Without doubt, customer relationship is (or should be) part of anyone's business strategy. But how does the recently launched SAP Business One License Validation Service (LVS) support SAP Business One Channel Partners' customer relationship activities?
Customer Relationship is not only about generating, but also retaining customers
Let's first clarify the definition of customer relationship: According to Wikipedia "Customer relationship management (CRM) is a widely-implemented strategy for managing a company's interactions with customers, clients and sales prospects. (...) The overall goals are to find, attract, and win new clients, nurture and retain those the company already has (...)".
Happy customers generate more revenue
Why is it so important to retain customers? Let's check Wikipedia again: "Customer retention is more than giving the customer what they expect, it's about exceeding their expectations so that they become loyal advocates for your brand. (...) Research (...) indicates that engaged customers generate 1.7 times more revenue than normal customers, while having engaged employees and engaged customers returns a revenue gain of 3.4 times the norm".
So now that we understood the value of customer retention, let's have a look on the SAP Business One License Validation Service (available to SAP Business One Partners only).
What is the License Validation Service (LVS)?
The LVS assists you as a SAP Business One Channel Partner to identify and resolve unexpected license issues for any SAP Business One customer. At the same time, it helps you prepare to upgrade customers to SAP Business One 8.8.
How that? With SAP Business One 8.8, the Limited User concept is technically implemented. Customers who have overused the functionality of a Limited User might not be able to access the same functionality they used prior to upgrading.
Or in other words: upgrading a customer to SAP Business One 8.8 without having run the LVS before is a risk which can be easily avoided! Personally I think it is better to identify any possible license issues now and allowing you and your (so far hopefully satisfied) customer to rule out any issues in time.
At the same time, the license validation will identify if Named Users are used as collective users, i.e. one user ID is used by different persons, which is not covered by the SAP Business One licensing and usage terms.
In both cases we shouldn't forget that using SAP Business One other than licensed is simply illegal.
What can I as a SAP Business One Channel Partner do?
First, understand the LVS (see link above).
Secondly, reach out to your SAP contact person and check if any promotion is available by end of the year.
Thirdly, reach out to your SAP Business One customers and run the LVS. You can download the LVS directly from SCN.
Finally, finalize the process by sharing the Summary License Requirement Report, and the agreed solution / agreement with your SAP Business One contact person.
Conclusion
Customer retention is key for any SAP Business One partner to succeed. The LVS helps you to avoid situations where customers are using SAP Business One other than licensed.
