SAP Global Adoption Insights & License Compliance

SAP's Global Adoption Insights and License Compliance organization (GLAC) offers our customers support regarding their SAP License entitlement and utilization.

SAP understands that software license compliance, risk avoidance and investment optimization is often perceived as a challenge. However, regularly reviewing license compliance is in the interest of all customers as it mitigates the risk of financial exposure. It also provides a solid basis for licence optimization and future investment decisions. In times of unprecedented change and uncertainty, customers may require more or different support from SAP to meet their contractual obligations.

In response, SAP's Global Adoption Insights and License Compliance organization (GLAC) has evolved its offering to better meet our customers' need for clarity around their SAP license entitlement and usage.

Our Ambition

  • Ensure that our customers can manage their SAP licenses effectively.
  • Provide SAP customers with transparency to avoid license overconsumption.
  • Optimize SAP customer's license utilization.
  • Create additional business value for our customers via a comprehensive set of services.

Who we are

The SAP Global Adoption Insights and License Compliance department is the independent centre of excellence for SAP license measurement and advisory services.

  • GLAC has 50 office locations in 40 countries with 250+ staff around the world.
  • We support more than 20,000 customer engagements per year.
  • Our support is clearly separated from sales activities to assure independence and objectivity towards our customers.

GLAC Services Portfolio

GLAC have continuously expanded their service portfolio to better support customers regarding license compliance.

Our service offering has two dimensions:

  1. The service either requires a license Measurement (performed by the customer or GLAC) or can be provided without one (Non-Measurement).
  2. The service relates to either a Contractual Requirement or it is an Optional Advisory.

The graphic shows which category our different services fall into.

Audit Services

Under its general terms and conditions, SAP has the contractual right to verify the customer's use of SAP licenses (on-premise and cloud) at regular intervals.

  • GLAC either ask the customer to start a measurement or for access to carry out the measurement jointly on the customer systems.
  • The measurement scope may focus on specific products or processes or cover the entire customer installation.
  • The results of the measurements are compared with the customer's license entitlement. Any deviations form the basis for further interactions.

License Audit Measurement Service (On-Premise)

  • Default option through which SAP exercises its license audit rights.
  • Evaluates the measurement results generated by measurement tools and self-declarations forms.
  • Supports customers to maintain compliance with their SAP license entitlement.

Premium Engagement

A more comprehensive and collaborative engagement delivered by a team of SAP experts working with the customer on-site/remote 

  • Supports customers in complex measurement situations.
  • Provides a more comprehensive overview of all licensed SAP products (SAP NetWeaver, SAP HANA, etc.) and areas of use including usage of SAP software via interfaced third-party systems.

Private Cloud Metering

  • Provides transparency on SAP Private Cloud consumption on a monthly base. 
  • Helps customers to understand how user authorizations effect the user classification. 

Public Cloud Metering

  • Establishes transparency on license utilization levels across the SAP Public Cloud Service Portfolio.
  • License utilization data available in near real-time, based on automated license entitlement calculation and ongoing license usage metering.

License Rights Management Service

  • Helps customers, partners, and SAP Sales teams to understand and manage SAP Software Use Rights and/or SAP Cloud Services.
  • The service is often focused on events like a company's reorganization, divestment, merger and acquisition, transitional services, affiliates, and group companies etc.

Advisory Services

Advisory services do not replace or circumvent SAP standard audit rights but can be useful to develop greater trust and confidence in working with GLAC.

Customers can request an advisory service for the following needs:

  • Analyzing and explaining the license entitlement.
  • Explaining the audit process (steps and preparations).
  • Discussing future usage needs.

Typical triggers to request a service are:

  • Conversion of licensing models, for example from ERP to SAP S/4HANA or cloud.
  • New projects.
  • Integration of new systems.
  • Advice for contractual implications of corporate restructuring, merger, or divestment.

Digital Access Evaluation Service

  • Designed to help customers evaluating the benefits of moving to the Digital Access Licensing Model.
  • Supports initial estimate of required licensable amount of Digital Access (DA) documents​.
  • Helps customers to understand the measurement approaches for Digital Access (DA)​.

Customer Measurement Service

  • Discretionary, collaborative measurement service delivered by specialists working on-site or remote with the customer.
  • Supports customers by offering customized measurement education and practical training.
  • Provides our customers with specific SAP product measurement best practices and knowledge transfer.

SAP S/4HANA Trusted Authorization Review

  • Structured transparent service delivered by an SAP expert team that works on-site/remote with the customer.
  • Guides customers on their transformation to the SAP S/4HANA On-Premise / Public Cloud / Private Cloud. 
  • Provides professional expertise remotely and/or on-site by offering a tailored utilization concierge service that helps to simulate and optimize future use requirements.

Additional Services

In addition to our audit or advisory services the GLAC service portfolio includes the following services:

License Utilization Information

  • An online self-service tool that enables customers to achieve easy access and transparency regarding their License Entitlements versus License Utilization. ​
  • Provides a view of the customer purchase history and online public cloud reporting to display cloud service utilization. ​

License Keys

  • Delivers license keys for product activation based on customer's license agreement.

Software Asset Manager

  • It is a complementary tool tailored specifically for customers that can be easily integrated within customer's SAP landscape via SAP TCI note. 
  • It provides real-time insights into customer's SAP license consumption so that customers can make informed decisions and optimize their license usage.
  • It helps to avoid over-licensing issues by getting accurate data about users and their authorizations, helping to cut unnecessary costs.