SAP BTP Licensing – Cloud Platform Enterprise Agreement (CPEA) & Consumption Tips
Introduction – Why BTP Licensing Needs Special Attention
SAP’s Business Technology Platform (BTP) is the company’s innovation hub for building integrations, extensions, data solutions, and analytics on the cloud.
Unlike traditional SAP application licensing (which often involves named users or fixed module fees), BTP uses a cloud-like consumption-based model similar to AWS or Azure.
This means costs are driven by actual usage of resources, which can also be unpredictable. Without careful governance or favorable contract terms, BTP spending can spiral out of control, leading to budget overruns.
So understanding BTP’s licensing mechanics and negotiating wisely is critical to getting value without breaking the bank. Read our SAP Product Licensing Overview.
BTP Licensing Models
SAP offers a few different ways to license and pay for BTP services. The main models are Cloud Platform Enterprise Agreement (CPEA) credits, Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG), and fixed subscription licenses for certain services. Each model operates slightly differently and has its own advantages and disadvantages.
Here’s a quick comparison of these models:
| Model | How It Works | Pros | Cons | Best Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPEA (Prepaid Credits) | Prepay for a pool of BTP cloud credits (1 credit ≈ $1) to spend on any BTP service. Unused credits expire after the contract period (usually yearly). | Volume discounts on usage; one pool covers all services; flexibility to try a broad range of services. | Upfront commitment required; risk of wasted credits if not all used; must forecast needs accurately. | Enterprises with steady, multi-service BTP usage (wanting a single budget for various platform services). |
| Pay-As-You-Go | No upfront commitment. Activate BTP services and pay monthly for what you use at published list prices. Cancel anytime. | Zero commitment or risk to start; great for initial experiments or unpredictable needs; easy to start/stop. | Full list price per unit (no discounts); expensive at scale; unpredictable monthly costs. | Pilots, proof-of-concept projects, or very small-scale usage. Good as a trial before committing. |
| Fixed Subscription | Traditional license for a specific BTP service with a fixed annual fee for a set capacity (e.g. X users or Y transactions). | Predictable fixed cost for that service; can be cheaper if one service is heavily used; no surprise overrun fees for that service. | Inflexible – budget tied to one service; cannot reallocate funds to other services; if you underuse the quota, you still pay full price. | When you only need one BTP service consistently at high volume (e.g. a large Integration Suite deployment) and want cost certainty. |
SAP often steers customers toward the CPEA credit model for its flexibility (and SAP’s revenue assurance). However, each model has its niche.
Many companies use a mix: e.g., keep a PayG account for ad-hoc experiments while using CPEA for steady production needs, or subscribe to one high-use service while using credits for others.
The key is to choose the approach (or combination) that best fits your usage pattern and budget strategy.
Credit Consumption Basics
When using BTP in a consumption model (CPEA or PayG), it’s vital to understand how cloud credits are consumed and how costs accrue. Here are some basics about BTP credits and usage:
- 1 Credit ≈ 1 USD: In SAP’s pricing, one cloud credit is roughly equivalent to $1 USD of service at list price. Think of credits as a virtual currency – you “spend” them as you use BTP services. (If you negotiated a discount on your contract, your dollars buy more than 1 credit per $1, effectively reducing the cost.)
- Service-Specific Rates: Each BTP service burns credits at its own rate based on usage. For example, database services like SAP HANA Cloud charge credits per hour per GB of memory or storage provisioned; integration services might charge per message or per integration tenant; application runtimes (Cloud Foundry, Kyma, ABAP, etc.) charge per hour of compute or per GB of RAM used; and analytics/AI services might charge per 1,000 transactions or API calls. Exact rates vary by service and are listed in SAP’s pricing catalog.
- “Use-It-or-Lose-It”: Cloud credits typically expire at the end of your contract period (usually annually). If you don’t use them by then, they vanish – you can’t roll them over to the next year by default. This makes right-sizing your commitment incredibly important. Unused credits = money wasted.
- Real-World Consumption Example: To put things in perspective, running a modest application instance might consume on the order of half a credit per hour (for example, an app with a small 16 GB footprint might burn ~0.5 credits/hour, about 12 credits a day). That’s relatively light. But on the other hand, a large SAP HANA in-memory database allocation can devour thousands of credits per month if it’s running 24/7 with substantial memory and storage. The bottom line: small projects consume small amounts of credits, but big workloads can consume exponentially more – plan accordingly.
Read our guide to SAP Ariba Licensing – Module Pricing and Ariba Network Fees.
Negotiation Strategies for BTP
When entering a BTP agreement (especially a sizable CPEA contract), you have room to negotiate terms that protect your budget.
Here are several negotiation levers to consider:
- Commitment Discounts: Larger annual commitments should earn sizable discounts. Know SAP’s spend tiers and push for the best rate your volume can justify.
- Rollover Flexibility: Try to negotiate the ability to carry over unused credits (SAP’s standard is no rollover, but even a small carryover of 10% helps).
- Rate Protection: Lock in your service rates so SAP can’t increase how many credits services cost mid-contract. Ensuring your credits buy the same amount of service throughout the term protects you from unexpected price hikes.
- Conversion Flexibility: Ask for flexibility to reallocate your spend if needs change (for example, converting a specific service subscription into credits or vice-versa mid-term).
- Renewal Strategy: Use Pay-As-You-Go for early phases, then move to a CPEA once usage becomes steady and predictable. This minimizes upfront cost initially, and later, you benefit from discounts when scaling up.
Each of these points can help you avoid common pitfalls. SAP’s standard contracts are often vendor-favorable (no carryover, full price overages, etc.), so it’s up to you to negotiate for these protections. Make SAP earn your commitment by securing terms that give you financial flexibility.
Cost Management Tips
Once you’re up and running on BTP, actively managing consumption is crucial. Here are some practical tips to keep BTP costs under control:
- Use free tiers and trials: Take advantage of SAP BTP’s free tier and trial environments to test services and gauge usage before spending your credits. For example, try a small HANA database or integration flow in the free tier to estimate its consumption. It’s a no-cost way to experiment before you pay.
- Monitor consumption proactively: Set up monthly (or weekly) checks using BTP’s consumption dashboards and budget alerts. Treat your credit pool like a cloud budget – track how fast it’s being used so any unusual spike is caught early. This visibility allows you to course-correct or investigate before costs spiral out of control.
- Shut down unused resources: Enforce policies to turn off or scale down BTP resources when they’re not needed. Idle databases or forgotten app instances can quietly drain credits. Regular housekeeping (deprovisioning dev/test systems not in use, etc.) prevents waste.
- Plan for extra purchases: Be clear on how additional credits are handled if you exhaust your pool mid-year. Ideally, negotiate upfront the right to buy extra credits at the same discounted rate as your initial purchase, instead of paying full list price for overage. This can save you a lot if usage grows faster than expected.
Together, these practices create a culture of cost awareness for BTP. The goal isn’t to limit innovation, but to ensure every credit is used intentionally and no money is wasted.
Checklist – BTP Cost Controls
To summarize ongoing cost governance, here’s a quick checklist for controlling BTP spend:
- Monitor BTP usage dashboards regularly and review consumption reports each month.
- Set up budget alerts or thresholds to get notified of unusual spend spikes.
- Align project timelines with your credit budget (spread out deployments so credits get used steadily, avoiding last-minute scrambles or idle time).
- Negotiate flexible terms (like rollover or discounted top-ups) in your contracts to give yourself breathing room if usage doesn’t match forecasts.
BTP Under RISE and Bundles
RISE with SAP (the bundled S/4HANA Cloud offering) usually includes a small amount of BTP credits in the package. That gives you a taste of BTP for basic needs (often a few thousand dollars’ worth of credits in a large deal).
However, these bundled credits are very limited. For any significant BTP projects, you’ll need a separate BTP contract with a larger credit pool.
When negotiating your RISE contract, always ask SAP to throw in extra BTP value at no extra cost. For example, ask for additional BTP credits or included services to be added to the deal.
Since RISE is a big commitment, you have leverage to get some BTP freebies – every bit included means less you pay separately later.
Use those included credits (you’ve essentially paid for them as part of RISE), but recognize they won’t cover enterprise-scale needs. Plan for a dedicated BTP agreement once you move beyond the basics.
FAQs
Q: What happens if I run out of BTP credits before year-end?
A: If you deplete your credit pool early, SAP will charge any further usage at on-demand list prices (which are much higher per unit). To avoid costly overage fees or potential service disruption, keep an eye on your consumption and purchase additional credits before you hit zero (ideally at your negotiated discount rate).
Q: Can BTP credits roll over to the next year if unused?
A: Generally, no. Any credits unused by the end of the contract year expire – there’s no rollover. SAP’s policy is “use it or lose it.” You might try to negotiate a carryover of a portion, but don’t count on it. It’s safer to plan your purchases so you consume the credits within the year.
Q: Is BTP included in RISE with SAP?
A: RISE contracts do include some BTP usage, but only a small baseline amount. You typically get a limited number of credits or certain platform services to support basic extensions and integrations. However, this is not unlimited – for any substantial BTP usage, you will need to license BTP separately (via a larger CPEA or subscriptions). Think of RISE’s included BTP credits as a starter kit, not the full solution.
Q: Which is cheaper: using CPEA credits or pay-as-you-go?
A: For small or unpredictable usage, Pay-As-You-Go can cost less because you pay only for what you use (no upfront commitment or waste). However, its per-unit prices are high. For larger, steady usage, a CPEA with a committed credit pool is usually cheaper overall, thanks to the volume discounts on service rates that come with a commitment.
Q: Can I license just one BTP service instead of the whole platform?
A: Yes. SAP offers standalone subscriptions for certain individual BTP services. If you only need one service (for example, just SAP Integration Suite or only SAP HANA Cloud), you can license that alone with a fixed annual subscription. This gives you a predictable cost for that service. Just remember that this approach is siloed – it won’t cover any other BTP services beyond that one, so it’s best only if you’re sure you won’t need the broader platform.
Five Expert Recommendations
- Size BTP carefully: Don’t buy more credits than you need (wasted credits), but avoid undercommitting too (or you’ll pay high overage fees). It’s safer to start with a modest commitment and increase later than to overcommit upfront.
- Negotiate for flexibility: Push for contract clauses that favor you – for example, partial credit rollover, locked-in service rates, and the right to buy extra credits at your discounted rate. These terms help prevent wasted spend and surprise costs.
- Use PayG, then CPEA: Begin with pay-as-you-go for initial pilots or uncertain projects, then switch to a CPEA once your usage is steady and predictable. Early on you avoid big upfront costs, and later you benefit from volume discounts.
- Leverage RISE, but plan beyond: Take advantage of any BTP credits included in a RISE deal (use them!), and negotiate to get more if possible, but recognize their limits. For substantial BTP needs, be ready to sign a separate enterprise agreement – don’t rely solely on the small starter credits from RISE.
- Build in governance: Make cost oversight part of your BTP strategy. Assign someone to monitor usage and spending, set up budget alerts, and enforce policies (like shutting down unused resources). With governance in place, you’ll catch issues early and ensure BTP costs stay under control.
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