RISE with SAP’s New Hyperscaler Option is IBM

Announced earlier this year, RISE with SAP on IBM Power Virtual Server is now available as a new hosting option for customers moving to SAP Cloud ERP. For customers that are already running SAP S/4HANA on IBM Power hardware, this new option is designed to move those workloads from on-premise to the cloud within 90 days by maintaining architectural consistency. This can represent a 15-25% reduction in migration to the cloud when compared to moving to x86-based environments. Organizations running older SAP ERP systems will be able to move to an environment with which they are familiar but will still need to complete the transition to SAP S/4HANA.

Speaking about the announcement, Peter Pluim, President of SAP Enterprise Cloud Services, stated that “SAP is proud to introduce IBM Cloud as another hyperscaler option for RISE with SAP. This partnership between SAP and IBM marks another significant step forward in helping our more than 10,000 joint customers to modernize their ERP systems on IBM Power Platform that we co-optimized for SAP Cloud ERP.”

Alan Peacock, General Manager of IBM Cloud, emphasized that “Only IBM Cloud offers SAP Certified Power Virtual Server.” Peacock added that, “As customers continue to get the security and performance they are used to with their on-premise deployments, they’re also going to get the provisioning capability at a granular level. They can scale their platform as they need to, and don’t have to over provision and pay not for what they’ll use in the future.”

Beyond the availability announcement, IBM is making additional investments customized for the RISE with SAP methodology to facilitate the move to cloud ERP. The first is that IBM is making its proven environmental assessment capability to make the migration to SAP Cloud ERP faster and easier available directly to clients. This provides support for early-stage technical assessments, migration execution, and the transition of surrounding non-RISE with SAP workloads to the cloud. IBM is also looking at a buyback program for eligible IBM Power10 processor-based servers to ease the cost of migration for customers running SAP workloads.

Lastly, IBM is offering Transformation Suite for SAP Applications to clients, system integrators, and other ecosystem partners. Transformation Suite combines software and services from IBM and partners like SNP to automate essential migration tasks to provide a faster and less-disruptive move to RISE with SAP.

What This Means for SAPinsiders

More than ten thousand organizations are running their SAP workloads on IBM Power infrastructure. Until now, while these customers have been able to move to SAP S/4HANA, there was not an option to move to RISE with SAP and continue to leverage IBM Power-based environments, resulting in the need to adapt to new infrastructure creating more complex transitions. For those already running SAP S/4HANA, this represents a significant reduction in complexity for those transitioning those environments to SAP Cloud ERP. But how should SAPinsiders proceed?

• Existing SAP S/4HANA on IBM Power customers should closely evaluate the new offering. For those that have already moved to SAP S/4HANA the offering holds increased value. This is because versions of SAP S/HANA earlier than 2023 will reach the end of mainstream maintenance by the end of 2027. Only customers running SAP S/4HANA 2023 will have mainstream maintenance beyond 2027. With many SAP S/4HANA early adopters moving to RISE with SAP at an accelerating rate, these customers have a much easier path to SAP Cloud ERP Private than existed in the past. While there must be a determination around whether RISE with SAP aligns with existing transformation plans, the new offering provides options that were not previously available.
• Those running SAP ERP solutions on IBM Power should understand how this offering will impact their transformation options. Of the thousands of customers that are currently running SAP ERP systems on IBM Power, the ability to move to the same environment within RISE with SAP offers both familiarity and reliability. This ensures that organizations that have been using IBM Power environments for many years are able to continue using the same infrastructure on which they have come to rely. Given that the end of mainstream maintenance of existing SAP systems will come to an end in 2027, this is the perfect time for these organizations to understand and evaluate RISE with SAP on IBM Virtual Power Server.
• IBM Power Virtual Server in combination with IBM Transformation Suite for SAP Applications offers a unique opportunity. For those that are planning transformations, IBM Transformation Suite offers an accelerated transition to SAP S/4HANA, tools and best practices, and automates key aspects of data transformation, migration, and integration. This helps lower the cost of the move and reduces the need to make further changes in the future. Organizations that are considering using IBM Power Virtual Server as an environment for RISE with SAP should look at the opportunity that making this move in conjunction with IBM Transformation Suite presents to add to the value for customers planning a move to RISE with SAP.