Understanding the diverse user roles within an existing SAP ecosystem is key in optimizing system usage, achieving organizational goals, and ensuring accurate user access permissions.
From system administrators overseeing configurations to end-users interacting with the final application interfaces, SAP User Types outlines each user’s responsibilities, privileges, and contributions.
This article will discuss the five main SAP user types, the unique and critical role each role plays in harnessing the power of SAP solutions, and where our expert SAP consultant team can come in to help.
What is a User Type?
A user type defines a class of users, such as system administrators or operators. User types are related to the type of license each user is assigned and control the scope and scale of privileges that can be assigned to each user through a specific role.
From remote users and remote groups to database users and local groups, user types outline the kind of account each user holds and specify specific roles assigned by the system administrator.
Understanding the Main User Types in SAP
There are five main types of users in SAP, including:
1) Dialog User
Dialog users are used for all logon types and provide interactive system access from the SAP Graphical User Interface (GUI).
By leveraging a dialog user for all logon types, administrators and other users can complete and check multiple logins and carry out standard transactions across their SAP system.
2) System User
System users are non-interactive users that enable SAP users to conduct background processing and facilitate better internal communication across their complete SAP landscape.
Multiple logins, such as RFC users for ALE, TMS, and Workflow, are permitted for the system user, but dialog logon is not possible for the System user type in SAP.
3) Service User
Service users are designed for a larger, anonymous group, offering highly restricted authorizations for more accurate system usage and navigation.
With the service user, only the user administrator can change passwords if a password has expired or must be updated from the initial password.
4) Communication User
Communication users are used to facilitate dialog-free communication between multiple systems, including external RFC calls to non-SAP systems. This type of user cannot be used for dialog logon.
5) Reference User
Reference users are the user types for general, non-person-related users, enabling more accurate assignments for additional identical authorizations, such as Internet users created with the SU01 code.
To attach a reference user to a dialog user, users must specify the use case when updating or maintaining the dialog user on the ‘Roles’ tab.
How to Create a User Type in SAP
- Select transaction code SU01.
- Enter the username you want to create and select the ‘Create’ icon.
- Navigate to the ‘Address’ tab and enter user details like first name, last name, email ID, etc.
- Once directed to the ‘Logon Data’ tab, users will select the SAP system user type from the drop-down list, including System, Service, Communication, Reference, and Dialog users.
- Click ‘New Password’ and re-type the password in the ‘Repeat Password’ box to create a new password.
- Once the password has been created and users are directed to the ‘Roles’ tab, administrators can assign specific roles to each user.
- Navigate to the ‘Profiles’ tab and assign profiles to each user.
- Click ‘Save’ to confirm the user type has been created and roles and profiles have been assigned.
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