Negotiating SAP Digital Access
Introduction: Why Digital Access Negotiation Is Critical in 2025
SAP’s Digital Access licensing model has become a pivotal issue for enterprises in 2025. SAP is aggressively pushing customers to adopt Digital Access, especially during S/4HANA migrations and contract renewals.
CIOs and procurement leads, negotiating SAP Digital Access adoption isn’t just a technical exercise – it’s a high-stakes financial decision.
Missteps can result in millions of dollars in costs through over-licensing or compliance penalties, whereas a well-negotiated deal can turn this situation into cost savings. In short, taking a proactive and hard-nosed approach to Digital Access negotiations is critical to protecting your budget and keeping SAP in check.
Adoption Landscape in 2025
SAP’s campaign to transition customers to Digital Access is in full force.
The company positions document-based licensing as the future, citing transparency and simplicity.
Many enterprises are finding Digital Access on the agenda due to a few common triggers in 2025:
- S/4HANA Migrations: As companies move to S/4HANA, SAP often insists on addressing indirect use via Digital Access. It’s a convenient time for SAP to convert you, so expect Digital Access to be bundled into your S/4 upgrade discussions.
- Audits and Compliance Fears: SAP’s license audits are zeroing in on indirect usage. High-profile cases in recent years have shown how traditional licensing can leave companies vulnerable. To avoid surprise audit bills, many are preemptively adopting Digital Access (sometimes under SAP’s Digital Access Adoption Program (DAAP) incentives) to legitimize their indirect use once and for all.
- Growth of Digital Integrations: Enterprises are integrating SAP with e-commerce sites, mobile apps, IoT devices, and partner portals more than ever. This indirect use exposure grows transaction volume beyond human users. By 2025, if you have significant third-party integrations, it’s likely on SAP’s radar – they will encourage (or pressure) you to license those interactions via Digital Access.
In this landscape, most SAP customers fall into two camps: those who have adopted Digital Access and those who soon will. The key is not whether to adopt (SAP’s making that decision easier by the day), but how you adopt – on your terms, with the best financial outcome.
How SAP Prices Digital Access Today
Understanding SAP digital access pricing in 2025 is essential for a successful negotiation. SAP sells Digital Access in bundled document packs with tiered pricing:
- Document Bundles: Digital Access is licensed per block of documents (business documents created via indirect use, annually). For example, you might buy a license for 100,000 documents/year. Smaller bundles (say 1,000 or 10,000 documents) carry a higher per-document cost, whereas larger volumes get progressively cheaper per document. SAP has defined bands or tiers – crossing into a higher volume tier can result in a reduced unit price. Always inquire about the next-tier pricing; sometimes buying a slightly larger bundle can dramatically reduce the overall cost per document.
- Industry and Size Variability: Pricing isn’t one-size-fits-all. SAP considers your industry, company size, and indirect usage profile. A large retail company with millions of online orders will get a very different proposal than a mid-sized manufacturer with a handful of interfaces. Enterprise customers can negotiate custom deals (including capped fees or enterprise license agreements for indirect use) if their volumes are massive. In contrast, smaller customers might be offered standardized packs. Don’t assume SAP’s first quote is fixed – there’s substantial flexibility, especially if you can present data or context to justify a lower price.
- Forecast-Driven Costs: The price you pay ties directly to how many documents you think you’ll need. This makes accurate forecasting crucial. Overestimate your needs and you’ll overpay for unused capacity; underestimate and you’ll face expensive true-ups later. SAP will often ask for your projected indirect document count over the next few years. Be realistic, but also build in some buffer. Importantly, negotiate how additional documents are priced now. Your contract should lock in pricing for extra documents if you exceed your initial purchase, so SAP can’t gouge you later. Also consider seasonal or business growth – if you expect an acquisition or a surge in transactions, factor that in up front.
Overall, SAP Digital Access pricing in 2025 rewards those who do their homework.
Dig into SAP’s pricing structure, and don’t be shy about pushing for a better rate or a higher volume tier discount. SAP is motivated to get you on Digital Access, which means you have leverage to obtain a more favorable deal than the price list suggests.
Cost Modeling: Document-Based vs Named User
A critical step in your strategy is digital access cost modeling – comparing the document-based model to the traditional named-user model for indirect access.
The goal is to find the break-even point where switching to Digital Access makes financial sense, and where it doesn’t. Consider these scenarios:
| Scenario | Traditional Named User Licensing | Digital Access Licensing |
|---|---|---|
| Low Indirect Usage (e.g., a manufacturer with one B2B portal generating 5,000 SAP documents/year) | Could be covered by a few extra named user licenses. For instance, you might assign a couple of partner accounts or use a special external user license. Cost might be a few thousand dollars in licenses and maintenance, and it remains fixed regardless of document count. Pros: Predictable cost, simple if user count is small. Cons: Risk if usage grows beyond what those users cover (or if SAP challenges whether those licenses truly cover all access).* | Requires purchasing a Digital Access license for 5,000 documents/year (likely sold in a 5k or 10k block). The cost at list price could actually be higher than the named user approach for such a small volume. With negotiation you might reduce it, but per document, small volumes are pricey. Pros: Aligns cost to actual usage, covers any number of external users generating those docs. Cons: Might be overkill for minimal usage, and you pay for each document, so cost could exceed the named user method in this low-volume case. |
| High Indirect Usage (e.g., a global retailer’s e-commerce site generating 500,000+ SAP documents/year) | Covering this with named users is impractical. You would need tens of thousands of named user licenses for all customers or devices indirectly hitting SAP – an astronomically high cost (millions of dollars) and operationally impossible to manage. Auditors would flag unlicensed use immediately if you tried to skate by with just a handful of users. Pros: (None in this scenario – the old model breaks down at high scale.) Cons: Essentially non-viable; huge compliance exposure and cost. | A document-based license for 500k documents/year is the only reasonable approach. You pay for the documents generated, regardless of whether that’s from 50,000 users or 5. With volume discounts (and possibly DAAP incentives), the cost per document becomes manageable. You might negotiate a bulk price or even an unlimited flat fee for this level of use. Pros: Scales with your business; far more cost-effective and audit-safe for high volumes. Cons: Requires diligent monitoring; costs will rise if transaction volumes double (though still linear and predictable, unlike the exponential pain of user licenses). |
Break-even analysis: The crossover point between the two models depends on your specific numbers, but generally, if your indirect usage is minimal (a few thousand documents or a handful of external integrations), you might financially justify sticking with named users a bit longer.
Ensure you document those users’ roles clearly to meet SAP requirements. However, once your document counts climb or the number of external touchpoints grows, Digital Access becomes the clear winner.
Many companies find that even moderate growth in digital transactions quickly tilts the balance. What was manageable with five extra user licenses isn’t manageable when that portal now has 5,000 users creating SAP entries.
The biggest pitfall is underestimating the time required for document creation. Businesses often misjudge how many documents their integrations generate, especially as more processes are automated.
A nightly batch interface might be churning out thousands of material documents, or an API might log far more transactions than expected. Always measure and project conservatively. It’s better to negotiate a little headroom now than to be caught short later.
In summary, model the costs under both licensing models side by side. This data becomes your ammunition to choose the right model and to negotiate the price down with SAP.
Negotiation Tactics That Work in 2025
Facing SAP in a licensing negotiation can feel daunting, but remember that SAP needs customers to adopt Digital Access as much as customers need compliance certainty. Use that to your advantage.
Here are powerful SAP digital access negotiation tips for 2025:
- Leverage the Digital Access Adoption Program (DAAP): SAP’s DAAP offers massive incentives (up to 90% off license cost, plus credits and even amnesty for past use). If it’s available to you, use it. A savvy DAAP negotiation means choosing the option that best fits your forecast – e.g., Option B for the deepest discount, or Option A if you need a built-in growth buffer. Make sure SAP honors credits for your existing licenses (say, converting the value of unused named users into document capacity). DAAP is a one-time opportunity to reset the playing field in your favor, so take full advantage while it lasts.
- Secure Credits for Legacy Investments: If you’ve already spent heavily on named user licenses to cover indirect access in the past, don’t let that value evaporate. During negotiation, explicitly request credit for those prior investments. For example, if you bought 100 extra licenses to appease auditors years ago, ask SAP to reduce the Digital Access fee equivalently or include additional documents at no charge. You’re essentially saying, “We’ve paid for indirect use coverage once – we shouldn’t pay twice.” SAP may not volunteer this, but if pressed, they often agree to some form of credit or trade-in value.
- Push for Price Caps and Volume Buffers: Pricing predictability is key. Negotiate a price cap that locks your per-document price for a period (e.g., through 2027); no matter how much your usage grows, the rate per document remains at the agreed level. Additionally, aim for a volume buffer – an extra allowance of documents above your purchased amount that you can use without immediate cost. For instance, a 10-15% buffer before triggering a true-up. This prevents minor usage spikes from turning into immediate bills. It’s like a safety net for your estimates: if you forecast 100k documents and end up at 109k one year, you’re still covered.
- Bundle Digital Access into Larger Deals: One of the best negotiation tactics is to tie Digital Access into a broader contract negotiation. SAP sales teams have bigger fish to fry – they’re measured on big S/4HANA transformations, RISE subscriptions, and multi-product bundles. If you’re also negotiating RISE or a major S/4 license, make Digital Access part of that deal. This is where you can extract maximum value: SAP might throw in a large Digital Access package at a steep discount (or even virtually free) to secure your bigger commitment. From your side, insist that the RISE digital access terms are explicitly documented – if SAP claims “oh, it’s included,” get the numbers and usage terms in writing. Use the momentum of the larger deal to get more favorable Digital Access pricing and terms than you ever would stand-alone.
- Explore Hybrid Models: Don’t accept the false choice of “all or nothing.” In 2025, sophisticated customers are negotiating hybrid licensing models. This means you might continue to use named user licenses for certain low-volume or internal scenarios, while adopting Digital Access for high-volume external scenarios. For example, if your internal employees access via middleware, they may be covered under their existing licenses; however, your customer portal uses Digital Access documents. Make sure your contract allows this split without double-counting. Hybrid approaches can optimize costs by utilizing the right tool for each specific task. Be prepared to clearly delineate which interfaces are considered Digital Access and which are not, and ensure SAP agrees to this boundary.
- Consider an Unlimited Flat Fee (for Large Enterprises): If your organization’s digital usage is enormous and growing unpredictably, you have an option to negotiate an enterprise “all-you-can-eat” style license. SAP has, in some cases, agreed to an unlimited Digital Access add-on for a fixed fee as part of big deals. Essentially, for a premium price, you eliminate the meter – no more counting documents at all. This isn’t advertised on the price list, but if you’re big enough (think Fortune 100 with IoT, multiple channels, etc.), propose it. Even if SAP won’t give true unlimited, they might agree to a high cap that’s well above your projections, providing peace of mind. Just ensure the flat fee is reasonable compared to the volumes you expect; otherwise, you could overpay for headroom you never use.
Bottom line: Come to the table with data and a clear ask. SAP representatives in 2025 have quotas to meet, and Digital Access is one of their targets.
They are prepared to negotiate – sometimes aggressively – to close a deal.
Every concession you win (credits, discounts, caps, buffers) directly translates to savings or risk reduction for you. So use your leverage: a customer who has done their homework can negotiate from a position of strength.
Key Contract Clauses to Negotiate
Negotiating the price is only half the battle. The contract terms you agree on will determine how much value you truly get and how much risk you carry going forward.
Here are the key contract clauses to nail down in your SAP Digital Access agreement:
- Document Definition & Counting Methodology: Insist on crystal-clear definitions of what constitutes a “Digital Access document” in your environment. SAP’s standard covers nine document types (Sales Order, Invoice, Purchase Order, etc.), but make sure the contract language specifies these types and any exceptions. Define whether things like batch jobs, temporary documents, or reversals count. For example, if an external system triggers a Sales Order that in turn creates an Delivery and Invoice (multiple documents), are all counted? Clarity here prevents future disputes. Also, agree on how the documents will be counted – typically via SAP’s measurement tools or an agreed audit procedure. Having a defined counting methodology (e.g., using SAP’s Digital Access Evaluation Service reports annually) will avoid arguments later.
- Annual vs. Perpetual Entitlement: Understand the nature of your Digital Access license. For on-premises licenses, you are usually buying a perpetual entitlement to create X documents per year, with annual maintenance fees. Ensure the contract states that clearly – you don’t want SAP suddenly claiming you need to re-buy your entitlement each year. In contrast, if you’re on a subscription (like RISE), the document count might reset each year with your subscription term. Negotiate how unused capacity is handled (typically, it doesn’t roll over, but you might get SAP to allow some carryover in a given year). The key is to avoid any ambiguity on whether your purchased documents are a one-time allotment, per year, or something else. Get it in writing that, for example, “the customer is entitled to up to 100,000 Digital Access documents per year as long as support/subscription is maintained.”
- True-Up and Overage Protection: This is critical. Your contract should include a true-up clause that lets you purchase additional document capacity if needed, at the same discount or unit price as your initial purchase. No premium, no penalties. Even better, build in an automatic buffer (e.g., “if actual usage exceeds licensed volume by up to 10%, customer may use the excess at no charge, but will true up to that level at the next renewal at the contracted rate”). The idea is to convert what would be a compliance issue into a simple commercial transaction. By having this clause, you protect yourself from the nasty scenario of an audit pointing out you went 5% over and slapping you with list-price fees or back maintenance. Make sure it’s explicit that any overage identified can be purchased at the same terms as the original sale.
- Price Protections and Caps: In addition to per-unit price caps, include a general price protection clause. For example, if this is a perpetual license with maintenance, cap the maintenance fee increases or lock them for several years. If it’s a subscription, cap the annual uplift (many cloud deals have a built-in 3-5% increase; try to negotiate that down or tie it to performance metrics). Also, suppose you plan to eventually increase your document count significantly, negotiate a volume price lock. In that case, SAP should agree that you can buy more documents later at the same price per block you’re paying now (perhaps with an inflation adjustment, but not full list price). This way, you’re not trapped if your business suddenly needs double the documents in three years.
- Conversion and Flexibility Rights: As your strategy evolves, you might want to rebalance how you use licenses. Negotiate rights to convert named users to Digital Access documents or vice versa under certain conditions. For instance, if you end up over-invested in one area, you could convert excess user licenses into document capacity. SAP has offered conversion credits during DAAP, but you can also bake ongoing flexibility into your contract. Similarly, ensure that if you divest part of your business or change how a process works, you’re not stuck overpaying – e.g., if an interface is retired, can you reclaim those documents for use elsewhere? While SAP might not allow full swapping, even a clause that says you can redeploy unused Digital Access capacity across your organization freely (not tied to a specific system) is helpful.
- Audit/Amenity Clause: One negotiation point often overlooked is an amnesty for past indirect use. If you’re adopting Digital Access now, it’s likely because indirect usage in the past was either not tracked or not fully compliant. Ensure the contract includes language stating that by purchasing Digital Access in the future, SAP releases any claims related to prior indirect usage. Essentially, you want it stated that this purchase settles the matter of indirect use up to the date of signing. This prevents SAP from coming back with an audit saying, “By the way, last year you used 200k documents without a license, pay up.” With a clean slate clause, once you’re on Digital Access, the past is forgiven.
- RISE and Cloud Considerations: If you are negotiating as part of a RISE with SAP deal or other cloud subscription, make sure the RISE digital access terms are clearly documented. Often, RISE contracts include a certain amount of digital access (documents) by default. Verify how many and what happens if you exceed them. Negotiate similar protections – e.g., if your RISE contract includes 50,000 documents/year and you need more, can you adjust mid-term? Also, ensure alignment: if you have already purchased some Digital Access for on-premises, receive credit when migrating those processes to RISE. The contract should allow you to carry over entitlements or value, so you’re not paying twice during a transition.
Each of these clauses is about avoiding surprises. SAP agreements are notorious for fine print, causing big bills later.
By locking down these terms, you transform Digital Access from a potential minefield into a manageable part of your license landscape. Get your legal team involved and don’t accept vague wording – specificity now is savings later.
Adoption Strategy Checklist
Preparing for a Digital Access discussion with SAP requires a strategic approach.
Use this checklist to make sure you’ve covered all the bases before you negotiate and sign on the dotted line:
- Assemble a Stakeholder Task Force: Bring together IT, procurement, IT asset management, and legal teams to coordinate on Digital Access. Ensure everyone understands what’s at stake and agrees on objectives (cost control, compliance, flexibility). Early alignment internally will make your negotiations more effective.
- Inventory All Indirect Usage: Map out every third-party system, interface, or user that interacts with SAP indirectly. This includes customer portals, supplier networks, mobile apps, integrations via middleware, RPA bots, IoT sensors – any scenario where SAP is used without a direct SAP GUI login. You can’t negotiate what you don’t know exists, so get a complete picture of your indirect use footprint.
- Measure Current Document Volumes: Utilize SAP’s Digital Access Evaluation tools or an internal audit to count how many documents each of those interfaces is generating. Focus on the nine core document types: how many Sales Orders, Invoices, Purchase Orders, etc., are created by external systems in a typical month or year? Establish a baseline of your digital document consumption. If possible, run SAP’s official measurement programs in your system to gather credible data.
- Project Future Growth: Work with business units to forecast how these document counts might grow in the next 3-5 years. Are you ramping up e-commerce sales (more sales orders)? Launching new digital channels or increasing automation? Factor in business growth rates and upcoming projects. This projection will guide how many documents you need to license, not just now, but in the near future. Don’t forget to include a buffer for unexpected growth – it’s safer to plan a bit high (with negotiated protections) than to be caught short.
- Evaluate Named User vs. Digital Access for Each Use Case: For each major indirect use scenario, compare the cost of continuing under the old model (named user or engine licenses) versus switching to Digital Access. For example, if a B2B interface has 50 partners using it, would it be cheaper to give them all limited user licenses? Or is the document count so high that Digital Access is clearly better? This analysis will reveal if there are any cases where you should not move to Digital Access. You might discover a hybrid approach is optimal. Document these findings – they will be evidence in your negotiation arguments.
- Leverage DAAP and Other Incentives: Check if you qualify for SAP’s Digital Access Adoption Program or any current promotions. Model your costs under DAAP’s options (90% discount or growth option). Even if DAAP officially has an end date, SAP often extends it for willing customers. Use the potential savings from these incentives as a benchmark in negotiations. Essentially: “With DAAP, this would cost X – we expect a similar level of discount in our deal.” Also, consider whether you have shelfware (unused SAP licenses) that could be traded in; make a list of what you might offer for credit.
- Define Your Negotiation Targets: Before discussing numbers with SAP, determine internally your ideal outcome and your walk-away point. How many documents do you want to license now? What price per document (or overall cost) are you aiming for? What contract terms are must-haves (e.g., no audit back-charges, ability to true-up, etc.)? Also, decide if you plan to bundle this with another deal (like a S/4HANA purchase or renewal) – if so, coordinate timing and strategy across those negotiations. Having a clear ask (“We need 200k documents at a 75% discount, with a 3-year price lock and 10% buffer”) gives you a solid stance when talks begin.
- Engage SAP with Data: When you open discussions with SAP, come armed with your usage data and scenario analysis. Present your case: “We’ve measured our usage at X, and projected Y. We could cover this with named users for roughly $Z, but we’re willing to move to Digital Access if the price is right and terms are fair.” This signals to SAP that you are an informed customer. They’ll realize they can’t throw arbitrary numbers at you. Share enough to justify your position, but be cautious not to reveal any more than necessary about budgets or deadlines – keep the leverage on your side.
- Negotiate Key Terms, Not Just Price: As talks progress, remember all the contract clauses discussed earlier. Don’t get so fixated on the headline price that you neglect the fine print. Have your checklist of terms (definitions, true-up, buffers, credits, etc.) ready and tick them off as they get addressed. It often helps to provide SAP with your own term sheet – a document outlining the deal as you want it – which speeds up getting those terms into the contract. In negotiations, everything is on the table until the contract is signed, so ensure the final paperwork matches what was promised.
- Plan Post-Deal Compliance Monitoring: Once you’ve successfully negotiated and signed, the work isn’t over. Set up a governance process to continuously monitor your Digital Access consumption. Assign someone or a team to check the document counts in SAP quarterly (or even monthly). Compare against your entitlement to catch any trend early. If you see usage creeping up, you can take action: maybe optimize processes to reduce document creation, or start planning a true-up discussion with SAP before an audit forces it. Also, maintain documentation of your license grant and contract terms where your SAP admins and ITAM team can access it – if personnel change or an audit happens, you’ll want a clear record of what you’re entitled to.
By following this checklist, you put your organization in the driver’s seat.
You’ll approach SAP Digital Access not with uncertainty, but with a plan and hard data. The result? A negotiated agreement that aligns with your actual needs and protects you as your digital ecosystem grows.
FAQ
Q: Do we need Digital Access if we already have Named Users covering all our external systems?
A: Not necessarily – at least not immediately. Suppose you have meticulously ensured that every indirect access scenario (like a third-party system or external user) is tied to a properly licensed named user. In that case, you might be technically covered under the old model. Many SAP customers have been doing this for years. However, SAP’s stance is that the Digital Access model is cleaner and more auditable. Over time, it may become harder to defend the patchwork of named users for indirect use, especially if your integrations grow. The practical advice is: if your indirect usage is truly small and contained (and documented), you can push back and avoid buying Digital Access now. Just make sure to get SAP’s acknowledgment in writing that your named user licenses suffice for those uses, to prevent future disputes. Keep an eye on growth – if transactions start ballooning or SAP offers a virtually free DAAP conversion, re-evaluate the switch. In summary, you don’t need Digital Access until you do; it’s about scale and risk tolerance. Stay compliant in the way that costs you the least, but be ready to adopt Digital Access when it provides clear advantages or if SAP forces the issue contractually.
Q: What happens if we exceed our licensed document count?
A: Exceeding your document allowance is essentially like using unlicensed software – it’s a compliance gap. In a worst-case scenario without protective clauses, SAP’s auditors could hit you with a hefty bill for the excess usage (at list price, plus back maintenance for the overage). But you should never let it get to that. A well-negotiated contract will have a true-up mechanism. This means if you do go over your count (say you licensed 100k documents but used 120k), you have the right to purchase those extra 20k retrospectively at the agreed rate, with no penalty. Typically, you’d inform SAP, or they’d catch it in an audit, and you’d execute the true-up transaction. It’s important to negotiate that any true-up is at the same discount you got initially. Also, ideally, you want a grace zone (for example, up to 10% overage incurs no immediate cost until renewal). The key action on your side is monitoring. If you track usage and foresee an overage, you can proactively negotiate an expansion of your license before it becomes an audit item. This proactive approach keeps the conversation commercial (“we need to buy a bit more capacity”) rather than compliance-driven (“you’re out of compliance – pay a fine”). In short, exceeding the count isn’t catastrophic if you’ve set the rules ahead of time, but without preparation,it can become very expensive. Always aim to handle overages through planned true-ups rather than after-the-fact surprises.
Q: Can Digital Access be combined with RISE with SAP contracts?
A: Yes, and in fact it often is. RISE with SAP is SAP’s all-in-one subscription offering for S/4HANA in the cloud, and SAP has been increasingly packaging Digital Access entitlements as part of RISE deals. When you negotiate a RISE contract, you should explicitly discuss how indirect usage is covered. Commonly, SAP might include a certain number of digital documents in the RISE user subscription or offer an option to add more. The advantage of combining Digital Access with RISE is simplification – one contract, one renewal, and potentially one unified metric. However, don’t assume RISE magically gives you unlimited Digital Access. Always verify: “In this RISE proposal, how many documents are we entitled to? What if we need more?” Then negotiate those terms. You might secure an upfront allocation of, say, 100k documents/year as part of the RISE fee. If you anticipate needing more, consider negotiating a predefined rate for extra documents or a flexible adjustment mechanism each year. Additionally, since RISE is a subscription, you should align the term – ensure your digital access rights co-term with your RISE subscription, so you renew them together without gaps. SAP can be quite flexible here because it wants to tell a cloud success story. So, yes, combine them, but do so deliberately: bake your digital access needs into the RISE contract with the same rigor you would for on-premise solutions, covering counts, pricing for growth, and clear definitions. That way, you get the convenience of one package without leaving indirect use as a lurking risk.
Q: Is SAP flexible on Digital Access discounts, or is it a fixed price?
A: SAP is very flexible on Digital Access pricing – perhaps more so than on many other items – precisely because it’s a new model they are pushing. The “list price” for Digital Access (per document) is often very high, but hardly any customer pays the list price. In practice, discounts of 50-90% are happening, depending on circumstances. For example, under the DAAP program, SAP offers 90% off (paying 10% of the list price) for initial adoption. Outside of DAAP, we regularly see companies negotiate 70% off or similar, especially if it’s part of a broader deal. The key is not to accept the first quote. SAP reps might position it as “this is the standard price for 10k documents,” but there’s always room. Use the tactics we discussed: tie it to another deal, show comparative cost analyses, or frankly express that you cannot proceed without a steep discount because otherwise it’s financially unjustifiable. One tip: ask for extra documents at the same price instead of just a lower price. Sometimes, SAP has trouble justifying a super-low unit price, but they might be more willing to throw in additional capacity (“we’ll give you 50k documents for the price of 30k”). Either way, it’s a discount in disguise. Also, consider the long game: negotiate maintenance caps or renewal price locks so that the great discount you get now doesn’t erode later through fee hikes. In summary, SAP is absolutely open to negotiation on Digital Access pricing in 2025 – they’d rather bend on price than have you refuse the model entirely. Use that to your advantage and insist on a deal that respects your budgetary realities.
Read more about our SAP Digital Access Advisory Service.
