The full cost of moving to RISE with SAP, modeled honestly. The FUE user recount, the year one migration stack, conversion credit decay, and the five year cost of RISE against staying on ECC to 2030.
Mainstream maintenance for SAP ECC ends on December 31, 2027, with extended maintenance to 2030 at a premium. That deadline, not a business case for savings, is why most RISE projects start. The risk is signing a transformation contract while still calling it a cost reduction.
This white paper models the real cost in a representative estate. It walks the FUE user recount that lifts the priced base 15 to 30 percent, the full year one migration stack, the conversion credit that decays to zero by year four, and the five year cost of RISE set honestly against staying on ECC.
The numbers come from roughly 25 to 35 SAP RISE and S/4HANA migration assessments we benchmarked in 2024 and 2025. Every figure in the worked scenario is a benchmark, not a quote, so you can use it to set the discount you require before you sign.
Year one cash cost is typically three to four times the RISE subscription, because implementation, the double run of ECC and S/4HANA, and change management land in the same year. In our benchmark estate a 1.29 million dollar subscription sits inside a 4.5 million dollar year one outlay.
The Full Use Equivalent (FUE) is the RISE pricing unit that weights one Advanced user as one FUE, five Core users as one FUE, and thirty Self Service users as one FUE. The bill rises when Professional users are mapped to Advanced Use, which usually lifts the priced base 15 to 30 percent above a customer's first estimate.
SAP applies a conversion credit that recognizes part of the residual value of your perpetual licenses against the RISE subscription. In our engagement file the credit runs 50 to 70 percent of residual in years one to three and then falls to zero, so the speed of cutover decides how much value you capture.
RISE is usually not cheaper inside a five year window. In the benchmark estate RISE costs about 3.41 million dollars more over five years than staying on ECC with extended maintenance. The reason to move is the 2027 end of ECC mainstream maintenance, not a saving.
Mainstream maintenance for SAP ECC ends on December 31, 2027. Extended maintenance is available to the end of 2030 at an added two percentage points on the support base, after which customers face customer specific maintenance or a transition arrangement inside RISE.
Most RISE migrations run a 12 to 24 month cutover during which ECC and S/4HANA are operated in parallel. That double run keeps the legacy support bill alive, so it belongs in the business case as a distinct cost line, not an afterthought.
Independent. Buyer side. The advisory firm enterprise software vendors do not want you to hire.
What we are seeing across 500+ enterprise clients, delivered monthly. Free.
