SAP LeanIX adds application total cost of ownership (TCO) capabilities to capture application cost data, surface key cost drivers, and quantify rationalization opportunities. These capabilities can help enterprise architects bring cost transparency to their application portfolios and make faster, more data-backed decisions on application rationalization. Available today to all SAP LeanIX customers.
IT costs have moved into sharper focus as organizations seek sustainable ways to optimize their spending. Yet, without clear cost insights, making timely decisions or estimating the downstream impact of rationalization choices can become more challenging than needed.
This focus can also mean that cost optimization is no longer a one-time project but can be seen as an ongoing discipline that businesses need to run continuously.
The reality is that organizations are working with limited budgets while still needing to invest in new technologies and respond to market changes to stay ahead. Continuous attention to IT spending can help teams spot rising costs early, move budget to higher-value work, and avoid last-minute cuts that could impact strategic initiatives.
Plus, running cost optimization regularly can help improve decision quality: regularly updated cost data enables trend analysis, more accurate impact estimates, and predictable budgeting instead of ad-hoc spreadsheets.
Imagine a global insurer weighing two overlapping claims platforms: one centralized system with higher licensing and maintenance fees, and several cheaper regional implementations duplicated across business units.
Without consistent cost data and allocations, discussions on consolidation often stall as stakeholders advocate for their preferred systems. But with clear TCO figures mapped to business capabilities and regions, enterprise architects can present side-by-side comparisons of impact: expected savings and potential business disruption. This transparency helps leadership agree on an approach more quickly.
As Ruslan Shogenov, senior product marketing manager for SAP LeanIX, explains, "Application TCO can help enterprise architects bring financial clarity to technical decisions. By combining and visualizing structured cost data, teams can prioritize rationalization with more confidence and make decisions based on financial information."
We're excited to share that new application TCO capabilities are now available in SAP LeanIX:
The meta model extension can help teams record application costs such as licensing, maintenance, and support directly on application fact sheets, creating a single source of truth. Cost categories can also be customized to match each organization’s specific cost model. When cost data lives alongside business context in SAP LeanIX, architects can run repeatable analyses, compare applications on common terms, and surface consistent numbers for workshops and leadership reporting. Conversations can then naturally focus on outcomes instead of checking figures.
With embedded TCO calculations on application fact sheets, SAP LeanIX automatically rolls up costs across different locations or business units. Teams don't have to piece together numbers from multiple spreadsheets anymore. For example, the solution pulls together licensing, maintenance, and support costs into a total TCO number. Costs can then be allocated to business capabilities or regions. This can help create faster TCO estimates that feed into reports and executive KPIs, reduce manual mistakes, and give EA teams more time to focus on trade‑offs and recommendations.
A new application landscape view overlays cost on capability and application maps. This makes concentrated spend visible in the same context used for technical or functional fit. Enterprise architects can drill into fact sheets and flag low‑fit, high‑cost candidates for rationalization.
Application landscape TCO report as seen in SAP LeanIX
For example, visual cost overlays can help turn abstract numbers into a clear story during workshops or leadership reviews. They show where consolidation, license renegotiation, or migration could free budget and support strategic initiatives. Enterprise architects can also layer cost insights with the Gartner® TIME framework, adding an additional dimension for their assessment.
Application TCO KPIs on the architecture executive dashboard combine application costs to create leadership-ready insights. They give leaders a concise view of cost trends by showing where spending is concentrated and how costs change over time. These KPIs roll up automatically from fact sheet calculations and allocation rules. Enterprise architects and IT leaders can compare cost per capability or rank business units by cost. IT leaders can not only see where costs sit but also evaluate if decisions are implemented effectively. These insights can help teams identify areas that need attention, guide discussions with business leaders, and prioritize rationalization opportunities based on financial impact.
Back to the insurer example: with application TCO, the enterprise architect can show a single view that breaks down licensing, maintenance, support, and regional costs for both the centralized and regional applications. That side-by-side comparison can help clarify expected savings and make it easier for leadership to agree and show results more quickly.
As one of SAP LeanIX customers puts it, "Insights into the TCO of our applications, in the context of how they support the business, enable meaningful conversations with our board about technology investments."
We're happy to share SAP LeanIX customers can start using these newly released application TCO capabilities right now. Not a customer yet? Book a demo and we’ll walk you through a tailored example.