RISE with SAP is a bundled offering of SAP S/4HANA that enables businesses to “migrate to the cloud securely and smoothly.” At its core, RISE with SAP is a comprehensive offering that bundles the basics that businesses need to embark on their digital transformation journeys. From migrating to the cloud to optimizing processes and enhancing customer experiences, RISE with SAP is an attractive offering for businesses looking for a more simplified approach for their ERP solution. Below, we dive into the benefits and challenges of RISE with SAP. 

Benefits of RISE with SAP 

RISE with SAP offers numerous key benefits for companies: 

• A comprehensive package, with bundled offerings of services and systems, including hosting, in one place. 
• Many clients find that RISE with SAP provides them with an affordable option or price advantage, enabling them to stay on budget with their ERP investment.  
• RISE with SAP offers à la carte services depending on your specific needs – either short-term or long-term. It’s designed to scale alongside businesses as they grow, with flexibility to adjust or expand as needed. 
• SAP offers base support, and, depending on the organization’s maturity, there are extended à la carte support levels available with SAP Cloud Application Services (CAS) and SAP Preferred Success: Advanced Support for Cloud Solutions. 

Challenges of RISE with SAP

Even with the benefits listed above, we’ve seen clients encounter a few challenges with RISE with SAP, too. For example, 

• SAP has many services and systems that can complicate previously established integrations with other systems. 
• SAP has siloed support and services, so clients still need in-house expertise to know where to seek assistance. Without this in-house support, an implementation partner can help alleviate this. 
• Even with SAP CAS, customer-specific configuration and operational administration are still necessary and must be accounted for when planning an implementation. 

Is RISE with SAP Right For You? 

Ultimately, RISE with SAP can be an effective choice for businesses looking for an all-in-one package. However, there are a few considerations to keep in mind – does it fit your SAP project budget? Have you fully defined your business needs? Do you have the AMS support after go-live? 

As businesses evaluate RISE with SAP, they should consider partnering with an experienced advisor to help guide them on their SAP journey. Clarkston’s team of SAP experts has decades of industry-specific experience and is ready to help, from implementation to post-go-live support. 

Contributions from Steve Barrett