAP software recipients of the customer (see Determining Administrators). Note that for security reasons SAP is not allowed to create additional S-user IDs for customers or assign authorizations to such S-users.

For more information, please refer to the documents About the User, Authorization and Administrator Concept and User Management Online Help.

Requesting New S-Users

To create new S-users for your company, the administrator enters the User Management page.

The fastest way for administrators to create a new S-user is to first request the S-user and then set up the authorizations.

Administering S-Users

Using the User Management application, administrators can change contact data as well as authorizations for the following S-users:

  • All S-users that have been assigned to them (permanently)
  • All existing and future S-users of the customer or — in a special case — of the Customer Center of Expertise (CCoE)

Authorization management deals with authorizations that are required to support customer installations. For this reason, most authorizations contain not only the S-user's right to perform a specific task (for example, create a support case), but also the level at which the user can exercise this right (for example, for a specific installation).

Administrators can grant the following authorizations:

  • Authorizations that they have been assigned. Administrators are normally assigned all or almost all authorizations. However, a customer can also define administrators who only have a few authorizations.

Administrators can grant authorizations for the following values:

  • Only for those values for which they have authorization. For example: If the administrator has authorization to create support cases for customer number 1234, they can assign other S-users this authorization for all installations that belong to customer 1234.

The easiest way to maintain authorizations is to use the 'Copy Authorization Profile' function to copy the authorizations of one S-user to another. In accordance with the authorization concept, only those authorizations that are assigned to the administrator are assigned.

If you want to assign several S-users the same authorizations at the same time, you can also use authorization packages or the mass change function for authorizations.

Transferring S-Users from One Customer Number to Another

S-users cannot be reassigned from one customer number to another. Instead, the old S-user must be deleted and created again under the new customer number. This results in the user history being lost, that is, the individual overviews (including reported cases, requested license keys, SSCR keys, and inbox entries), personalized settings, such as single sign-on, and important SAP Notes, must be reconfigured using the new S-user ID.

Deleting S-Users/Changing Contact Person Roles

The super administrator or user administrator can delete users through the User Management application. They are then listed in the Deleted Users section of this application for twelve months and cannot be reactivated (see KBA 1811859).

S-users with special roles or functions (such as software recipient or technical contact person for the installation) cannot be deleted. This is only possible once SAP has transferred the role to somebody else. To do this, create a case using component XX-SER-FORME and nominate a contact person who is to assume the role of the S-user to be deleted. It is, of course, also possible to request changes to contact person roles without deleting an S-user.

When an S-user is deleted, related objects are not affected:

  • The S-user's reported or migrated cases are not lost and can still be accessed using the case search.
  • The S-user's issued service reports are retained and can be accessed via the service report search function.
  • The S-user's requested license keys or systems are not lost.
  • The S-user's requested migration keys and developer and object keys (SSCR keys) are not lost and can be displayed using the global overviews.

Note: For your own security, regularly delete inactive S-user IDs and S-user IDs of people who have left the company so that you can avoid unauthorized access and keep your user data up to date.