What RISE with SAP is
RISE with SAP bundles S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition with cloud infrastructure, SAP Business Network Starter Pack, SAP BTP credits, and SAP Business Process Intelligence. The core product is S/4HANA Private Edition — a dedicated S/4HANA system running on SAP-managed or co-managed infrastructure. RISE supports all three migration paths: greenfield, brownfield (system conversion), and Selective Data Transition. It allows retention of SAP-compatible custom code and existing configuration — critical for large, complex ECC estates where a full re-implementation is not feasible by 2027. Typical go-live: 12 to 18 months for medium-complexity brownfield; 18 to 30 months for large enterprise scope.
What GROW with SAP is
GROW with SAP is built around S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition — a multi-tenant, SAP-managed environment where all customers run on the same code base, updated quarterly by SAP. Customisation is limited to configuration within SAP-defined extension points; in-stack ABAP modification is not possible. GROW is designed for net-new SAP customers, mid-market organisations, or companies establishing a new entity on S/4HANA. With adoption accelerators, a clean standard implementation can go live in 8 to 16 weeks — achievable only if the organisation adopts SAP standard processes without customisation.
The three-question decision framework
- How much custom code and configuration does your ECC carry? Significant ABAP modifications or BADIs mean GROW’s limited extensibility will force a process redesign. RISE brownfield preserves them.
- Are you willing to adopt SAP standard processes? GROW enforces SAP best practice. If your processes genuinely require customisation, RISE gives you the BTP extensibility to preserve them.
- What is your 2027 timeline? A large complex estate on a hard 2027 deadline points toward RISE brownfield. A mid-market company with a clean process model and a 6-month target points toward GROW.
RISE and GROW are not different price points for the same product. Choosing the wrong one is the single most consequential decision in the migration programme — and it should be made with evidence, not preference.