What Is RISE with SAP, and Is It Right for Your Company?
Confusion Over SAP’s Evolving Commercial Offering
For senior executives at companies operating within SAP ecosystems in Latin America, keeping track of SAP’s strategy has become a challenge. In recent years, licensing models have changed dramatically: from on-premise perpetual licenses to cloud subscription models, including concepts such as S/4HANA Cloud, BTP, and, more recently, RISE with SAP.
The main concern for Chief Information Officers (CIOs) and Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) lies in commercial and technical uncertainty. There is a perception that SAP is forcing its customers to adopt a bundled model where it is difficult to distinguish which services are truly necessary and which represent redundant costs. The lack of clarity regarding the SAP ECC maintenance cutoff date (2027/2030) exacerbates the pressure to make hasty decisions.
The Risk of Signing a Contract Without Understanding the Actual TCO
Adopting RISE with SAP simply out of inertia or commercial pressure—without having audited the Z-Code (customizations) or evaluated the 5-year total cost of ownership (TCO)—is a strategic mistake with significant financial consequences.
According to studies by the analyst firm Gartner on the transition of on-premises ERP systems to the cloud, more than 50% of organizations that sign packaged transformation contracts face significant budget overruns due to poor estimates of managed services, integration costs, and data governance.
Signing off on a migration blindly leads to severe complications:
• Migration paralysis or delays: Discovering halfway through the process that customizations in the current ERP are not compatible with the SAP cloud standard.
• Hidden costs and inflexibility: Being locked into a single contract (“One Contract”) where infrastructure service levels (SLAs) do not align with the company’s actual operational needs.
• Losing control of the technical environment: Not knowing which layer of the operation is managed by SAP, which is managed by the hyperscaler (such as Microsoft Azure), and which falls to the internal team.
Explanatory Guide and Glossary: Decoding the RISE with SAP Universe
To help the Board of Directors make an informed decision, we break down the key components of SAP’s current offering:
[ RISE with SAP ] ──> Includes: S/4HANA License + Cloud (Azure/AWS/GCP) + BTP + Management Services
1. What is RISE with SAP, really?
It is not a new version of the software or a different ERP system. RISE with SAP is a “Business Transformation as a Service” (BTaaS) offering. It bundles the following into a single annual or multi-year subscription contract:
• The SAP S/4HANA Cloud ERP license (Private or Public Edition).
• The cloud infrastructure (hosted on Microsoft Azure or partner hyperscalers).
• Infrastructure management services (Technical Managed Services).
• Credits for the SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) and process optimization tools.
2. Glossary of Key Terms for Senior Management
• SAP S/4HANA Cloud: The next-generation version of SAP’s ERP, built on an in-memory database (HANA). It replaces the legacy SAP ECC.
• “Clean Core” Strategy: A methodology promoted by SAP to maintain the core of the standard ERP without direct modifications. Company customizations are built outside the ERP using platforms such as Microsoft Azure or SAP BTP, facilitating automatic and seamless updates.
• SAP BTP (Business Technology Platform): The cloud-based integration and extension platform that enables SAP to connect with third-party applications, web portals, and AI agents.
• SaaS vs. FUE (Full User Equivalent): The new licensing model based on usage equivalents and recurring subscriptions, replacing the old model of purchasing fixed licenses per user.
3. Is It Right for Your Company? Evaluation Matrix
Criterion | RISE with SAP is RIGHT FOR YOU if... | It is NOT right for you (or requires further consideration) if... |
Infrastructure | You are looking to eliminate your on-premises data center and migrate everything to the cloud under a single contract. | You have just made a massive investment in on-premises servers that still have a remaining useful life. |
Architecture | You’re willing to standardize processes and adopt the Clean Core philosophy. | Your operations depend on thousands of highly customized and non-transferable Z programs. |
Budget | You prefer predictable recurring operating expenses (OpEx) over capital expenditures (CapEx). | Your corporate financial policies favor ownership of software assets. |
Clarity and SAP Architecture with T&M Consulting
At T&M Consulting, with 12 years of experience as B2B technology consultants in Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and Venezuela, we don’t sell licenses blindly: we help companies chart the most cost-effective and efficient migration path to SAP.
Our value proposition for your SAP ecosystem includes:
• Maturity Assessment and TCO Diagnosis: We analyze your current SAP ECC or S/4HANA system to determine, based on real data, whether you should join RISE with SAP or adopt a direct migration strategy to the Microsoft Azure cloud.
• Clean Core Strategy and B2B Integration: We redesign your processes to free up your ERP core. We connect your SAP system via SAP BTP or Azure API Management to our B2B Web Portals and custom solutions.
• Artificial Intelligence Applied to SAP: We integrate AI agents hosted on Azure that interact directly with your SAP modules to automate invoice processing, bank reconciliation, and supplier management.
Don’t make decisions about your ERP blindly
Evaluate SAP’s commercial offering with the support of a neutral technology partner who is an expert in the cloud and focused on your business’s profitability.
Audit your SAP strategy and determine if RISE is right for you: Request an architectural and financial diagnostic session by emailing: contact@tmconsulting.mx
