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The Sign-Off Table

Lesson 1 of 5

RISE with SAP

7 min

Most SAP S/4HANA programs you join today were bought as RISE with SAP. For a delivery team that matters more than it first appears. The contract decides who runs the servers, who applies updates, who can request a system copy, and how quickly. It does not decide who proves that the business processes work. This lesson explains what RISE is from the point of view of the people who have to deliver and sign off the program.

RISE with SAP is SAP's subscription offering for moving an existing ERP customer to SAP S/4HANA in the cloud. Its deployment target is SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition, which SAP now also markets as SAP Cloud ERP Private; SAP's own 2025 roles and responsibilities document lists both names side by side. It is single-tenant: Contoso gets its own systems, operated by SAP Enterprise Cloud Services (ECS) on a hyperscaler or SAP data center chosen in the contract.

What is in the bundle

RISE is a bundle rather than a single product, and its contents have changed several times since launch. In April 2025 SAP announced an SAP Cloud ERP Private package that groups three areas: the business applications, transformation tools and services, and cloud and extensibility services. The exact entitlements depend on the order form, so treat the picture below as typical, not as a contract.

ERP applicationSAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition, licensed by subscription
Technical managed servicesInfrastructure, operating system, database, backups, and technical updates run by SAP ECS
Transformation toolsProcess and architecture tools such as SAP Signavio and SAP LeanIX for assessment and target design, depending on the package
Lifecycle toolingSAP Cloud ALM, which SAP names as the standard implementation platform for RISE and GROW
Platform and extensionsSAP Business Technology Platform services and SAP Build for side-by-side extensions, within the contracted entitlement
A typical RISE with SAP bundle, from the application down to tools and platform. Exact contents vary by package and order form.
The Sign-Off Table · thesignofftable.com/academy/sap-pmo-102

Three things are worth confirming early with whoever negotiated the contract: which package was bought, which optional or packaged services were added, and how much SAP Business Technology Platform capacity is included. Program plans often assume extension or integration capacity that the contract does not cover.

How RISE changes the operating model

Before RISE, Contoso ran SAP ECC 6.0 EHP 8 in its own data center. Its Basis team patched the kernel, sized the database, took backups and copied production to the test system when asked. Under RISE, those technical tasks move to SAP. The Basis team does not disappear; it becomes the customer's technical coordinator, raising service requests, approving maintenance windows, and owning the parts SAP does not do, such as client-level settings, authorizations and interface configuration.

TaskContoso on ECC (self-managed)Contoso under RISE
Hardware, OS and databaseContoso Basis and infrastructure teamsSAP ECS
Backups and restore testsContosoSAP ECS, within the service
Applying support packages and Feature Package StacksContoso Basis, whenever it choseSAP executes on Contoso's service request and agreed window
System copy from production to QASContoso Basis on demandService request to SAP; scope and lead time per contract
Configuration, custom code and business rolesContoso and partnerStill Contoso and partner
Testing and acceptance of business processesContosoStill Contoso
What moves to SAP under RISE, and what stays with Contoso. The last two rows are where delivery teams are most often surprised.
The Sign-Off Table · thesignofftable.com/academy/sap-pmo-102

Transition paths under RISE

RISE does not choose the transition path. Contoso is doing a system conversion: its ECC system is converted in place and then operated by SAP. Another RISE customer might start with a new implementation or a selective data transition. SAP's responsibilities document is explicit that the technical conversion is in SAP's service scope, but the functional conversion is an excluded task: adapting business processes, ledger changes, custom code remediation and the overall conversion project plan remain with the customer.

  1. Contract signedPackage, systems and services fixed in the order form
  2. Systems provisionedSAP ECS builds the private cloud landscape
  3. Technical moveSAP runs the technical migration or conversion of a copy of ECC
  4. Functional workContoso and its partner fix custom code, data, processes and roles
  5. Test and acceptContoso tests, and process owners sign the results
Under RISE, SAP takes the technical steps of a conversion; the functional steps and the proof that they worked stay with Contoso and its partner.
The Sign-Off Table · thesignofftable.com/academy/sap-pmo-102

What would you do?

At Contoso's kickoff, the partner's plan shows "SAP" as the owner of regression testing after each Feature Package Stack, "because it's RISE". Grace, the PMO lead, is asked to approve the plan. What should she do?

Key points
  • RISE with SAP is a subscription bundle whose ERP target is SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition, also marketed as SAP Cloud ERP Private.
  • SAP ECS runs infrastructure and technical operations; the customer and partner still own configuration, custom code, roles and testing.
  • Bundle contents vary by package and order form; plan from the contract, not from marketing material.
  • In a conversion under RISE, SAP does the technical conversion while the functional conversion stays with the customer.

Check your understanding · not graded

Lesson check

  1. 1. What is the ERP deployment target of RISE with SAP?

  2. 2. Who typically performs backups and operating system maintenance under RISE?

  3. 3. In a system conversion under RISE, which work stays with the customer?

  4. 4. Where should a PMO confirm exactly which services were bought?