The Essential SAP Basis Roles in RISE with SAP

The cbs SAP Basis team plays a crucial role in ensuring success for organizations transitioning to SAP S/4HANA under RISE with SAP. According to Romuald Guns, Principal Advisor at Corporate Business Solutions (cbs), this role evolves throughout the entire lifecycle from planning and preparing systems for go-live to maintenance afterwards. Effective planning ensures systems are designed and configured to meet business needs, minimizing risks.  System downtime or misconfigured landscapes can disrupt business operations and undermine digital transformation goals.

This lifecycle emphasizes that while SAP manages the underlying infrastructure in RISE with SAP, Basis expertise remains critical. The role evolves to coordinate collaboration among internal IT, cloud service providers, and SAP’s managed operations. According to cbs, internal Basis teams can shift focus to application management, error analysis and resolution, performance optimization, and strategic collaboration with SAP to enhance operational efficiency.

RISE with SAP Go-Live: A Three-Phase Journey

1. Before Go-Live (Project Preparation and Implementation)

The cbs Basis team concentrates on system setup and configuration, manages upgrades and conversions, and handles incident management and security during the project preparation phase. They also assist with S/4 readiness prerequisites, system cleanup, and data archiving to ensure optimal system performance. Additionally, the team provides expert guidance on the path to RISE with SAP, advising on brownfield, greenfield, or Landscape Transformation (bluefield) approaches.  Cbs works closely with SAP to ensure a solid foundation for the cloud transition. This phase lays the technical groundwork needed for a successful RISE with SAP deployment.

2. During Go-Live (Cutover)

The cbs team manages system cutover and migration activities while providing coordination and support throughout the transition process. They also assist with incident management, participating in project plan reviews and providing Go-Live technical support to address incidents during User Acceptance Testing (UAT). They ensure a smooth transition to the production environment by monitoring system performance and resolving any issues that occur. This vital phase demands precise execution and real-time problem solving.

3. After Go-Live (Operations and Maintenance)

Responsibilities shift to system monitoring, operations, incident management, and ongoing upgrades and maintenance. A main goal for our SAP Basis operations is to proactively monitor systems in order to  help prevent issues before they arise, rather than simply responding to them.  The cbs Basis team emphasizes continuous optimization to maintain performance and efficiency in collaboration with SAP’s managed services. This phase highlights sustaining operational excellence within the cloud-managed environment.

Beyond RISE: Basis in the Broader SAP Ecosystem

The Basis role goes well beyond RISE with SAP deployments. As SAP landscapes become increasingly complex, Basis remains essential for maintaining performance, scalability, and compliance. Its responsibilities span a broad range such as operating system management for a stable infrastructure, optimizing SAP systems for improved performance, providing database expertise for reliability, proactive system monitoring and security, and end-to-end transformation support to drive innovation and adaptability.

Global service providers like cbs Consulting offer comprehensive Basis services across the SAP product and platform portfolio lineup. Their interdisciplinary teams assist customers with provisioning, operations, and ongoing run-phase management, including swift response to urgent issues. By streamlining these processes, they alleviate the burden on IT departments, allowing businesses to remain focused on their core operations.

What This Means for SAPinsiders

RISE with SAP can evolve SAP Basis teams to strategic roles. Instead of eliminating Basis positions, organizations see these roles becoming more strategic, focusing on optimization and integration rather than infrastructure upkeep. This change prompts technology leaders to fundamentally reconsider talent management and operational strategies. The key is understanding that cloud migration may increase, rather than reduce, the need for specialized SAP Basis expertise.

Evaluate providers based on monitoring, security, and transformation support. When selecting a Basis partner, CIOs and IT directors should focus on offerings like proactive monitoring services, real-time incident response, and compliance-focused audits. These features help ensure resilience amidst complex integrations and global operations. cbs’s portfolio, which includes SAP Security Audit and Monitoring as a Service (MaaS), SAP Installation, Maintenance and Optimization, Operating System and Database Expertise, illustrates the growing importance of external partners that can enhance in-house expertise and support.

Long-term SAP Basis engagement boosts ROI in SAP transformations. Market trends indicate ongoing investment in SAP Basis services, driven by the increasing complexity of hybrid and multi-cloud environments. External service providers increasingly complement internal teams by offering specialized capabilities and 24/7 support coverage. For SAP executives, the message is clear: Basis teams are not just technical administrators but strategic enablers of reliability, compliance, and innovation.