A tough economic environment and its related uncertainties and dynamics challenges companies of all sizes in all countries. They require flexible IT systems that allow them to adapt quickly to new economic circumstances, changing customer behaviors and new business models. Cloud operating models for business applications enable fast business changes, high flexibility and scalability. While most companies are aware of the need to change and modernize their operating structures and existing IT systems, such a transformation can be complex. Therefore, companies will benefit if they use the support of experienced partners in their transformation journey. RISE with SAP is a comprehensive transformation offering from SAP to support a digital transformation into a cloud environment. One core element is the Enterprise Resource Planning system from SAP, S/4HANA Cloud. SAP is using the term “business transformation as a service” to illustrate that RISE with SAP is not only a set of products and technologies but includes tools that are required for a successful transformation project – all within a single commercial offering. An enormous benefit for organizations is that SAP acts as a single point of contact. SAP and its partners ensure customers get the best support under one contract with SAP. Customers can manage SLAs and related support processes without signing contracts with different parties. Overall, a “RISE with SAP” engagement can be structured into four larger phases:

1. Analyzing and improving business processes
2. Technical migration
3. Building the intelligent enterprise
4. Acceleration of adoption and continuous improving the business

1) Analyzing and improving business processes RISE with SAP considers improved and digitized business processes to create that business value. A digital transformation journey using RISE with SAP takes into consideration that each organization is in a unique position, has other business processes, and has a different digital maturity level, and therefore has a unique starting point for its digital transformation and different needs and expectations. As a result, RISE with SAP starts with an analysis of the existing business processes by using business process intelligence (BPI) solutions from SAP Signavio. With these solutions, customers can gain transparency on their current business process KPIs and weak spots. Existing SAP ERP customers often start with the discovery edition of SAP Signavio Process Insights to gain a better understanding of the existing business process performance. SAP Signavio can also compare the results with industry benchmarks in order to identify potential for improvement. The solution will also make tailored recommendations regarding optimizations and innovations. An example for the latter is to leverage artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities to automate activities or even complete processes. RISE with SAP includes the business process intelligence starter pack for RISE with SAP with entitlements for:

• SAP Process Insights to continuously monitor business process KPIs of existing SAP ERP business processes and to get tailored recommendations for improvements and innovations
• SAP Signavio Process Manager to design and simulate new business processes
• SAP Process Collaboration Hub is a joint collaboration platform for companies to collaborate on their business processes

2) Technical migration The second phase is about the migration of the current IT landscape to the new one, with S/4HANA Cloud at its core. SAP provides tools like SAP Readiness Check or the SAP Custom Code Analyzer to analyze the as-is situation and identify measures that need to be taken. SAP supports several Cloud Infrastructures like Microsoft Azure and thus provides flexibility to its customers to choose the best one for their needs. SAP supports the technical migration to SAP S/4HANA Cloud with the SAP S/4HANA Migration Cockpit. It supports different migration options, like system conversion, lifts, and shifts, or a selective data transition. 3) Building the Intelligent Enterprise The target picture of a digital transformation with RISE with SAP is the Intelligent Enterprise. Core of the Intelligent Enterprise is the leading ERP system, S/4HANA Cloud. Usually, every business process has several touch points with SAP S/4HANA Cloud. SAP S/4HANA Cloud comes with a vast set of best practice content, which allows a fast adoption and runs standardized business processes. But RISE with SAP is more than a migration to S/4HANA Cloud. It comes also with the possibility of using SAP’s Business Technology Platform (BTP) and a Starter Pack for the SAP Business Network. SAP BTP allows customers and partners to build new applications or extend existing applications and comes already with a vast set of existing SAP and partner applications that are ready to use. RISE with SAP comes with consumption-based Cloud credits. This allows customers to use BTP services flexibly when there is demand, instead of licensing each service individually upfront. The SAP Business Network Starter Pack provides capabilities to collaborate with suppliers, connect shoppers and carriers and collect and share asset usage information. 4) Acceleration of adoption and continuously improving the business A digital transformation journey in today’s environment is an ongoing endeavor, as there is a constant demand to increase efficiency and to adapt to new economic situations and customer behaviors. Therefore, it is crucial that users are continuously supported in learning the system and in learning new products and product functionalities, which will be introduced. RISE with SAP comes with a rich set of capabilities to support the enablement and continued learning of employees:

• SAP Learning Hub as digital learning hub to acquire new SAP software skills
• SAP Enable Now as in-app learning and support capability to improve the acceptance and productivity of users
• SAP Mobile Start as native app on mobile devices that acts as single mobile entry point to SAP’s business applications

RISE with SAP on Microsoft Azure “RISE with SAP” provides the option to run S/4HANA Cloud on Microsoft Azure as one of the leading Cloud platforms. Microsoft and SAP have been working closely as strategic partners since many years. Therefore, joint customers benefit from aligned roadmaps of SAP S/4HANA Cloud and Microsoft Azure as well as from meaningful product and service bundles, and joint reference architectures and customer transformation journeys. The existing certification of Microsoft to operate SAP S/4HANA with SUSE Linux Enterprise and Red Hat Enterprise on Microsoft Azure provides additional reliability and trust for customers.