10 questions about RISE with SAP
What is RISE with SAP? What are the benefits of SAP's new offering and how does RISE relate to the SAP S/4HANA Cloud? We answer your questions about RISE with SAP.
RISE with SAP
With RISE with SAP, SAP wants to make it easier for its customers to move to the cloud and accompany and support them in their individual transformation with "Business Transformation as a Service". The package includes a range of products, tools and services.
What advantages does RISE with SAP offer, what elements and technologies does it contain exactly, how does the offering fit into SAP's portfolio and for whom is RISE with SAP intended - answers to these and other questions can be found here.
1. What is RISE with SAP?
RISE with SAP is an offering with which SAP wants to make the move to the cloud as easy as possible for its customers and provide them with individual support throughout the transformation to the "intelligent" enterprise.
RISE with SAP is a subscription package based on a service level agreement (SLA). Accordingly, SAP bundles various components into a single package at a uniform price. SAP is responsible for operating the solution and managing problems.
For this reason, SAP also refers to it as "Business Transformation as a Service" (or, in events, as "all-round carefree concierge service").
SAP introduced RISE with SAP at the beginning of 2021. The offering initially comprised five core elements: the SAP S/4HANA Cloud, Business Process Intelligence (BPI), the SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP), access to the SAP Business Network and various integrated tools and services.
However, SAP has continued to expand the offering since the launch. Today, SAP divides the functions of RISE into three areas:
- Cloud solutions,
- cloud infrastructure and security, and
- migration and implementation services.
Companies can use RISE with SAP regardless of their starting point, size, industry and speed of transformation.
The individual components are bundled in a single package with just one contract ("ONE offer, ONE contract").
According to SAP, RISE with SAP can reduce the total cost of ownership by up to 20 percent compared to an on-premise implementation of SAP S/4HANA, including one-off migration costs.
The offer goes far beyond pure technical migration to SAP S/4HANA. Instead, the Walldorf-based software group wants to enable companies to achieve continuous and digital transformation - with suitable solutions, services and tools and with a focus on the cloud.
The infrastructure can be hosted by SAP or hyperscalers such as Google Cloud, Amazon Web Services or Microsoft Azure. Implementation and consulting services from SAP or partner companies to support RISE with SAP must be ordered separately by companies.
Further links:
- RISE with SAP. Your carefree package for the cloud.
- RISE with SAP (external link to SAP)
2. What are the advantages of RISE with SAP?
RISE with SAP has several benefits that can be divided into three areas:
- the business benefits for companies,
- the continuous and accompanied transformation, and
- the reduction of complexity with regard to contracts, operations and business processes.
The business benefit for companies is primarily that the individual transformation can be completed more quickly.
In addition to the core element SAP S/4HANA Cloud (as a private or public edition), the SAP Business Technology Platform, Signavio's solution portfolio and integration into a supplier network are available for this purpose. In this way, business processes can be analyzed and understood with the help of analyses and simulations and subsequently improved or renewed.
Another advantage is the continuous support of companies, because transformation with RISE with SAP is not understood as a project, but as a continuous process.
SAP promises ongoing and individual support - regardless of a company's starting point and the speed of the transformation.
Last but not least, RISE with SAP is about greater simplicity. The streamlined commercial approach therefore comprises only one contract.
This contract governs collaboration with SAP and thus with just one partner for software and support, infrastructure operation, and technical services.
The offer applies to companies of all types, sectors and sizes. The companies themselves choose the starting point, the speed and the operating model that suits them best (Private Edition or Public Edition).
3. What is included in RISE with SAP?
The offering currently comprises three core elements.
The first core area is cloud solutions.
First and foremost, this includes SAP S/4HANA Cloud, a modular cloud ERP solution.
Customers can choose between a private cloud solution and a public cloud solution from SAP, each of which can be part of RISE with SAP (for example, RISE with SAP S/4HANA Cloud, Private Edition).
In addition to cloud ERP, the functions in the area of cloud solutions include business process optimization, expansion, integration and automation, modern financial management, integration into a supplier network and sustainability management.
The second core area is Cloud Infrastructure and Services.
This area comprises the infrastructure and applications managed by SAP (including technology management by SAP with service level agreements at application level), a global hyperscaler infrastructure and security, risk management and compliance.
The third core area comprises services for migration and implementation.
This includes tools and methods that enable companies to analyze their business and processes faster and more accurately in order to migrate to SAP S/4HANA more quickly. SAP also provides best practices that accelerate the implementation.
Cloud Application Services can be used to improve application operations and the introduction of innovations. Companies can also manage their business operations with SAP Cloud Application Services. SAP's partner network is available for collaboration.
Further links:
4. What does RISE with SAP have to do with the SAP S/4HANA Cloud?
RISE with SAP is inextricably linked to SAP's strategy shift to the cloud group - and thus also to the SAP S/4HANA Cloud.
In particular, the offering is designed to help companies move to the cloud with a whole range of innovations and solutions. The SAP S/4HANA Cloud (as public cloud or private cloud) is therefore one of the core elements of RISE with SAP.
The SAP S/4HANA Cloud (as a private or public cloud) is therefore one of the core elements of RISE with SAP.
However, RISE with SAP is not mandatory in order to use SAP's cloud solutions. Solutions such as SAP S/4HANA Cloud, Public Edition and SAP S/4HANA Cloud, Private Edition are also available to companies "without RISE".
The GROW with SAP commercial package has also been available since the beginning of 2023 for the introduction of the public cloud.
While the RISE offering is primarily aimed at existing customers, GROW is primarily intended for new customers from the midmarket.
Further links:
5. How do RISE with SAP and SAP S/4HANA Cloud differ?
With RISE with SAP, SAP supports companies in their transformation to the intelligent enterprise and on their way to the cloud.
RISE with SAP's offering is therefore inconceivable without the cloud, but goes far beyond it: with innovative solutions such as SAP Signavio solutions for process optimization and automation, the use of the SAP Business Technology Platform or various technical tools and services.
In short, the SAP S/4HANA Cloud, as an ERP system, is a core element of the RISE with SAP offering. Those who use RISE with SAP also opt for the SAP S/4HANA Cloud.
6. The best way into the SAP Cloud - with or without RISE with SAP?
It is still possible to access the SAP S/4HANA Cloud without RISE with SAP. This applies to both the SAP/4HANA Cloud, Public Edition and the SAP S/4HANA Cloud, Private Edition.
Which route is best suited to a company and whether RISE with SAP is always worthwhile must be examined on a case-by-case basis.
However, as RISE with SAP accelerates and simplifies the transition to the cloud and SAP is continuing to expand the package and increasingly aligning its overall offering with it, this is likely to be the first choice for many customers today.
7. Is RISE with SAP just a new version of the HANA Enterprise Cloud?
The HANA Enterprise Cloud (HEC) (also: SAP S/4HANA On-Premise managed by SAP) came onto the market in 2013. It is no longer relevant today.
The HEC was an infrastructure-as-a-service solution or private cloud solution.
RISE with SAP cannot be compared with HEC because the offering goes far beyond the provision of a pure cloud infrastructure.
The HANA Enterprise Cloud was the entry point into the world of the cloud for some companies. RISE with SAP is now the consistent alignment of all business models and business processes to the cloud.
With RISE with SAP, companies can also decide which hyperscaler they choose to operate their infrastructure. They can choose from Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services and SAP (Alibaba Cloud only in Asia).
Further links:
8. Can any existing SAP customer also use RISE with SAP?
RISE with SAP can be used by new customers, but also by existing customers - regardless of the size of the company, the industry or the starting point of their own transformation. The offer is available
- for companies using SAP ECC (with or without a maintenance contract),
- for companies using SAP S/4HANA on-premise or cloud, and
- for new customers who are not yet using SAP.
9. How to migrate from SAP ERP to RISE with SAP S/4HANA Cloud?
Any company facing and planning a roadmap and implementation of SAP S/4HANA should by no means think only about technical issues and the technology, but also about its strategy, costs or risks.
The technical conversion of an existing system to SAP S/4HANA - if the system is not already running on SAP HANA - in any case requires a migration to the SAP HANA in-memory database, the installation of new and simplified codes, and other adjustments.
The change from an SAP ECC system (SAP ERP 6.0) to RISE with SAP S/4HANA Cloud consists of three steps. The basis for the redesign is SAP Best Practices - and thus the decades of experience of a large number of companies that have gone into the development of SAP solutions.
- The first step involves analyzing and redesigning companies' business processes. SAP provides tools to be able to achieve optimization and streamlining of processes.
- The second step is technical migration. Among other things, SAP provides automated services to make it easier for companies to switch to modular and standardized architectures in the cloud.
- The third step describes the establishment of the intelligent enterprise. The basis for this is a cloud infrastructure (SAP host or hyperscaler approach) and the SAP S/4HANA Cloud - including AI solutions, RPA (Robotic Process Automation) and state-of-the-art analytics.
Another key component of Step 3 is the integrated Business Technology Platform.
The Business Technology Platform enables rapid innovation and is based on a uniform data model. Solutions from SAP, partners or third-party providers can be easily connected. On-premise or non-SAP applications can be integrated via APIs.
In addition, RISE with SAP also provides access to the SAP Business Network. This network enables companies to have an end-to-end data management system and collaboration. It integrates data from internal and external sources.
The SAP Readiness Check for SAP S/4HANA is the tool of choice at this point and part of RISE with SAP. It provides companies with an overview of the most important aspects of switching from an SAP ERP system to SAP S/4HANA - starting with the compatibility of add-ons and business functions through to interface analysis.
Further links:
10. Is RISE with SAP automatically part of the SAP cloud solutions?
RISE with SAP and GROW with SAP are commercial bundles from SAP.
Both packages are used to introduce SAP's cloud solutions and are designed to facilitate the digital transformation of companies.
- RISE with SAP is primarily designed for the introduction of SAP's private cloud. The offer is therefore primarily aimed at existing customers. However, it is also possible to introduce the public cloud.
- GROW with SAP is only available for the SAP S/4HANA Cloud, Public Edition and is primarily intended for new customers from the midmarket. The offer includes the cloud ERP solution, services and methods to accelerate implementation and access to the SAP community and training courses.
Further links:
Matthias Müller, Senior Sales Executive
Do you have any questions about RISE with SAP? Then get in touch!+49 2241 8845 622