4 SAP Roadmap Considerations For You to Consider Today

As we enter budgeting season for all our 2024 projects, let's take a minute to step back and reflect on a few key considerations when it comes to SAP.

There is no doubt that RISE with SAP is SAP's preferred/flagship product, and any conversation you have about SAP invariably has the words "RISE" and "cloud" somewhere. While on the surface, setting a direction to RISE with SAP seems like the logical choice, anyone who's ever scratched more than skin deep realizes it is a complex, convoluted process fraught with a laundry list of considerations. We don't have the time to discuss these considerations in this article. Rather, I propose taking a step back and thinking about these four key topics as you discuss future SAP projects, roadmaps, and budgets.

1. Start the conversation. There's a reason why Nike's simple, yet powerful slogan: Just Do It has resonated and motivated for decades. Every journey starts by putting one foot in front of the other, and as IT and business leaders, you should be discussing future technology and the future success of your organization. You don't need a fully formed plan yet, but you should start the conversation.
2. Always be assessing and reevaluating existing ERP plans. This is a continuation of step one, in which your organization should always think about the future. Organizations that have already moved to SAP S/4HANA may have believed their future was already set. This may not be the case if they are looking to leverage generative AI on the data in their SAP ERP systems in the future, as a move to RISE with SAP will likely be required to make it possible. Others who are still running older SAP ERP systems will need to determine whether moving to RISE with SAP is necessary or if their existing plans are adequate. In either case, I suggest waiting to see what SAP is doing with future innovations and then see if it's necessary to reevaluate your existing ERP plans.
3. Plan for a cloud-based future. Let's be real, cloud will play some role in everything we do going forward. Cloud has become such a broad term that it doesn't have to mean a public cloud in a hyperscaler anymore, either. A hybrid cloud, a combination of some public, private, and even on-prem has been shown in countless studies to be the direction just about every organization will take. It will really depend on the specific application and workload to determine if and what cloud is best suited. So moving to a cloud ERP system may not be viable for some organizations, even though this is the future for most ERP vendors. SAP has maintained that it will continue to support SAP S/4HANA until 2040. However, acquiring a perpetual license will become increasingly difficult and expensive. It's SAP's way to nudge customers to the cloud. So, no matter what stage an organization is in today, every SAP customer must be ready for cloud ERP when it happens. It's more when rather than if.
4. Watch closely for future SAP ERP product announcements. I've never seen an SAP product evolve so rapidly and pivot in so many ways as RISE with SAP. SAP's commitment to customer adoption of RISE with SAP has made the details of RISE change seemingly daily. Once you learn what RISE is there's a good chance some detail has been changed. What will be key for those organizations looking to leverage technology like generative AI and other rapidly evolving bleeding-edge tech is how RISE not only incorporates these technologies but positions them for consumption by the user. For example, the recent announcement of generative AI to only be included in RISE with SAP Cloud had a small detail that might have been overlooked...it will only be available in RISE with SAP Cloud premium edition. In full transparency, at this point, there is no specific information available about what RISE with SAP premium edition is or might be. But it was indicated that it will probably carry a cost of 30% more than the base options. New innovation will come at a cost. So, customers should pay attention to SAP’s future announcements about cloud ERP plans, as these could directly and immediately impact roadmaps, project plans, budgets, etc.

As you continue to have your fall budgeting conversations keep these key SAP considerations in mind.