Independent SAP RISE advisory. 100+ RISE engagements. $6M average savings per engagement. Fixed-fee. No SAP affiliation.
RISE with SAP is the most significant commercial decision in the SAP ecosystem and the most frequently misrepresented. SAP presents RISE as a cost-neutral or cost-saving cloud migration. Independent TCO modeling consistently shows the opposite: hidden costs in HANA credits, BTP overruns, premium support charges, integration rework, and license true-ups that SAP's RISE team does not disclose upfront routinely push the real five-year cost 30 to 60% above SAP's proposal.
SAP also uses RISE as a commercial lever in audit and renewal contexts, tying compliance settlement or renewal terms to RISE adoption. Our SAP audit defense service separates the audit conversation from the RISE decision entirely, ensuring both are resolved on their own merits.
Before any negotiation begins, we model the true total cost of ownership of RISE: base subscription, HANA sizing and credit consumption, BTP scope and credits, premium support charges, migration and integration costs, escalation provisions, and the license conversion economics for your existing SAP estate. We compare this against hyperscaler-hosted S/4HANA, private cloud, and hybrid alternatives using real infrastructure pricing and actual migration cost benchmarks. For a global manufacturing group, this TCO analysis exposed $6M in hidden costs SAP's proposal had not disclosed before a single contract term had been negotiated.
We benchmark SAP's RISE proposal against our database of 100+ comparable RISE transactions by industry, organization size, S/4HANA scope, and HANA sizing. This tells us exactly where SAP's proposal sits relative to market on every line: base subscription discount, HANA credit pricing, BTP credit allocation, premium support rate, and escalation cap. We identify the specific improvements available on each element and the competitive leverage we will apply to achieve them.
We build the negotiation strategy around three levers: the TCO comparison showing RISE is not cost-neutral relative to alternatives, the benchmark data showing SAP's pricing is above market for comparable deals, and competitive alternatives such as hyperscaler-hosted S/4HANA that give your organization credible walk-away options SAP's account team must take seriously. We also analyze SAP's fiscal year calendar and deal desk approval thresholds to structure the negotiation for maximum commercial outcome.
We negotiate every element of the RISE contract: base subscription pricing, HANA sizing and credit flexibility, BTP scope, annual escalation caps, exit provisions, SLA enforcement mechanisms, data portability guarantees, and M&A safeguards. SAP's standard RISE contract provides minimal exit rights and limited SLA protections. We negotiate the provisions SAP's standard form excludes, ensuring your organization is protected if RISE underperforms or if your business strategy changes during the multi-year commitment.
Brazilian consumer goods manufacturer. RISE costs trimmed by 25% and $5M in penalties avoided through independent contract negotiation and TCO modeling.
View Details →Asia Pacific telecom conglomerate. 30% RISE cost reduction and greater flexibility secured through benchmark-driven negotiation and contract restructuring.
View Details →French energy provider. 35% savings secured alongside local data sovereignty protections in the RISE agreement, overcoming SAP's standard contract limitations.
View Details →SAP has presented a RISE proposal?
SAP RISE advisory covers independent TCO modeling, commercial benchmarking against 100+ RISE deals, contract negotiation including exit rights and SLA protections, migration licensing strategy, and alternatives assessment. It ensures every aspect of your RISE decision is informed, negotiated, and protected.
Fixed-fee, agreed before engagement begins. The average RISE engagement identifies $6M in savings, delivering typical ROI exceeding 20x the advisory fee.
Initial TCO assessment and proposal analysis is delivered within two to three weeks. Full negotiation engagement runs eight to fourteen weeks depending on deal complexity and SAP's responsiveness.
SAP's RISE proposal, your current SAP license and support contract details, on-premise infrastructure cost data for TCO comparison, and any SAP RISE account team correspondence. We work under NDA from the first engagement.
Yes. Mid-term renegotiation is a significant part of our RISE advisory work. Many organizations discover within the first one to two years that RISE TCO significantly exceeds SAP's original projections due to HANA credit overruns, unexpected integration costs, premium support charges, and license true-ups. We identify the renegotiation leverage and drive a mid-term restructure.
We model five-year and seven-year TCO for RISE versus hyperscaler-hosted S/4HANA on AWS, Azure, or GCP, private cloud, hybrid, and managed service alternatives using real infrastructure pricing, actual migration cost benchmarks, and SAP's published and negotiated pricing. SAP's own TCO model excludes the costs most commonly causing RISE to exceed initial projections.
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