RISE with SAP Benchmark Report: Cloud ERP Adoption Accelerates Ahead of 2027 Deadline

A new SAPinsider benchmark report, RISE with SAP 2025, shows adoption of SAP Cloud ERP Private, formerly known as RISE with SAP, accelerating as the 2027 end-of-maintenance deadline for legacy systems approaches.

Still, Robert Holland, vice president and research director at SAPinsider, wrote, “The RISE with SAP package is seeing varied adoption rates.” He notes, “Smaller organizations (under $2 billion in revenue) are currently twice as likely to be live on the solution compared to larger enterprises, which are predominantly in the planning or exploration phases.”

Holland explained that SAP is driving adoption through its deployment assistance, but holdouts continue to assess cost and business value. On Tuesday, January 13, 2026, at 2 p.m. ET, Holland will address these findings in the webinar, RISE with SAP 2025: Adoption, AI, and Security Insights, providing expert analysis and guidance for the 2027 deadline.

What the RISE with SAP 2025 Report Reveals About Migration

The study of 122 SAP professionals shows a clear acceleration in cloud ERP adoption, with organizations across industries moving quickly toward either SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition or SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition. Meanwhile, generative AI is influencing decisions for 43% of respondents, with security gaps and a shortage of skilled migration resources posing challenges.

Adoption Accelerates Across Industries

Legacy SAP ECC and Business Suite use has fallen below 50% for the first time, while those who have fully transitioned to SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition rose to 30% in 2025 from 19% last year. Overall, 73% of organizations are at some stage of the transition, from planning to full implementation, across industries.

Organizational Size Shapes Migration Pace

Smaller organizations (under $2 billion revenue) are moving faster, with 26% fully live versus 14% of larger enterprises, which are more likely to be in the planning or exploration phases (35%) due to longer decision cycles and complex IT landscapes, reflecting longer decision cycles and more complex IT landscapes.

Generative AI Influences Decisions

Generative AI capabilities, particularly SAP’s generative AI assistant Joule, are becoming a strategic factor in migration planning. In 2025, 43% of respondents said AI influenced their ERP decisions, up sharply from 14% in 2023. Adoption is driven not only by AI but also by SAP’s dedicated migration support (51%) and license conversion credits (40%), highlighting the importance of commercial incentives alongside technology.

Challenges Remain

Organizations report that remediating custom code, cleaning data, and securing business-unit support are the top obstacles they face in the transition. Cost and unclear business value are the main barriers for non-adopters, each cited by 43% of respondents. Security compliance gaps persist: only 62% of live users rigorously follow shared responsibility guidelines, and just one-third conduct regular monitoring and auditing.

Cloud Infrastructure and Migration Strategies

Microsoft Azure is the preferred cloud service provider for larger enterprises, while smaller organizations are more likely to select AWS. Hybrid and phased migration approaches remain common, but confidence in moving all SAP workloads to the cloud is growing, rising from 13% in 2024 to 20% in 2025. This reflects greater trust in cloud ERP’s ability to handle complex landscapes.

Learn More About How Peers Are Preparing for the 2027 SAP Deadline

With adoption accelerating, smaller organizations moving faster, and larger enterprises still in planning or exploration phases, benchmarking your own migration plans is critical.

During the upcoming research findings webinar, Holland will unpack the report’s findings and offer guidance that can inform organizations’ own ERP transition planning and governance before the 2027 end-of-maintenance deadline.

• Identify the factors driving organizations to speed up adoption of SAP Cloud ERP Private, and how adoption patterns vary across different company sizes.
• Examine how SAP support, access to new capabilities, and the growing influence of generative AI are affecting technology decisions.
• Assess the challenges organizations report as most difficult, including data quality issues, custom code remediation, and gaining business alignment.
• Review how companies are structuring strategy teams, involving executive leadership, and addressing anticipated resource constraints.
• Understand the actions organizations can take now to support ERP transformation and sustain innovation over the long term.

The session will provide actionable insights for aligning strategy with operational realities, reducing risk, and accelerating transformation across complex IT landscapes.

What This Means for SAPinsiders

• SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private adoption is accelerating rapidly. The SAPinsider benchmark report shows legacy SAP use has dropped below 50% for the first time, while 30% of organizations are fully live. This milestone shows most enterprises are moving to modern ERP, creating urgency for remaining organizations to accelerate their own migrations.
• Benchmarking is essential during periods of technology change. Insights into adoption rates, generative AI influence, and security compliance help organizations prioritize workloads, allocate resources, and anticipate obstacles, strengthening governance ahead of the 2027 end-of-maintenance deadline.
• Benchmark with industry leaders. Engaging with peers and experts enables organizations to assess their ERP migration strategies against industry best practices. This comparison highlights gaps, informs resource allocation, and strengthens execution, helping companies protect ROI and maintain competitiveness during rapid cloud transformation.