Managing costs on SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) effectively requires a mix of governance, monitoring, and architectural best practices. BTP offers both Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) and Subscription models, and costs can quickly escalate if resources aren’t managed carefully. Below is a comprehensive breakdown of how to manage and optimize costs on SAP BTP:
๐น 1. Understand Your Commercial Model
Before optimizing, you need to know how you’re being billed:
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Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG): You pay for actual usage of services (measured in credits or currency).
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Cloud Platform Enterprise Agreement (CPEA): Prepaid credits with flexibility to use different services.
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Subscription: Fixed cost for specific services.
๐ฉ Tip: For dynamic workloads or development environments, PAYG or CPEA models offer flexibility. For stable, long-term workloads, subscription pricing is more predictable.
๐น 2. Use the SAP BTP Cockpit Cost Explorer
SAP BTP includes Cost Explorer (similar to AWS Cost Explorer):
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Visualizes spend by subaccount, region, or service.
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Identifies which services consume the most credits.
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Provides daily and monthly breakdowns.
๐ Navigate to:
Global Account → Usage Analytics / Cost Explorer
๐ฉ Tip: Enable alerts or budgets for usage thresholds to prevent surprises.
๐น 3. Set Up Account and Subaccount Structure Wisely
A clean hierarchy helps isolate and control costs:
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Use separate subaccounts for environments (dev/test/prod).
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Assign quotas or entitlements at the subaccount level.
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Map subaccounts to cost centers or departments for internal chargeback.
๐ฉ Tip: Use SAP Landscape Management or SAP BTP Account Modeler to plan account structures that align with cost accountability.
๐น 4. Monitor Resource Usage Proactively
Regularly check:
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Service Instances: Deprovision unused services (like HANA Cloud instances or Kyma clusters).
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Storage: Optimize retention in Object Store, Document Management, or Event Mesh.
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Compute Units: Scale down or shut off non-production systems after hours.
๐ฉ Tools:
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SAP BTP Cockpit → “Instances and Subscriptions”
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SAP CLI (
btp
command-line tool) → automate cleanup scripts
๐น 5. Automate Lifecycle and Scaling
Implement automation and autoscaling where possible:
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For Kyma or Cloud Foundry workloads, define resource limits (CPU/memory).
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Use CI/CD pipelines to deploy ephemeral environments for testing and destroy them after.
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Schedule automatic stopping/starting of apps (via scripts or SAP Automation Pilot).
๐น 6. Use Quotas and Budgets
In the BTP Global Account:
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Define entitlements (quotas) per subaccount to prevent overconsumption.
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Track spending per service category and region.
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Apply cost center tagging using metadata labels.
๐ฉ Example:
Tag subaccount with "CostCenter=FIN-IT-001"
for internal reporting.
๐น 7. Optimize Service Usage
Some SAP BTP services can be tuned or replaced with cheaper options:
Service | Cost Control Tip |
---|---|
SAP HANA Cloud | Adjust memory tiers; move cold data to cheaper storage. |
SAP Integration Suite | Reuse existing iFlows; archive old message logs. |
SAP Build Apps/Process Automation | Use production-only tenants for runtime; develop locally when possible. |
Kyma Runtime | Use autoscaling and small cluster sizes for non-prod. |
๐น 8. Leverage Reporting and APIs
You can extract usage and cost data via:
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SAP BTP Consumption APIs
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SAP Cloud ALM or SAP Analytics Cloud dashboards for trend analysis
This helps identify anomalies or opportunities for consolidation.
๐น 9. Governance and Cost Awareness
Create governance policies and educate teams:
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Define ownership for each subaccount.
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Review service usage monthly.
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Automate cost anomaly detection.
๐ฉ Tip: Some enterprises integrate SAP BTP usage into FinOps tools (e.g., CloudHealth, Apptio) for cross-cloud visibility.
๐น 10. Engage SAP for Optimization Reviews
SAP offers:
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Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) for CPEA customers.
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SAP Enterprise Support advisory sessions for architecture and cost optimization.
✅ Summary: Key Actions
Area | Action |
---|---|
Visibility | Enable Cost Explorer & usage reporting |
Governance | Use quotas, subaccounts, and cost centers |
Optimization | Decommission unused services, use autoscaling |
Automation | Use scripts and CI/CD cleanup |
Review | Monthly cost reviews with stakeholders |
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