How Has RISE with SAP Changed Since It Was Announced?

⇨ Dedicate time to evaluating your environment. The more that you understand before you begin any transformation, the more you can streamline any eventual transition.

⇨ Educate your team on what RISE with SAP offers. SAP continues to enhance what is included in the RISE with SAP solution and you need to ensure that you understand the services included,

⇨ Focus on making the decision that is best for you. Cloud ERP is key to the RISE with SAP offering, but this will not fit every scenario.

When RISE with SAP was first announced in January 2021, it was positioned as a Business-Transformation-as-a-Service offering that would allow organizations to adopt “holistic business transformation” using business process transformation, a technical migration to a hosting partner, and SAP S/4HANA Cloud as the foundation for the intelligent enterprise. Over time that message has changed slightly, with the emphasis shifting earlier this year to focus on RISE with SAP being a solution for driving business innovation. I recently sat down with members of the RISE with SAP team to better understand SAP’s current positioning of the solution, and how that is important for you as an SAPinsider.

RISE with SAP is the Solution for Innovation

In our research last year on RISE with SAP we found that, while SAP had done a good job marketing it as a Business-Transformation-as-a-Service offering, there was confusion over what that meant for organizations. Many were also unfamiliar with the components of the offering beyond SAP S/4HANA Cloud. The concept of transformation is very important for organizations and, while infrastructure transformation is still the most likely to be completed, many are now looking at redesigning business processes and models as being key to their organization’s future. But connecting that importance to SAP’s messaging around RISE with SAP was less well understood, even though nearly two thirds (59%) of respondents said that they planned on using either SAP S/4HANA or SAP S/4HANA Cloud to help address their transformation needs.

The shift in messaging is because SAP understands that organizations face three main challenges today. Introducing new business models, which is necessary for organizations to remain competitive and survive in today’s marketplace, improving efficiency in existing processes as well as creating new operational efficiencies, and the need to modernize systems that are mission-critical without disruption or creating risk for the business. SAP now positions RISE with SAP as the solution to these challenges, allowing organizations to become an intelligent sustainable enterprise in the cloud.

Making up RISE with SAP today are the following products and services:

• SAP S/4HANA Cloud
• Business process transformation solutions including Signavio Process Manager, Signavio Collaboration Hub, SAP Process Insights, and a free one-time business process discovery report,
• Tools that facilitate the move to SAP S/4HANA including SAP Readiness Check, custom code migration, and the SAP Enable Now solution
• Infrastructure including SAP data centers, hyperscalers, or a managed environment in the customer’s data center
• Consumption credits for the SAP Business Technology Platform
• SAP Business Network Starter Pack, which includes the Ariba Network, SAP Asset Intelligence Network, and the SAP Logistics Business Network, freight collaboration option

These are not substantially different from those offered at launch, but SAP is focusing on honing RISE with SAP to ensure that customers can understand and educate themselves on the benefits they gain with the solution.

What does this shift in focus from transformation to innovation mean? While transformation is a common topic in organizations, it can mean different things to different companies and connecting those goals to an offering like RISE with SAP is complex. While the concept of innovation can also have different meanings, SAP has some specific commitments that it is connecting to RISE with SAP. The first is in taking the lead for industry innovation which focuses on SAP S/4HANA Cloud, introducing new business models, but also managing sustainability and creating sustainable enterprises. The second is focused on driving improvement with continuous insight using SAP Signavio. And the last is about securing success with a trusted partner that will not only support a move to the cloud but put in place a process for continuous innovation, SAP BTP as the platform for that innovation, globalization and localization through SAP S/4HANA Cloud, as well as other frameworks and services.

The final piece is to make the transition to the cloud as seamless as possible for organizations that are embarking on that journey. This starts with the ability to leverage both SAP services as well as the broader partner ecosystem. Tools and services are available from both SAP and their partners to streamline the move, for example like SAP Readiness Check or the Custom Code migration application, but organizations can also license from SAP a usage analysis of an existing ERP system, landscape monitoring, or can streamline the move by adding capabilities like cloud-based application lifecycle management. To make this move complete SAP also supports driving change in the organization by providing licenses for digital learning solutions and dedicated resources which allow organizations to increase user proficiency, onboard users, and build and maintain SAP skills.

What Does This Mean for SAPinsiders?

SAP has repositioned RISE with SAP as not just a way to drive transformation within the organization, but the means to increase innovation, become more efficient, modernize mission-critical systems, and introduce new business models. These are all critical challenges for organizations today but, while RISE with SAP offers many capabilities that can support a successful move to the cloud, each organization needs to understand what is the best fit for them. RISE with SAP requires a commitment from organizations as to when they will adopt SAP S/4HANA Cloud, so consider that as you make any plans. With this refocusing on business innovation, what are some steps that you should take to help navigate these decisions if you haven’t already moved to SAP S/4HANA or RISE with SAP?

• Dedicate time to evaluating your environment. The more that you understand before you begin any transformation, the more you can streamline any eventual transition.
• Educate your team on what RISE with SAP offers. SAP continues to enhance what is included in the RISE with SAP solution, and you cannot make a fully informed decision as to whether RISE with SAP is right for your organization without making sure that you understand the services included, what they do, and how that aligns with your own plans.
• Focus on making the decision that is best for you. Cloud ERP is key to the RISE with SAP offering, but this will not fit every scenario. Ensure that you understand what you need and make the decision that is best for you. That said, there have not been any enhancements to SAP ECC since SAP S/4HANA was released. You will need updated capabilities if you are to maintain compliance with new regulations and drive future innovation in the finance space, and those must come from somewhere.