What is the True Cost of Job Role Standardisation in SAP?
Job role standardisation has long been positioned as a best practice in SAP security. By consolidating and aligning user roles across business units and geographies, organisations have traditionally sought to simplify role management, improve user onboarding, and streamline Joiner-Mover-Leaver (JML) processes. However, as SAP continues to evolve its licensing models, particularly with the rollout of the STAR measurement process, the cost-benefit equation of standardisation is no longer as clear-cut as it once was.
The Case for Standardisation
The benefits of job role standardisation in SAP are well-documented:
- Operational Efficiency: Standardised roles can reduce administrative overhead and enable faster onboarding and role assignment.
- Governance Improvements: Standardised roles can streamline processes such as User Access Reviews.
- Process Automation: Standard roles enable more automation in identity lifecycle management, which is particularly valuable in complex JML processes.
These advantages have historically justified the effort and investment required to standardise roles—particularly in large or highly regulated enterprises.
The Hidden Costs: Access Risk and Licensing
However, standardisation comes at a cost. And in today’s SAP landscape, those costs are increasingly financial.
1. Increased Access Risk Exposure
As organisations standardise roles, they often consolidate functionality, granting broader access to users than they might strictly need. This inherently increases the potential for Segregation of Duties (SoD) conflicts and access risks. While mitigations and detective controls can manage this risk, they require investment and ongoing governance.
More importantly, the consequence of access risk isn’t just theoretical. SoD violations can lead to fraud, data misuse, or financial misstatement—any of which could materially impact the business. Historically, many organisations accepted this risk as part of a trade-off for operational simplicity.
2. Higher SAP Licensing Costs
The introduction of the STAR licensing model fundamentally changes the licensing equation. Under this model, SAP calculates user licence requirements based on the authorisation objects (contained in the STAR rule set) assigned to users—regardless of whether that access is actually used. As a result, organisations that assign broader, standardised roles risk significantly inflating their Full Use Equivalent (FUE) count, simply by virtue of what users could access.
What once was a manageable cost (or even an invisible one) has now become an explicit financial liability. In effect, by standardising roles, organisations may be inflating their SAP licence exposure, with potentially significant cost implications in their next SAP audit or RISE with SAP migration negotiation.
Reframing the Value: Is Standardisation Still Worth It?
For many organisations, the answer may be shifting. In the past, the operational benefits clearly outweighed the risk costs—especially if SoD controls were in place. But under the STAR model, licence true-up costs could far exceed the cost savings achieved by standardisation.
A Smarter Way Forward: Redefining Job Role Standardisation
Job Role Standardisation is far from obsolete—it still delivers real value by streamlining onboarding, improving user experience, and simplifying governance. However, in the context of STAR licensing, a more deliberate and data-driven approach is needed. Roles must be designed with precision, closely aligned to users’ actual access needs to avoid inflated licensing costs and unnecessary risk.
Organisations should adopt a risk- and cost-informed approach to role design that factors in both operational efficiency and financial impact:
• Analyse assigned vs actual usage: Leverage user activity logs (both transaction code / Fiori usage and authorisation object level usage) to understand what access users truly require.
• Balance functional breadth with SoD sensitivity: Design roles that minimise Segregation of Duties (SoD) risks while still meeting business needs—avoiding unnecessary over-provisioning.
• Quantify the licensing impact of standardisation: Model the financial implications of standardising roles by estimating the resulting Full Use Equivalent (FUE) count. For example, if a department-wide standardised role leads to a significant increase in FUEs, does the operational benefit justify the additional licensing cost?
• Segment your user population strategically: Standardisation is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Some business units or departments may be well-suited to a standardised approach, while others may require more tailored role designs. In such cases, apply standardisation at a more granular level to ensure the roles don’t result in unnecessary SAP user license costs / FUEs. Consider adopting a hybrid model—standardising roles where it makes sense, while allowing flexibility in areas where tailored access is necessary to avoid unnecessary SAP user licence costs or excess FUE consumption
Conclusion
Job role standardisation still offers real operational benefits. But in the age of STAR, it must be approached with caution. The financial implications—particularly related to SAP licensing—are more significant than ever.
In today’s landscape, smart standardisation is key: a strategy that incorporates usage analysis, risk exposure, and licence modelling into the design process. Only then can organisations ensure they are not trading operational efficiency for unanticipated financial cost.
Who is Soterion?
Soterion specialise in SAP security and License management, offering both market-leading technology and deep advisory expertise. With a proven track record in delivering robust, scalable, and easy-to-administer SAP authorisation solutions, we understand the practical challenges organisations face in managing access, compliance, and governance.
We pride ourselves on designing solutions that are not only technically sound but also intuitive and low in support overhead—ensuring ease of administration for IT teams and usability for business stakeholders. Our focus is on removing complexity and empowering business users to take ownership of their access risk management activities with confidence and clarity.
Soterion’s access control solution can be used very effectively during project phases to provide data-driven insights, simulate role designs, and validate access risk. This enables us to deliver audit-ready solutions that align with broader business objectives, including data privacy (privacy by design), licence optimisation (licensing by design), and scalable governance frameworks that support organisational growth.
If you have any questions or would like to see a demo, feel free to reach out to us by emailing [email protected]
