Many enterprises assume that implementing SAP GRC is enough to keep their access risks in check. On paper, the controls are Segregation of Duties (SoD) rules, risk matrices, workflows for access requests. But in practice, the modern enterprise landscape extends far beyond SAP’s boundaries. In 2026, a majority of financial fraud incidents are expected to stem from the seams between systems, where access is technically separate, but functionally connected.
For instance, a user creates a new vendor in SAP Ariba and then initiates a payment from S/4HANA. Each system sees a valid action, yet taken together, it forms an SoD violation. These are the blind spots standard SAP access controls were never designed to catch.
The Problem: ERP Tunnel Vision
Traditional GRC tools focus deeply on core ERP. They’re built for the structured, predictable world of ECC or S/4HANA, where rules are centrally enforced, and access is relatively linear. But that structure starts to break when organizations expand across cloud platforms like Ariba, Concur, and SuccessFactors or connect SAP with third-party systems such as Salesforce or Workday.
In these environments, access risk becomes fragmented. You can have perfect SoD compliance inside SAP, while violations unfold undetected in the gray zone between systems. This is what many security leaders refer to as “ERP tunnel vision.” GRC tools confined to SAP’s ecosystem miss risks that emerge from cross-application entitlements, shadow access, or data movements outside policy. Manual audits and disconnected spreadsheets can’t keep up.
Security, compliance, and audit teams are then left managing incomplete risk pictures, ones that surface only after a breach or an audit failure. The issue isn’t the lack of GRC frameworks. It’s that they weren’t designed to cover a cloud-first, multi-app environment.
The Solution: Cross-Application Intelligence with User Access Shield
This is where User Access Shield (UAS) steps in. Developed by Diligent Global, UAS adds a proactive, real-time governance layer that sees across systems—not just within them.
Built on SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP), UAS doesn’t replace SAP GRC but complements it. It connects SAP, cloud apps, and third-party platforms through API integrations, continuously tracking access activity across environments. It centralizes policies, unifies SoD logic, and flags potential violations before access is granted, not after damage is done.
Think of it as an intelligence layer above your tech stack. Instead of waiting for an SoD report to highlight a conflict two weeks later, UAS intervenes before the risk is created. It doesn’t just alert after the fact; it enforces in real time, through preemptive controls and centralized oversight.
What is Cross-Application SoD (And Why It Matters Now)
Segregation of Duties (SoD) is a foundational principle of enterprise governance, aimed at ensuring that no individual has control over multiple steps in sensitive processes. Traditionally, SoD policies were enforced within single systems like SAP ECC or S/4HANA, detecting risks such as one user both creating and approving a vendor invoice.
These controls worked when the enterprise operated within well-defined boundaries. But as applications multiply across the cloud and users operate across platforms, traditional SoD becomes insufficient. Cross-application SoD takes the concept further, monitoring roles and access combinations across systems, recognizing that risk doesn’t stop at application walls.
Here’s where traditional SoD often falls short and why cross-application enforcement matters now more than ever:
- Invisible Access Combinations Across Systems: Users often hold access across multiple tools, like having “create” rights in SAP and “approve” rights in Ariba or Workday. When reviewed in isolation, these appear safe. Combined, they pose a material risk.
- Privilege Creep Over Time: Employees accumulate roles as they move across teams or take on temporary responsibilities. Permissions rarely get revoked, leading to outdated or risky access profiles that standard SAP GRC misses.
- Disjointed Governance: SoD rules are often defined and enforced separately for each application, resulting in fragmented visibility and inconsistent policy coverage across the enterprise.
- Lack of Real-Time Controls: Traditional SoD reviews happen periodically, often monthly or quarterly. In fast-moving environments, this leaves a wide window where inappropriate access can be exploited before it’s even noticed.
- Risk That Lives in the Gaps: Violations don’t always originate from malicious actors. Sometimes it’s process overlap, poor provisioning practices, or simply human error, magnified by lack of holistic oversight.
4 Ways User Access Shield Supercharges SAP GRC
User Access Shield is designed not just to detect risk, but to change how it’s managed. Here’s how UAS strengthens and modernizes SAP GRC in four key areas:
- Centralized SoD Rule Repository
Managing separate SoD rules for every system is error-prone and inefficient. UAS eliminates this fragmentation with a single, unified policy repository. Governance teams define SoD rules once and apply them everywhere across SAP, Ariba, Concur, Salesforce, and more.
This consistency prevents mismatched policies between systems and makes it easier to maintain compliance over time. Auditors no longer have to dig through different rule sets. UAS provides one source of truth.
- Automated Conflict Detection (Before Access is Granted)
Most GRC tools are reactive. They identify access conflicts only after provisioning, often during quarterly audits. By then, the damage may already be done.
UAS shifts the timeline forward. It taps into real-time API events and identity provisioning workflows. Before access is approved, UAS checks the request against SoD policies across all systems involved and flags any risk. Access can be blocked, routed for exception approval, or modified automatically. This turns security from a catch-up activity into a preventive control.
- FUE (Full Use Equivalent) Compliance Optimization
SAP licensing can be complex and costly. Many enterprises overspend because they don’t have clear visibility into actual usage across apps. UAS helps organizations align access provisioning with license types, including FUE calculations, so that users only receive the roles and transactions they need.
- Unified “Single Pane of Glass” Risk View
Risk is hard to manage when it’s scattered. UAS brings it all into one view. Its centralized dashboard gives compliance leaders visibility into SoD violations, provisioning events, audit trails, and usage anomalies across the enterprise.
Closing the “2027 Support” Security Hole
As enterprises accelerate their S/4HANA migrations ahead of SAP ECC’s 2027 support deadline, attention often centers on application functionality, data migration, and business continuity. Security and access governance tend to trail behind, added in the final phase, just before go-live.
That delay introduces risk. Without a clear access remediation plan during the transition, organizations carry old roles, outdated permissions, and SoD violations into the new environment. What was once technical debt in ECC becomes a liability in S/4HANA.
- User Access Shield helps close that gap. As part of the migration journey, UAS enables organizations to analyze existing roles, flag cross-application conflicts, and realign access policies before cutover. Instead of replicating old issues, the new system starts clean.
Conclusion: Future-Proofing Your Compliance
Governance doesn’t end at SAP’s boundary. As organizations modernize their digital landscapes, the need for cross-application visibility becomes non-negotiable. Privileges aren’t static. Risks don’t confine themselves to one system. And legacy controls that once seemed effective now leave blind spots that attackers and auditors can exploit.
User Access Shield equips enterprises with a forward-looking approach to governance. It extends your SAP GRC into the cloud and beyond, connects policy to action, and gives decision-makers a real-time view of enterprise risk, before it spreads.
Ready to eliminate risk blind spots? User Access Shield brings critical visibility and real-time control to access governance across SAP and beyond. If you’re relying solely on SAP GRC, you’re likely missing the full picture. Let us help you uncover hidden SoD risks and tighten access where it matters most.
Request a personalized demo or risk assessment to see how UAS transforms your access strategy.
FAQs:
- What is Cross-Application SoD, and how does it differ from traditional SoD?
Cross-Application SoD monitors access risks across multiple systems, not just within SAP. It detects dangerous permission overlaps between platforms that traditional SoD tools inside SAP alone can’t identify.
- Why do standard SAP GRC tools fall short in hybrid environments?
Traditional SAP GRC tools are limited to SAP systems. They lack native integration with cloud and third-party apps, leaving risk exposures across modern hybrid environments unchecked and often undiscovered.
- How does User Access Shield improve SoD conflict detection?
User Access Shield analyzes access in real time across connected systems. It flags SoD risks proactively before access is granted, reducing downstream conflicts and improving preventive GRC enforcement.
- Can UAS support license optimization like FUE compliance?
Yes. UAS tracks access and usage across roles, helping enterprises meet Full Use Equivalent compliance and reduce unnecessary SAP licensing costs while aligning access with business roles.
- Is UAS a replacement for SAP GRC?
No. UAS works alongside SAP GRC, enhancing it with cross-application visibility and controls. It extends governance to areas traditional SAP tools cannot reach, strengthening your security posture.
