Introduction – Why Reducing SAP Maintenance Costs Matters
SAP’s annual maintenance fees can consume a large chunk of your IT budget. The frustrating reality is that you pay support on all your SAP licenses – even those you’re not actually using.
Over time, paying 22% (or more) on unused “shelfware” erodes your budget and limits your flexibility to invest in new projects.
In fact, many large SAP customers carry 10–20% or more in unused licenses – a significant portion of support spend essentially wasted, funding SAP’s growth instead of your own.
For more insights, read our ultimate guide to Negotiating SAP Support & Maintenance: Reducing Costs and Improving Terms.
Reducing SAP maintenance costs isn’t just about saving money; it’s about reclaiming budget for innovation and essential projects. Bottom line: If you’re paying SAP for software you aren’t using, it’s time to push back and negotiate a better deal.
Understanding SAP’s Shelfware & “No Partial Termination” Policy
Shelfware refers to SAP licenses or modules you purchased but never deployed (or no longer use). Unfortunately, SAP’s standard support model makes it difficult to drop these unused licenses from your maintenance bill. SAP enforces a “no partial termination” policy – you generally can’t drop support on a subset of licenses without terminating your entire agreement.
In other words, if you bought 1,000 licenses but only use 800, SAP still expects maintenance fees on all 1,000 by default.
From SAP’s perspective, this policy protects its recurring revenue. The contract assumes you’ll keep paying for every license unless you negotiate an exception. The onus is on you to push back. Left unchallenged, you’ll pay year after year for software that sits idle.
Why does shelfware happen? Common scenarios include:
- Decommissioned systems or modules: A system or module was phased out, but its licenses remain on the books (still incurring support).
- Failed rollouts or unused capabilities: Licenses bought for a project that never went live, or extra modules purchased “just in case” that ultimately weren’t used.
- Over-provisioning: Buying far more user licenses or features than were actually required, leaving a surplus.
Preparation – Identifying Cost Reduction Opportunities
Preparation is crucial before you approach SAP about cutting maintenance spend. You’ll need hard data and a plan.
Start by auditing your SAP usage to pinpoint what you’re paying for but not actually using:
- Usage Audit: Analyze actual system activity across all SAP modules and user licenses as part of an internal maintenance audit. Pull usage reports (using SAP’s license admin tools) to see logins, transaction counts, and active users for each component.
- License Classification: Categorize your SAP licenses. Identify core licenses (actively used, mission-critical), secondary licenses (used infrequently or by limited users), and shelfware (completely unused). This shows where support dollars deliver value versus where they’re wasted.
- Contract Review: Examine your SAP agreements (and amendments) for any clauses that might allow dropping or reallocating licenses. Terms around partial termination, assignment, or deletion rights could offer a rare chance to remove shelfware.
- Benchmark the Waste: Quantify how much shelfware costs you per year. For instance, determine what percentage of your annual SAP support fees go toward unused licenses – that stark figure will help build urgency to address it.
Preparation Checklist – Identify Reduction Opportunities:
- Gather detailed usage reports for all modules and map them against your license entitlements to spot any major gaps.
- Highlight any modules or licenses with zero usage, and check your contract (or upcoming renewals) for terms that might allow their removal or swap.
Read about differences in SAP Support, Understanding SAP Support Fees: Enterprise vs Standard Support Explained.
Negotiation Strategies to Reduce Support Spend
With data in hand, you can approach SAP with a plan to trim support costs despite its rigid policies. Consider these negotiation strategies:
- Request a Support Base Realignment: Ask SAP to realign your maintenance base to actual usage, rather than treating reductions as a breach. Emphasize that you’ll keep paying support for all software you actively use – just not for the shelfware sitting idle. This reframes the issue as cost optimization, not contract violation.
- Negotiate License Give-Backs or Swaps: Propose an exchange program for your shelfware. For example, return unused licenses for credit toward future SAP purchases, or swap them for other SAP products (including cloud services) that your team will use. SAP retains your budget, but you get far more value from it.
- Present a CFO-Backed Business Case: If needed, escalate the discussion. Quantify the budget tied up in shelfware and present it to SAP’s account team (and higher). Involve your CFO or another senior executive to show that this waste is a high-level concern. When SAP sees that rigidity could jeopardize future business, it may become more flexible.
- Leverage Upgrades or Migrations: Use upcoming projects as leverage. If you’re moving to S/4HANA or deploying new SAP modules, explain that freeing shelfware maintenance dollars will help fund that initiative. Tying your request to an SAP-favored project makes them more likely to accommodate some license cleanup.
- Secure a “Spring Cleaning” Clause: Negotiate provisions for ongoing flexibility. Write into your renewal or new contract that at each renewal (or on a set schedule) you can remove a certain number of unused licenses without penalty. This gives you a built-in mechanism to keep support costs optimized long-term.
Sample Clause: “SAP will review and exclude from the maintenance base any license or module unused for 24 months, subject to mutual audit agreement.”
Read how SAP third-party support works: Third-Party SAP Support: Cost Savings, Risks, and When It Makes Sense.
Common Pitfalls & SAP Counter Moves
Expect SAP to push back on attempts to reduce support fees. Anticipate these pitfalls and prepare counter-moves:
| Pitfall (SAP’s Tactic) | Your Counter-Strategy |
|---|---|
| “Partial termination = breach” – SAP says contract forbids dropping any licenses. | Provide evidence of non-use and get executive support to push for an exception. Remind SAP that any contract can be amended by mutual agreement. |
| “Removal requires equal purchase or penalty” – SAP demands you buy something or pay a fee to remove shelfware. | Reject any “removal fee.” Propose a compromise instead – for example, phase out the licenses over time or swap them for licenses you need – so it’s not punitive. |
| Temporary reprieve – SAP allows removal now but will re-add licenses at renewal. | Insist on making the removal permanent. Amend the contract so those licenses are deleted from the support base and can’t be added back later. |
| Redefining “use” – SAP claims software isn’t “unused” since it’s installed/available. | Nail down an objective definition of “unused” (e.g. no logins for 12 months) and get SAP to agree to it in writing. That way you can prove a license is shelfware and eligible to drop. |
Complementary Levers to Erode the Support Base
Additionally, consider these tactics to chip away at your SAP maintenance costs:
- Switch to a Lower Support Tier: If some systems – especially non-critical or shelfware-heavy ones – don’t need SAP’s full Enterprise Support, request a move to Standard Support (with a lower fee percentage). Even a small percentage drop in the support rate can yield significant savings.
- License Consolidation: Identify overlapping or redundant SAP licenses that you could eliminate. For example, if two modules have similar functionality, retire one and consolidate users onto the remaining solution. Fewer licenses mean a smaller maintenance base.
- Sunset Legacy Systems: Plan the retirement of old SAP systems so you can cut their support costs promptly. Align the end-of-maintenance date with each system’s shutdown. When a system or module is decommissioned, formally notify SAP so that those licenses are removed from your agreement.
- Third-Party Support Leverage: Explore third-party support options for part of your SAP estate. A quote from an alternative provider (often ~50% cheaper) for your software systems can be a strong bargaining chip. The threat of moving some support to a third party can spur SAP to offer concessions.
Governance and Ongoing Audit Discipline
Securing a maintenance reduction is only half the battle. To keep shelfware from creeping back, build strict license governance into your processes. Treat SAP licenses as a living portfolio that needs regular pruning.
- Regular License Audits: Schedule routine (e.g., quarterly) reviews of SAP usage. Compare entitlements versus actual use to spot new shelfware early.
- Shelfware Register: Keep a dashboard or log of all SAP licenses and flag which ones are unused. Update it whenever you add, change, or retire licenses.
- Contractual Safeguards: In every new SAP contract or renewal, include audit and license-removal clauses. For example, stipulate that if a new license isn’t used within 12–24 months, you can adjust or remove it. Each contract update should improve your flexibility to prevent future shelfware.
- Cross-Functional Alignment: Make SAP license management a joint effort across IT, Procurement, and Finance. When these teams share data and coordinate, you can respond quickly and present a united front to SAP.
Ongoing Governance Checklist:
- Continuously monitor license usage (set automated alerts) and perform at least an annual review to flag underused modules or licenses.
- Engage SAP well before each renewal with any removal requests, and document SAP’s responses for use in next cycle planning.
5 Maintenance Cost Reduction Tactics to Remember
- Treat shelfware as negotiable – not “locked in.”
- Use usage data and executive backing as leverage.
- Request removal or credits instead of a full termination.
- Tie license cleanups to renewal or migration events.
- Make audits and cleanups a routine part of SAP governance.
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