Unleashing the Potential of SAP BTP Credits makes Business Sense

⇨ SAP customers leave approximately $600 million, or 25%, of their Business Technology Platform (BTP) credits unused annually due to factors such as lack of strategy and ambiguity in tracking consumption.

⇨ The underutilization of BTP credits highlights missed opportunities for business growth and efficiency that could be achieved through better credit management.

⇨ BTP credits can significantly benefit organizations of all sizes by enabling custom developments, connecting external platforms, simplifying IT environments, and informing strategies through real-time analysis.

According to data shared during SAP Sapphire 2024 earlier this year, SAP customers keep $600 million worth, or almost 25%, of SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) credits unused every year.

The reasons for not using SAP BTP credits could be many, but four key causes include:

• A limited or lack of a BTP strategy
• Ambiguity over tracking BTP credit consumption
• A contract that has more BTP credits than a consumer currently uses
• A lack of a strategy to consume BTP credits by the IT department despite being included in their Cloud Enterprise agreement.

In a recent blog, Dean Edmundson, vice president of Business Development at SAP Partner Rizing, compared the lack of consumption of BTP credits to unused gym memberships. “Many (or most) people pay for a gym membership but never use it. A similar story of unrealized potential happens in the SAP world [with BTP credits],” he noted.

And much like that unused gym membership where a person may lose out on potential health benefits, customers with underused or unused SAP BTP Credits waste the potential growth and efficiency opportunities for their business.

Calculating BTP Credits

These credits are for a limited period, necessitating timely action to maximize their benefits.

At present, SAP BTP offers two commercial models for enterprise accounts. Under the consumption-based model, the customer receives access to all current features and future services. In contrast, the subscription-based model only gives customers access to the services they plan to use. Monthly BTP Credits are shared with customers using the consumption-based model through balance statements at the beginning of the subsequent month.

There are two different ways to calculate billing for BTP Credits, which is reflected in the balance statements. In both models, the discount has the same impact. As a result, customers can pick and choose the services they need, knowing they have investment security in the cloud credits for SAP BTP.

How using BTP Credits can help customers

BTP Credits consumption is also related to the overall use of the BTP platform. According to a SAPInsider Benchmark Report titled “Data, Integration and SAP BTP,” larger organizations are likelier to use SAP BTP than smaller ones. The report indicates that 58% of respondents from the former reported using the platform compared to 34% of respondents from the latter. However, BTP Credits can help both large and small organizations support custom developments like:

• Connecting SAP products with external platforms or applications like Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics
• Allowing a centralized oversight to simplify IT environments
• Informing business strategies through real-time predictive analysis
• Developing and automating processes through prebuilt components and low-code tools.

SAP Partners like Rizing also enhance the platform and, therefore, the benefits of BTP Credits with their expert-level competency in developing BTP solutions. They can also improve BTP Credit usage through additional products built for SAP BTP. These products, depending on the sector, can help companies synchronize large transaction volumes between SAP and project planning systems, provide GPS-enabled data collection that integrates with existing Esri map and feature services, and help merchants make informed decisions through retail pricing processes.