SAP RISE / GROW Advisory

The starting condition

The hard part of a cloud ERP move is rarely the technology

Competing vendor claims and no way to test them
No clear view of which edition fits how you operate
A business case built on licence comparison alone
Nobody able to say what a conversion actually involves
Custom code and interfaces treated as a later problem
A timeline set by the software calendar, not the business

Solution introduction

Choosing the right route — and being able to defend the choice

SAP offers two broad paths. RISE with SAP is the transformation path for existing SAP ERP customers moving toward SAP Cloud ERP Private. GROW with SAP is the fit-to-standard route for organisations moving from legacy or non-SAP environments onto standardised cloud ERP. Which applies to you is usually obvious; which edition, which migration approach and in what sequence is not.

VISCAP’s role is to settle that on evidence — a readiness picture from your own landscape, a recommendation with the reasoning attached, a business case whose assumptions are testable, and a sequence that fits the business calendar.

What it enables

What RISE and GROW advisory enables

Eight capability areas, stated as outcomes of the advisory work rather than features of a subscription. Each one is something you hold at the end of the engagement and can act on.

RISE with SAP & GROW with SAP

01A defensible route decision

Deployment-option evaluation
RISE with SAP and GROW with SAP assessment
Public, private and hybrid considerations
SAP S/4HANA and SAP Cloud ERP considerations
Edition fit against the operating model
Decision rationale that survives review

02A grounded readiness picture

Current SAP and non-SAP landscape review
Application and integration dependencies
Data and reporting readiness
Custom-code assessment
Transformation risks and gaps
Organizational readiness

03A business case that holds

Business-case considerations
SAP investment roadmap
Scope and outcome definition
Cost and value drivers
Benefit sequencing
Assumptions stated and testable

04Fit-to-standard scoping

Process assessment
Fit-to-standard opportunities
SAP solution fitment
Module and capability prioritization
Process harmonization candidates
Gaps that genuinely need extension

05A migration approach chosen on evidence

SAP ECC and legacy-system transition
System conversion considerations
Selective transformation considerations
New implementation considerations
Data transition
Existing S/4HANA modernization

06Clean core and extensibility direction

Customization and technical-debt review
Clean core strategy
SAP BTP extensibility direction
Integration and API strategy
Upgrade and innovation readiness
Extension governance

07A sequenced transformation roadmap

Business and technology priority alignment
Transformation sequencing
Workstreams and dependencies
Governance model
Resource requirements
Value measures

08Rollout and localization planning

Rollout and localization planning
Entity and country sequencing
Global template considerations
Two-tier ERP considerations
Change and adoption planning
Cutover and business-continuity direction

Routes & decision areas covered

SAP cloud ERP routes and the decisions inside them

6 decision areas · 49 considerations — the advisory scope

4.1

RISE with SAP — for existing SAP ERP customers

Considerations

Transformation path for existing SAP ERP customers
Move toward SAP Cloud ERP Private
System conversion requirements
Selective transformation requirements
Carrying forward configuration and history
Custom-code remediation scope
Existing-landscape modernization
A cleaner, more modern ERP foundation

The route for organisations already running SAP ERP. The advisory question is rarely whether to go, but which transition approach the landscape actually justifies.

4.2

GROW with SAP — for legacy and non-SAP moves

Considerations

Fit-to-standard cloud ERP path
Moving from legacy or non-SAP environments
Standardized cloud-based enterprise processes
Standard-first adoption
Faster time to value
Extensibility deliberately bounded
Regular release adoption
Lower ongoing maintenance effort

The route for organisations arriving at SAP from elsewhere. The trade is explicit: less latitude to reshape the system, considerably less to maintain afterwards.

4.3

Deployment Model and Edition Fit

Considerations

Public cloud considerations
Private cloud considerations
Hybrid considerations
Extensibility latitude by edition
Release-cycle implications
Regulatory and data-residency considerations
Two-tier ERP considerations
Localization coverage

Most of this decision comes down to one question — how much of your current process you genuinely need to keep — and it is worth answering honestly before the edition is chosen rather than after.

4.4

Landscape and Readiness Assessment

Considerations

Current SAP and non-SAP landscape review
Application and integration dependencies
Data and reporting readiness
Custom-code assessment
Process assessment
Fit-to-standard opportunities
Transformation risks and gaps
Organizational readiness

The evidence base. Route recommendations made without it are opinions, and they tend not to survive the first detailed estimate.

4.5

Business Case and Investment Roadmap

Considerations

Business-case considerations
SAP investment roadmap
Scope and outcome definition
Cost and value drivers
Benefit sequencing
Transformation sequencing
Resource requirements
Value measures

A case built only on licence comparison does not survive contact with finance. The durable ones state their assumptions and show what happens when each is wrong.

4.6

Transition Approach and Rollout Planning

Considerations

System conversion
Selective transformation
New implementation
Data transition
Rollout and localization planning
Entity and country sequencing
Global template considerations
Change and adoption planning
Cutover and business-continuity direction

Three transition approaches, and the honest answer is usually a blend. What matters is that the choice is made on the state of the landscape rather than on programme preference.

Consulting & advisory role

VISCAP’s role across RISE and GROW advisory

Advisory that stops at a recommendation is half a job. VISCAP works from the first alignment conversation through to a mobilised roadmap — and, where you want it, straight on into the delivery. This is where each stage belongs and what we own inside it.

Scroll the stages — 6 in all

01 / 06

Align

Agree what the transformation is actually for, who decides, and how success will be measured — before any option is on the table.

Business and technology priority alignment
Transformation objectives
Stakeholder expectations
Success measures
Scope and outcome definition
Decision-making forum

02 / 06

Assess

Build the evidence base from your own landscape rather than from assumptions about it — applications, integrations, data, custom code and the organisation.

Current SAP and non-SAP landscape review
Business-process review
Application and integration dependencies
Data and reporting readiness
Customization and technical-debt review
Organizational readiness

03 / 06

Evaluate the route

Put RISE, GROW and the edition options against the evidence, and write down why the recommendation is what it is — including what would change it.

Deployment-option evaluation
RISE with SAP and GROW with SAP assessment
Public, private and hybrid considerations
Edition fit against the operating model
Migration-approach options
Decision rationale and trade-offs

04 / 06

Build the business case

Turn the recommendation into something finance can test — drivers, sequencing, and assumptions that are visible rather than buried.

Business-case considerations
Cost and value drivers
SAP investment roadmap
Benefit sequencing
Assumptions and sensitivities
Finance-ready documentation

05 / 06

Design the target

Define the landscape you are heading for, the principles that govern it, and how much of the current process genuinely comes with you.

Target SAP landscape
Solution direction
Architecture principles
Clean core approach
Integration and extensibility direction
Fit-to-standard scope

06 / 06

Roadmap and mobilize

An implementation sequence with dependencies, governance and resourcing attached — the point at which advisory becomes a plan somebody can start.

Implementation sequence
Workstreams and dependencies
Governance model
Risks and mitigations
Resource requirements
Rollout and localization planning

Connected VISCAP services

Services supporting your cloud ERP route

Advisory sets the direction; these eight VISCAP service lines are what carry it out. Where required, the same team continues from the roadmap straight into delivery.

SAP Consulting & Advisory Services

The advisory itself — landscape and readiness assessment, route and edition evaluation, business case and transformation roadmap.

Explore 02

SAP Migration & Modernization Services

Deliver the chosen transition — system conversion, selective transformation or a move from legacy, with the data and custom code handled.

Explore 03

SAP Implementation & Rollout Services

Configure and deploy the target landscape, then roll it out entity by entity or country by country against the agreed sequence.

Explore 04

SAP Integration Services

Rebuild the interface estate for the target model — API-led, event-driven and governed rather than carried across as-is.

Explore 05

SAP Data, Reporting & Analytics Services

Establish data and reporting readiness before the move, and the reporting landscape that has to work on day one after it.

Explore 06

SAP Application Management Services

Operate the environment after go-live, with the release cadence a cloud edition brings with it.

Explore 07

SAP Support & Optimization Services

Stabilize after transition, then keep improving processes, performance and release adoption.

Explore 08

SAP Training & Change Enablement Services

Prepare the organisation for standardised processes — usually the part a fit-to-standard route underestimates.

Explore

Industries

Manufacturing

Plant-by-plant rollout sequencing and localization

Conversion scope across production, costing and supply chain

View industry

Consumer Products and FMCG

Fit-to-standard scope across order-to-cash and supply

Multi-entity sequencing and template design

View industry

Pharmaceuticals

Edition choice against validation and data-residency needs

Transition planning that protects qualified processes

View industry

Chemicals

Conversion scope across batch, quality and costing

Custom-code remediation weighed against redesign

View industry

Professional Services

Often the clearest fit-to-standard case in the portfolio

Project, billing and revenue scope on a standard template

View industry

Engineering, Construction and Projects

Project-systems scope and long-running contract data

Sequencing around programme and contract milestones

View industry

Case study

Cloud ERP go-live in five months via GROW with SAP

A fit-to-standard route let a mid-market manufacturer reach production in five months, with extensions deliberately held to a short, governed list.

Case study

ECC to SAP Cloud ERP Private for a chemicals group

Case study

Two-tier ERP across a group and its acquired entities

Case study

Selective transformation chosen over a full conversion

Frequently asked questions

RISE with SAP is SAP’s transformation path for existing SAP ERP customers moving toward SAP Cloud ERP Private — a cloud-based environment that supports both system conversion and selective transformation, aimed at reaching a cleaner and more modern ERP foundation. What it includes commercially is set by SAP and is worth confirming directly with them for your situation.

GROW with SAP is the fit-to-standard route, aimed at organisations moving from legacy or non-SAP environments toward standardised, cloud-based enterprise processes. The emphasis is on adopting SAP standard quickly rather than reshaping the system, which is what makes it fast to reach production and light to maintain.

The starting point usually settles it: if you are already running SAP ERP, the conversation is about RISE and the transition approach; if you are coming from legacy or non-SAP systems, it is about GROW. The genuinely open questions are which edition fits your operating model, how much current process you need to keep, and in what sequence you move.

The public edition runs SAP standard processes on a fixed release cycle with bounded extensibility — fastest to adopt, lowest to maintain. The private edition gives you a dedicated environment with considerably more configuration and custom-code latitude, which suits complex or highly regulated operations. Most of the decision is about how much of your current process you genuinely need to keep.

Effectively yes — the naming has moved. What was marketed as SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition is now positioned as SAP Cloud ERP. The underlying product is the same S/4HANA line.

Yes, and it is one of the most common routes. A system conversion carries forward configuration, history and custom code; a selective transformation moves only the data and processes that still earn their place. Which is right depends on how much technical debt the ECC system is carrying — that is precisely what the assessment establishes.

A system conversion moves the existing system as a whole, keeping configuration and history. A selective transformation carries across only chosen entities, processes or data. A new implementation starts from standard and brings nothing but the data you decide to load. In practice many programmes end up blending them by region or entity.

No, but the extensibility is deliberately bounded. Key-user tooling handles adaptation inside the application, and anything substantial is built side by side on SAP BTP rather than in the core. That constraint is the point — it is what keeps the release cycle routine.

From the readiness assessment outward — scope and outcomes first, then cost and value drivers, benefit sequencing and an investment roadmap. We write the assumptions down explicitly and show what happens to the case when each one moves, because a case that cannot be stress-tested tends not to survive its first finance review.

Yes. Where required, VISCAP continues from advisory into implementation, rollout, integration, testing, change enablement and application management — so the roadmap is not re-scoped by a new party halfway through. Equally, if you would rather take the advisory output to another partner, it is written to be usable that way.

Contact Us

Speak with VISCAP’s SAP advisory team about where your landscape stands today, which route fits, and what the move would actually involve.

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