Demystifying myths around the adoption of RISE with SAP

So far in this chapter, we have discussed what RISE with SAP is, what it has in the box, and what sorts of decisions or dimensions you need to consider before finalizing the type of version of SAP S/4HANA or BW/4HANA you would like to deploy. Along with these, it is also equally important to bust some myths about the adoption of RISE with SAP to ensure you have all the details required to make an informed decision.

Before we go through some of the myths and provide more clarity on how RISE with SAP can support a client’s journey, the following graph shows some of the key responses of a survey performed by SAPinsider about the awareness of RISE with SAP:

Figure 3:10: Survey results about awareness of RISE with SAP and the connected services

(Source: SAPinsider report – survey done in 2021)

The previous figure shows the understanding of the different stakeholders interviewed about their awareness of the RISE with SAP offering. Let’s have a look at the different drivers that stakeholders expect from RISE with SAP based on the features provided. The following diagram provides an overview of the SAPinsider survey to showcase what drivers are expected from RISE with SAP:

Figure 3.11: Drivers expected from RISE with SAP

(Source: SAPInsider report – survey done in 2021)

Along with the awareness and features of RISE with SAP that clients are looking for, it is equally important to understand what transformations clients expect RISE with SAP to drive within an organization. The following diagram provides a summary of this breakdown:

Figure 3.12: What transformation is expected from RISE with SAP

(Source: SAPinsider report – survey done in 2021)

Let’s now have a look at some of the other myths and bust them to make sure you are well-informed when handling clients’ questions or your business stakeholders’ concerns regarding RISE with SAP:

• Myth 1 – RISE with SAP is a product: As mentioned earlier, RISE with SAP is not a product but actually an offering that combines multiple products from SAP under one umbrella, with the right business model structure. The products in question are SAP S/4HANA PCE, SAP BTP, SAP Business Process Intelligence, SAP Business Network Starter Package, and, last but not the least, the technical managed services of the SAP S/4HANA component of the offering.
• Myth 2 – RISE with SAP is the same as HANA Enterprise Cloud (HEC) and known as HEC 2.0 / 3.0: RISE with SAP is way beyond what HEC-based services or scope could offer, and SAP is not rebranding HEC as RISE with SAP with the same services. RISE with SAP, as explained so far, is a different variant with a new design, architecture, and type of SLAs being committed, along with an SAP BTP-based framework made available.
• Myth 3 – you no longer need a Basis skill set, given that all of the technical managed services are now offered by SAP: RISE with SAP only takes care of the under-the-hood technical managed services related to Basis activities. You are still expected to implement functional Basis activities to be able to configure the SSO, the source system connection setup, the transport setup for gitCTS or CTS+, along with ChaRM/Rev-Trac usage, if any. You can obviously opt for the Cloud Application Services (CAS) package on top of the standard services to support these activities if you don’t have an application management vendor in your landscape providing such services.
• Myth 4 – RISE with SAP includes only SAP S/4HANA implementation or migration to the hyperscaler of choice, and you don’t have any additional use cases around AI/machine learning or other non-functional requirements being adapted: The following diagram provides output from the survey carried out, highlighting the different tools and technologies that clients are adapting along with RISE with SAP:

Figure 3.13: Tools being adapted as part of RISE with SAP

(Source: SAPinsider report – survey done in 2021)

In addition to these myths, here are some further considerations:

• Even if you are an organization that already had a relationship with one of the hyperscalers, remember that RISE with SAP deployment will be hosted in SAP’s environment with that provider and not your own. This would mean you would still need to configure the connectivity if you want to use data from your RISE with SAP deployment in your other cloud-based or on-premise applications and environments.
• Given the data egress limitation, please plan your architecture accordingly.
• Even though the hosting provider may seem like the biggest partner role in the offering, a partner must also be selected in advisory, implementation, and application management roles. Determining which partner will assist with your deployment can also potentially impact migration costs if the implementation partner you choose already works closely with your selected hosting company.

In summary, let’s look at the different concerns the stakeholders listed when it comes to the deployment/adoption of RISE with SAP:

Figure 3.14: Concerns from stakeholders about RISE with SAP

(Source: SAPinsider report – survey done in 2021)

Hence, it is very important to clearly articulate and understand, by reading this book, what RISE with SAP offers, from the initial onboarding to the deployment, and from an ongoing business value add a point of view. In this section so far, we have explained the different myths and what you need to know to plan for the same. We also provided insights generated from a global study of awareness of RISE with SAP as a solution.

In the next section, we will go through the different options made available by SAP with RISE with SAP and how S/4HANA and other SAP products can be delivered through similar SLA-driven metrics. We will also explain why you should consider a given model for deployment.