How Redress Compliance helped a fast-growing U.S. software company save $6 million over three years through a 40% RISE with SAP price reduction, licence fallback rights, enhanced SLAs, and contract unbundling.
A fast-growing U.S. software company with approximately 4,000 employees was evaluating SAP’s cloud offering via RISE with SAP. The firm utilised SAP ECC for finance and order management, with extensive customisation to integrate with its own software products and customer portals.
SAP pitched RISE as an all-inclusive path to S/4HANA Cloud on SAP’s infrastructure. However, as a tech-savvy organisation, the client could run SAP on their own cloud (AWS) and was hesitant to relinquish control. They also had significant investments in perpetual SAP licences they didn’t want to abandon.
Technology / Software
United States
SAP ECC — Finance, Order Management, Custom Integrations
The initial RISE proposal was approximately $5 million per year for three years. The client’s engineers estimated running S/4HANA on AWS would cost far less. SAP’s bundle carried a hefty convenience premium that the tech firm needed SAP to justify or slash.
Moving to RISE would convert perpetual SAP licences into subscriptions. If they later left RISE, standard terms offered no rights to run SAP unless they reactivated old licences. This licence lock-in troubled the client — they wanted assurance they could revert to on-prem without repurchasing licences.
SAP bundled S/4HANA, BTP, and analytics into a single monolithic contract. The company used a third-party analytics platform (not SAP Analytics Cloud) and needed extra dev/test systems beyond SAP’s standard three-system landscape. They sought a leaner scope without outrageous upcharges.
As a tech provider, the client was sceptical of ceding control. The RISE contract lacked strong guarantees on performance and support. They needed better SLAs with enforcement mechanisms and an exit option if SAP’s service didn’t meet expectations.
Redress helped quantify the cost gap between RISE and self-hosting on AWS. The client’s estimate to run S/4HANA on AWS was far lower than SAP’s $5M/year quote, highlighting a major premium. Armed with this data, Redress negotiated a significantly better price, using the client’s credible ability to self-host as leverage.
For a full framework on comparing RISE vs. self-hosting, see Cost Comparison: RISE vs. Own Infrastructure.
Redress negotiated removal or separate pricing of components the client didn’t need. They carved out SAP Analytics Cloud (the client used a third-party tool) so the client didn’t pay for shelfware. For items the client did need — extra development and testing systems — Redress got them included at little to no cost.
A major win was inserting a clause that if the client left RISE after the term, they would keep rights to their prior SAP licences. The company wouldn’t be left empty-handed if the cloud path failed. Preserving this “licence fallback” was crucial in alleviating the fear of being permanently locked into the subscription model.
For a detailed analysis of licence conversion mechanics, see RISE with SAP: Impact on Existing Licences and Shelfware.
Redress strengthened support SLAs with clear penalties for SAP missing uptime or response targets. They negotiated that if SAP failed to meet critical SLAs repeatedly, the client gained the right to terminate the deal for cause without heavy penalties. They also secured an option to renew on agreed terms, preventing surprise price hikes at renewal.
Final subscription cost approximately 40% lower than initially quoted — savings of roughly $6 million over three years. RISE became as economical as the DIY approach, but with SAP’s managed services included.
If the client leaves RISE, they retain rights to their prior perpetual SAP licences. They can revert to on-prem or switch providers without losing prior SAP investments — neutralising the fear of vendor lock-in.
Unused analytics removed, extra dev/test systems included at no cost. The client pays only for what they use. The contract is a flexible partnership, not a monolithic agreement.
Enhanced SLAs with penalties for missed targets. Termination for cause if critical SLAs are repeatedly breached. Renewal on agreed terms prevents price surprises. The firm maintains control over service quality.
The tech company gets the best of both worlds: a modern SAP environment in the cloud at a right-sized cost, and the freedom to adapt its IT strategy in the future.
“We knew what it should cost to run SAP in the cloud, and initially SAP’s offer didn’t match that reality. Redress not only bridged that gap — they got SAP to concede on things we thought were non-negotiable, like letting us keep our licence fallback and improving SLAs. We ended up with the cloud deal we wanted, at a price and terms that give us confidence and control, not lock-in.”
— CTO, U.S. Software Company
Not under SAP’s standard terms — but it’s negotiable. In this case, Redress secured a “licence fallback” clause preserving the client’s prior perpetual licence rights if they leave RISE after the term. Without such a clause, companies risk losing the value of their existing perpetual licences permanently when converting to a subscription model. This is one of the most important protections to negotiate before signing. See our guide on RISE impact on existing licences.
Mid-market deals ($5–15M range) can typically achieve 25–40% discounts with proper benchmarking and a credible alternative. This case achieved 40% — one of the highest discounts in the RISE series — because the client had a strong DIY alternative on AWS. The key leverage point is demonstrating you can and will self-host if the RISE price doesn’t match the value proposition.
Yes. SAP’s initial RISE quotes frequently bundle SAP Analytics Cloud, SAP BTP, and other modules the client may not need. These can be negotiated out, with corresponding price reductions. In this case, SAP Analytics Cloud was removed (the client used a third-party tool), while extra dev/test systems were added at no cost. Contract unbundling is one of the most effective ways to reduce RISE costs.
SAP’s standard RISE SLAs are relatively weak. Negotiable improvements include: stronger uptime guarantees (99.7%+), faster response times for critical incidents, financial penalties (service credits) for SLA breaches, and — as achieved in this case — termination for cause if critical SLAs are repeatedly missed. These protections give the client recourse if SAP’s managed service doesn’t perform.
Absolutely. S/4HANA is available as a perpetual on-premise licence that can be deployed on AWS, Azure, or GCP using bring-your-own-licence (BYOL) terms. For tech-savvy organisations with cloud engineering capabilities, self-hosting often costs 30–50% less than RISE. The main trade-off is managing upgrades, patching, and basis administration internally. See our SAP Private Cloud vs. DIY on Hyperscaler guide.
Redress Compliance provides independent SAP licensing advisory services — fixed-fee, no vendor affiliations. Our specialists have helped enterprises save millions through strategic licence optimization, Digital Access negotiation, and contract restructuring.
Explore SAP Advisory Services →If you’re considering RISE with SAP but worry about cost, lock-in, or losing flexibility — we ensure you get the cloud advantages without the downsides, on your terms.
This case study is part of our RISE with SAP Guide pillar. Explore related case studies and guides:
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