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The Sign-Off Table

Lesson 2 of 5

GROW with SAP

7 min

GROW with SAP is SAP's offering for companies that are new to SAP and want cloud ERP. SAP announced it in March 2023 for midsize customers, built on SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition, which SAP now also calls SAP Cloud ERP. Where RISE is mostly about moving an existing SAP customer, GROW is about starting fresh on a standard, multi-tenant system that SAP updates on a fixed calendar.

At launch SAP described GROW as combining the public edition with preconfigured best practices, accelerated adoption services, SAP Business Technology Platform for customers who want to extend, and access to a community of experts and learning content. SAP also offers a fixed-scope delivery option it calls SAP GROW Fast, with a predefined scope and a guided path in SAP Cloud ALM.

What makes the public edition different

AspectRISE: Private EditionGROW: Public Edition
TenancySingle-tenant, Contoso's own systemsMulti-tenant SaaS, shared software operated by SAP
Starting pointConversion, new implementation or selective data transitionNew implementation, starting from SAP Best Practices
ConfigurationFull configuration (IMG) as in on-premise S/4HANASAP Central Business Configuration, within what SAP allows
ExtensionsClassic ABAP possible, with clean-core rulesKey-user and developer extensibility on released objects, or side-by-side on BTP
Software updatesCustomer schedules upgrades and Feature Package Stacks with SAPSAP upgrades every tenant on a published calendar
Typical buyerExisting SAP ERP customersCompanies new to SAP, often midsize
RISE and GROW lead to different editions, and the edition decides how much freedom the project has to change the standard.
The Sign-Off Table · thesignofftable.com/academy/sap-pmo-102

The public edition is deliberately constrained. You configure through SAP Central Business Configuration rather than the full customizing tree, you extend through released interfaces, and you accept SAP's release schedule. In return, implementations can be short. SAP's own materials have claimed go-lives in weeks for small, standard scopes; treat such numbers as the best case for a narrow scope, not a planning baseline.

The landscape

New public edition customers get a three-system landscape: development, test and production. SAP Central Business Configuration connects to the development system, and changes move forward to test and production through transports and software collections. In early phases, projects may also use a starter system to demonstrate standard processes during Fit-to-Standard workshops.

  1. Central Business ConfigurationScope, organizational structure and configuration decisions
  2. Development systemConfiguration deployed and fine-tuned; extensions built
  3. Test systemChanges imported and tested by the project and key users
  4. Production systemTested changes imported for go-live
The public edition three-system landscape: configuration starts in Central Business Configuration and flows through development and test to production.
The Sign-Off Table · thesignofftable.com/academy/sap-pmo-102

Where GROW might touch Contoso

Contoso is a RISE customer, so most of this course looks at it through the private edition. But Contoso is also planning to acquire a small Mexican company. Grace has been asked whether the acquired company should run its own SAP Cloud ERP on GROW, connected to Contoso's private edition in a two-tier setup, or be folded into Contoso's system. That decision is outside the current program, but it shows why delivery teams need to know both offerings: they lead to different landscapes, release rhythms and test obligations.

  1. Is the business new to SAP and able to run mostly standard processes?Yes → GROW and the public edition are worth evaluating · No → look at RISE and the private edition
  2. Does it need deep modifications or industry add-ons the public edition does not support?Yes → private edition · No → public edition remains an option
  3. Can the business accept SAP's fixed upgrade calendar and the regression testing it brings?Yes → public edition fits · No → private edition gives more control over timing
Questions that steer a business unit toward GROW or RISE. Licensing and commercial terms will also weigh in.
The Sign-Off Table · thesignofftable.com/academy/sap-pmo-102

What would you do?

A sales manager at the planned Mexican acquisition says: "With GROW we will go live in four weeks, so we do not need a test plan." What is the best response from Priya, Contoso's test lead?

Key points
  • GROW with SAP targets companies new to SAP and is built on SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition (SAP Cloud ERP).
  • It combines preconfigured best practices, adoption services, SAP BTP and community content; SAP GROW Fast adds a predefined scope.
  • The public edition is multi-tenant, configured through Central Business Configuration, with a development, test and production landscape.
  • Fast go-lives are possible for narrow standard scopes, but testing and acceptance are still required.

Check your understanding · not graded

Lesson check

  1. 1. GROW with SAP is built on which edition?

  2. 2. Who is GROW primarily designed for?

  3. 3. Which systems make up the public edition's standard landscape for new customers?

  4. 4. Where is configuration done in the public edition?