Is RISE Right for Your Business?

Make better RISE decisions with a roadmap connecting cloud, modernization and AI readiness to your long-term business goals.

RISE Advisory

Industry Perspective:

"The most successful RISE decisions are measured by how effectively they accelerate AI readiness, business agility, and future innovation."

Understand if RISE Accelerates or Delays Your AI Strategy

RISE with SAP is often positioned as a simpler way to modernize the SAP estate. In practice, the commercial model, migration path, operating responsibilities, and long-term cost implications are more complex than many organizations expect.

The decision is no longer just about moving SAP to a managed cloud model. It is about whether that decision creates the right foundation for business AI, clean core modernization, data readiness, and measurable value.

Brightfield changes the way organizations should evaluate RISE. The question is not simply, “How do we move to RISE?” The better question is, “What will the business be capable of once we get there?”

Lemongrass provides independent RISE advisory to help organizations determine whether RISE is the right model, negotiate from a stronger commercial position, and plan the transition with AI readiness in mind. The goal is to help you capture the benefits of RISE without unexpected cost, operational disruption, or delayed AI value.

The challenge with traditional RISE decisions

Many RISE decisions are made around infrastructure, licensing, and vendor timelines. Those factors matter, but they are not enough.
Before committing, leadership needs clear answers to broader questions:
  • What is the true cost of RISE compared with alternative deployment models?
  • What commercial terms create flexibility, and which create future risk?
  • What operational responsibilities remain with the customer?
  • How does RISE support clean core objectives?
  • How does the model support SAP BTP, Joule, and future AI use cases?
  • What data and architecture decisions are required to activate business AI?
  • How does the RISE decision align with the broader technology strategy?
Without this clarity, organizations can sign a RISE contract that solves one problem while creating new cost, governance, and AI readiness challenges.

Lemongrass evaluates RISE through an AI-first lens.

We assess the commercial model, operating model, technical path, and strategic fit as one connected decision. That means we evaluate not only whether RISE is commercially viable, but whether it supports the organization’s future ability to activate AI, maintain a clean core, modernize data, and deliver business value faster.

Because Lemongrass has no incentive to push customers toward or away from RISE, our recommendation is based on your business, your landscape, and your long-term strategy.

Brightfield is Lemongrass’s AI-first, AI-now transformation model. It is built on a simple idea: AI should not be deferred to a later phase. AI should inform the business case, guide the transformation path, and begin delivering value during the journey.

That same thinking applies to RISE Advisory.

A RISE roadmap should not stop at cost comparison and contract review. It should answer how the chosen path supports AI activation, clean core modernization, BTP adoption, data readiness, and future operating models.

RISE is not just a destination. It is a decision point that determines how quickly the enterprise can become AI-ready.

Informed Decision-Making

A clear view of RISE total cost of ownership compared with alternative SAP deployment models, before any commitment is made.

This includes the commercial view, but also the AI readiness view. Lemongrass helps determine whether the proposed model gives the organization the platform, data, and operating foundation required to activate business AI.

Commercial Optimization

Guidance through RISE pricing, licensing, and contract structure to secure favorable terms and reduce future cost exposure.

This includes evaluating BTP consumption, AI-related cost implications, Joule adoption considerations, hyperscaler credits, and commercial flexibility required for future innovation.

Transition Risk Reduction

A practical plan for the technical, operational, and organizational change required to move to a managed cloud model.

This includes identifying where clean core decisions, data platform changes, and AI use case planning should be addressed before migration begins, not after go-live.

Strategic Clarity

Assurance that the RISE decision aligns with the organization’s broader IT strategy, business priorities, and AI ambitions.

The goal is not simply to meet a vendor-driven timeline. The goal is to create a platform that supports business outcomes, innovation, and long-term value.

Independent Perspective

Lemongrass provides objective advice based on your SAP landscape, business requirements, and AI readiness goals. We have no commercial incentive to advocate for or against RISE.

SAP Commercial Expertise

RISE pricing is, at its core, a commercial and licensing negotiation. Lemongrass brings SAP licensing expertise, market benchmarks, and negotiation support independent of any reseller relationship with SAP.

Operational Experience

Lemongrass operates SAP workloads on hyperscale cloud platforms and understands what changes when organizations move to RISE. That gives customers a practical view of the responsibilities, costs, and operating model implications that can emerge after signing.

AI-First Transition Planning

Infrastructure, operations, organizational change, commercial terms, clean core readiness, data strategy, and AI activation are addressed together. This reduces the risk of gaps between what is contracted, what is delivered, and what the business expects.

Area Without This Roadmap With This Roadmap
Cost Commit to RISE without a clear comparison to other options Build a defensible cost model before signing
Contract Terms Accept SAP’s opening position on pricing and flexibility Negotiate from a position of market knowledge
Transition Discover operational change requirements after go-live Plan operational and organizational change in advance
AI Readiness Treat AI as a future phase after migration Identify AI readiness requirements before commitment
Strategy Make a RISE decision to meet a vendor-driven timeline Align RISE with long-term business, IT, and AI goals
Organizations engage Lemongrass RISE Advisory to:
  • Understand the true cost of RISE before committing
  • Compare RISE with alternative SAP deployment models
  • Improve commercial terms and reduce future cost exposure
  • Identify lock-in risks before signing
  • Plan the future operating model
  • Align RISE with clean core and AI readiness objectives
  • Define how RISE supports Brightfield, BTP, Joule, and business AI
  • Give leadership a board-ready view of the decision
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Start with a RISE Advisory Conversation

The best first step is an independent review of your SAP environment, commercial position, operating model, RISE options, and AI readiness goals.

Lemongrass will help you determine whether RISE is the right path, where negotiation opportunities exist, and what must be planned before you commit.

Book a RISE advisory conversation