The RISE with SAP offering is SAP’s commercialization and transformation model for migrating existing SAP ERP landscapes to the cloud.
It combines SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition with infrastructure, tools, and services under a single contract and SLA via a single subscription. SAP refers to this model as a business transformation as a service, and it’s designed to help companies move their SAP solutions to the cloud in the long term. Specifically, this can involve moving an in-house data center to a hyperscaler cloud, for example.
SAP now distinguishes between SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition as the product offering and RISE with SAP as the overarching transformation journey and commercial framework. At its core, the subscription-based RISE with SAP is SAP S/4HANA running in a private cloud. The offer is characterized by the fact that, per contract, everything is provided by SAP as a single source. Customers can freely choose their preferred hyperscaler, which is already included as part of the SAP contract. For this reason, there’s no need to enter into a separate contract with a third party. All SLAs are standardized with SAP being the responsible party.
RISE with SAP provides companies with a comprehensive set of tools and has great flexibility in implementation with all contract-based components standardized. This approach is relevant not only for a migration to the cloud but also a migration to SAP S/4HANA in general because SAP BTP, among other things, is part of the package. Also included are the Custom Code Analyzer and SAP Readiness Check for analyzing existing enhancements and custom developments, and SAP Learning with all the necessary knowledge for a successful transition to SAP S/4HANA.
What About GROW with SAP?
In addition to RISE with SAP, SAP also offers a similar program tailored to small and midsize businesses called GROW with SAP, which provides comparable add-on offerings to SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition, including SAP BTP. This offer is aimed primarily at new ERP customers, growing midsized companies, and subsidiaries that want to to adapt their SAP cloud ERP quickly using a fit-to-standard, greenfield approach. Unlike RISE with SAP, which focuses on the transformation of existing SAP ERP landscapes, GROW with SAP targets organizations that are either new to SAP or deliberately choosing a fresh start in the cloud. The offering emphasizes simplicity, speed, and predictability, with preconfigured industry best practices and a clearly guided implementation approach.
The cloud systems are updated automatically by SAP on a quarterly basis, ensuring continuous innovation and access to the latest functional and regulatory enhancements without customer-controlled upgrade projects. It bundles SAP S/4HANA with a defined set of services, tools, and learning content to support rapid onboarding. This includes guided implementation based on SAP Activate and—from a functional and technical perspective—following a strict fit-to-standard philosophy.
The long-term purpose of both programs is a smooth transition to the cloud that is tailored to individual requirements and carried out under the company’s own control.
A large number of SAP companies don’t yet feel ready to move completely to the cloud. These companies could benefit from these simple and flexible offerings, as they focus on business transformation rather than a pure SAP S/4HANA operating model. The offering enables companies to quickly and easily adopt the latest innovations from SAP by providing access to an extensive library of prebuilt content such as workflows, automations, and other solutions that can be used to accelerate the digital transformation. Also included are training and support services to help users get started quickly.
Furthermore, AI has become an increasingly important element of RISE with SAP. SAP embeds SAP Business AI capabilities directly into SAP S/4HANA Cloud and the associated transformation tools. With Joule AI, SAP provides context-aware assistance to business users, developers, and administrators, further strengthening RISE with SAP as a long-term innovation platform.
What Are RISE with SAP’s Core Components?
The core components of RISE with SAP are listed here:
- SAP S/4HANA
- Choice of infrastructure from four different hyperscalers (Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform, and Alibaba Cloud), SAP data centers, or dedicated data centers (for regulated industries)
- Provision of SAP BTP to complement, extend, and integrate SAP, partner, or third-party solutions that use the same data model and business services
- SAP Business AI and automation with tools for intelligent automation and AI-supported business decisions
- SAP Business Network starter pack for SAP S/4HANA to accelerate the procurement process and connect with your trading partners
- Business process intelligence in the form of SAP Signavio to perform industry benchmarks and define starting points for the transformation
- SAP LeanIX, an enterprise architecture management solution for strategic planning and optimization of the IT landscape
- WalkMe, a digital adoption platform that provides user guidance and automation to facilitate the adoption of SAP applications
- SAP Security and Compliance with integrated security solutions for data privacy and regulatory requirements
- Additional tools and services to support the transformation of business processes
SAP has also announced a transition option for customers with complex SAP ERP landscapes. Under specific conditions and as part of a RISE with SAP contract, SAP offers the option to operate SAP ERP systems in an SAP-managed private cloud environment beyond traditional on-premise maintenance timelines. This option is intended to provide additional flexibility for customers while committing to a long-term transformation toward SAP Cloud ERP.
The objective of RISE with SAP is to lead companies easily and efficiently into the digital future. Most SAP customers want to modernize and transform their company’s business processes. Business process intelligence tools that identify opportunities for transforming existing business processes can help. Because SAP BTP plays a central role in the implementation of the SAP Intelligent Enterprise Framework, it’s also part of RISE with SAP, along with all of its platform services.
Additional Information About RISE with SAP
For more information about RISE with SAP, visit this page.
Editor’s note: This post has been adapted from a section of the book Migrating to SAP S/4HANA: Operating Models, Migration Scenarios, Tools, and Implementation by Frank Densborn, Frank Finkbohner, Martina Höft, Petra Klöß, Kim Mathäß, and Boris Rubarth. Frank Densborn has been an expert in data migration at SAP since 2004 and is the author of numerous SAP PRESS titles in German and English. Frank Finkbohner worked for SAP since 1999, including 13 years in SAP consulting, where he supported customers in numerous projects, including data migration and the development and extension of ABAP applications. Martina works in product management for SAP S/4HANA in the area of data migration and data transformation with a focus on the SAP S/4HANA migration cockpit. Dr. Klöß is a senior director in SAP Central Business Configuration, managing customer success for SAP Central Business Configuration for the Americas and greater China. Kim has worked at SAP since 2006 and is currently senior development manager in SAP S/4HANA Globalization. Dr. Rubarth worked at SAP from 1999 until the end of 2024, most recently as product manager in the Software Logistics division.
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