Choosing the right ERP system is a major decision for any organization. With the rise of cloud-based solutions, businesses are now comparing RISE with SAP vs Traditional SAP more than ever. But what truly sets them apart?

In this article, we break down the key differences between RISE with SAP and traditional SAP implementations—covering architecture, pricing, deployment, and overall business value.

Deployment Model: Cloud vs On-Premise

The most fundamental difference lies in how the solution is deployed.

• Traditional SAP is typically hosted on-premise. Businesses are responsible for managing their own infrastructure, hardware, and IT resources.

• RISE with SAP, on the other hand, is a cloud-based solution offered as a subscription. The infrastructure is managed by SAP or a chosen hyperscaler (AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud).

This means less maintenance for your IT team and quicker upgrades in the RISE model.

Licensing and Cost Structure

Cost is a major factor in ERP decision-making.

• Traditional SAP uses a perpetual license model, where companies pay a large upfront fee and additional fees for updates, support, and maintenance.

• RISE with SAP offers a subscription-based model with a single monthly fee covering software, infrastructure, tools, and services.

This allows for better budgeting, predictable expenses, and reduced total cost of ownership.

System Updates and Innovation

Keeping systems up to date is often challenging with traditional ERP models.

• Traditional SAP customers must manually schedule upgrades, which can be time-consuming and disruptive.

• RISE with SAP includes regular, automatic updates as part of the service. This ensures that businesses always run on the latest version and can quickly adopt new features.

Business Process Intelligence

Another key differentiator is built-in intelligence.

• RISE with SAP includes Business Process Intelligence tools that analyze current workflows and suggest improvements.

• Traditional SAP usually requires third-party tools or consultants to conduct process analysis.

This makes RISE with SAP more agile and insight-driven.

Flexibility and Scalability

• Traditional SAP systems are often rigid and require significant effort to scale.

• RISE with SAP is designed for agility. You can scale up or down based on your business needs without rearchitecting your system.

This flexibility is critical for fast-growing or seasonal businesses.

Vendor Responsibility

• With traditional SAP, the customer manages multiple vendors for infrastructure, implementation, and support.

• In RISE with SAP, SAP becomes the single point of contact, managing all components under one contract.

This simplifies vendor management and accountability.

Understanding the comparison of RISE with SAP vs Traditional SAP helps businesses make informed decisions. RISE with SAP provides a cloud-first, all-inclusive, and future-ready ERP environment. Traditional SAP still has value for companies with heavy on-premise investments, but for those seeking agility, lower costs, and innovation, RISE with SAP is clearly the smarter choice.