Thought Leader – Piusha Chaturvedi
RISE with SAP was introduced in January 2021 with a clear intent: simplify how organizations move from traditional SAP landscapes to a cloud-based, intelligent ERP. Instead of treating transformation as a multi-vendor effort spread across infrastructure, software, and tools, SAP brought everything into a single bundled model. The idea was simple but powerful. One contract, one roadmap, and a structured path to S/4HANA in the cloud.
What is RISE with SAP
At its core, RISE combines S/4HANA Cloud ERP, managed infrastructure, and transformation enablers into a unified offering. Organizations can choose between public or private cloud depending on regulatory and operational needs, but the core promise remains the same. Reduce complexity and accelerate the shift to a modern, continuously evolving ERP platform.
The offering has evolved significantly since its launch. In 2025, SAP expanded RISE with a more modular structure and repositioned the private edition as SAP Cloud ERP Private. The S/4HANA core is now surrounded by a stronger ecosystem that includes tighter integration with SAP Business Technology Platform, enabling AI-driven automation, extensibility, and advanced analytics without disrupting the digital core. Additional capabilities across finance, supply chain collaboration, and sustainability are also being layered into the broader portfolio.
Transformation tooling is another area where RISE has matured. Capabilities like SAP Signavio and LeanIX bring process intelligence and architecture visibility into the journey much earlier. This helps organizations make informed decisions before and during transformation, rather than discovering gaps late in the program. Built-in governance, security controls, and master data capabilities further reduce the operational burden that historically slowed large ERP initiatives.
SAP describes RISE as business transformation as a service, and that framing reflects how the model is intended to be consumed. It moves ERP modernization away from large, one-time upgrades toward a lifecycle driven approach. With ECC support timelines extending toward 2030 and innovation cycles accelerating, many organizations are now revisiting RISE not just as a migration option, but as a structured way to modernize ERP while staying adaptable for the decade ahead.
What Does the RISE with SAP Offering Include
A key change introduced in 2025 is the shift toward a modular commercial structure. Earlier RISE editions were grouped into predefined tiers such as Base, Premium, and Premium Plus. The newer model replaces those bundles with a more flexible, SKU-based framework. Infrastructure, platform capabilities, and support elements can now be configured individually, giving enterprises more control over how they shape their RISE landscape.
This modularity brings greater commercial transparency. Organizations can align investments more closely with their transformation priorities instead of committing to rigid bundles. For procurement and program governance teams, this level of granularity makes pricing clearer and helps avoid over provisioning capabilities that may not be immediately required.
Another defining aspect of the RISE model is centralized accountability. Licensing, infrastructure coordination, and primary support ownership are consolidated under SAP. In complex SAP environments, this simplifies vendor management and reduces fragmentation across contracts and escalation paths. From a delivery standpoint, that clarity translates into more predictable planning and cleaner governance structures.
Ultimately, the RISE offering provides a structured on-ramp to S/4HANA Cloud. By standardizing how ERP is packaged, licensed, and supported. .
Learn More – Technical Guide to Migrate from SAP ECC to RISE with SAP
What Are the Key RISE with SAP Components in 2026
RISE with SAP brings a more enriched and structured component model, especially within the SAP Cloud ERP Private package, which builds on what was earlier known as the Premium tier.
1. SAP S/4HANA Cloud Suite
At the center of RISE remains SAP S/4HANA Cloud, available in both public and private cloud editions. Organizations can run S/4HANA in SAP-managed data centers or on hyperscalers such as AWS, Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud. The HANA database continues to power real-time analytics and transactional processing, with embedded AI capabilities increasingly supporting predictive insights.
The private cloud edition provides a single tenant environment with greater control over customization, upgrades, and landscape flexibility. SAP manages the infrastructure layer, while customers retain control over release timelines. For ECC customers, migration options can include Brownfield, Greenfield, or hybrid approaches depending on transformation goals.
The public cloud edition follows a multi-tenant SaaS model hosted by SAP. It is more standardized and cost-efficient, but allows limited customization. Organizations moving from ECC to public cloud typically need to align processes with SAP best practices and adopt a more standardized operating model.
2. SAP Business Network Starter Pack
RISE extends ERP value through access to the SAP Business Network ecosystem. The starter pack includes credits for solutions such as Ariba, Fieldglass, Concur, and supplier collaboration capabilities. This enables tighter connectivity across procurement, workforce, and partner ecosystems, helping organizations collaborate more effectively with suppliers, logistics partners, and external stakeholders through a unified network layer.
3. SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) and AI Capabilities
SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP) serves as the central innovation layer within RISE. In the 2025 landscape, BTP continues to anchor integration, development, and data management across the SAP portfolio, with a growing emphasis on AI and machine learning.
Capabilities span data and database services, including SAP HANA Cloud, advanced analytics through tools like SAP Analytics Cloud, and application development frameworks that support extensibility. A major focus area is enabling clean core strategies, where extensions are built on BTP rather than modifying the S/4HANA core directly.
BTP also underpins intelligent automation, combining AI, machine learning, and automation technologies. While certain AI assistants are no longer bundled by default, their capabilities can be integrated through BTP services. RISE includes cloud credits that allow customers to consume services across this platform.
4. Business Process Intelligence with SAP Signavio
Process intelligence remains a core part of the RISE bundle through the SAP Signavio portfolio. The Business Process Transformation Starter Pack includes capabilities for process analysis, modeling, and collaboration.
Tools such as Signavio Process Insights help organizations assess process performance and benchmark against industry standards, while Process Manager supports modeling and transformation planning. The Collaboration Hub enables cross-functional alignment and continuous improvement by fostering a shared understanding of the process across teams.
5. Tools and Services for Technical Migration
RISE also includes embedded tools and services that support the technical migration to S/4HANA. These include readiness and custom code analysis utilities that identify elements requiring remediation due to platform changes. Such tooling is particularly relevant for organizations moving from heavily customized ECC environments.
Source – SAP Community
Why Businesses are Turning to RISE with SAP
Across industries, the move toward RISE is being shaped by a combination of agility, cost predictability, innovation access, and stronger lifecycle support.
- Cloud Flexibility and Business Agility
One of the biggest drivers is deployment flexibility. Organizations can run RISE on hyperscalers like AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, or SAP data centers, depending on regulatory and operational needs. This flexibility allows enterprises to scale infrastructure up or down quickly and respond faster to changing business demands. Compared to traditional on-premises ERP, cloud-based deployment enables faster experimentation, easier scaling, and a cleaner path to innovation without heavy infrastructure dependencies.
- Predictable and Optimized Cost Structure
The subscription-driven model shifts ERP spending from capital-intensive investments to a more predictable operational expense. Instead of large upfront investments in hardware, licenses, and infrastructure, organizations pay a recurring fee that covers hosting, upgrades, maintenance, and disaster recovery. This brings better cost visibility and simplifies financial planning while reducing the burden of managing physical infrastructure.
- Always Current with SAP Managed Updates
A key advantage of the RISE model is staying current without disruptive upgrade cycles. Updates are delivered by SAP on a scheduled basis and handled largely in the background. These include performance enhancements, regulatory updates, security patches, and new capabilities. For organizations that previously struggled with multiyear upgrade cycles, this ensures continuous innovation without repeated transformation fatigue.
Learn More – SAP S/4HANA Deployment Options: A Guide to Your Migration Strategy
- Faster Access to Innovation
Because RISE is closely aligned with SAP Business Technology Platform and process intelligence tooling, customers gain quicker access to emerging technologies. This includes AI-driven automation, advanced analytics, process mining, and industry-specific accelerators. The shift is not just about moving ERP to the cloud but creating a foundation that continuously evolves with new capabilities.
- End-to-End Lifecycle Support
Another reason organizations are embracing RISE is the broader lifecycle support model. Beyond software delivery, SAP provides structured support across transformation phases, including migration, innovation adoption, and post-go-live evolution. This integrated support structure helps organizations navigate both technical complexity and organizational change with greater confidence.
- Modern User Experience with SAP Fiori
User experience also plays an important role in adoption. SAP Fiori introduces a role-based, intuitive interface across devices, including desktop, tablet, and mobile. With real-time performance from S/4HANA and personalized dashboards, users gain faster access to insights and simplified workflows. This contributes directly to higher adoption and productivity across business functions.
- Stronger Business Network Connectivity
RISE also extends value through embedded access to SAP Business Network capabilities. Organizations can collaborate more effectively with suppliers, logistics partners, and external stakeholders through connected procurement, invoicing, and asset collaboration scenarios. This helps streamline transactions, reduce manual effort, and improve partner visibility across the value chain.
Final Thoughts
RISE with SAP presents a strong pathway for organizations planning their move to S/4HANA in a cloud-first world. By bringing together ERP, infrastructure, and managed services under a unified subscription model, it simplifies transformation while enabling continuous innovation. The growing integration of platforms like BTP, process intelligence tools, and AI-driven capabilities reflects how ERP modernization is shifting from one-time migrations to ongoing evolution.
At Stridely, we work closely with enterprises to navigate every stage of the RISE journey, from readiness assessments and roadmap definition to migration execution and post-go-live optimization. With deep SAP delivery expertise and a business-first approach, Stridely helps organizations adopt RISE with clarity, confidence, and measurable outcomes.
If you are evaluating RISE with SAP or planning your S/4HANA transformation, connect with Stridely to explore how we can support your journey.
