RISE with SAP on IBM Power Virtual Server to Help Accelerate Transformation with SAP S/4HANA Cloud

New offering designed to move SAP S/4HANA workloads from IBM Power Systems on-premises to cloud within 90 days

IBM realized 30% reduction in infrastructure costs and related operations over 18 months in RISE with SAP modernization project supporting 150,000 ERP users

ARMONK, N.Y. and WALLDORF, Germany, Jan. 7, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, IBM (NYSE: IBM) and SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) announced the upcoming release of RISE with SAP on IBM Power Virtual Server, designed to make it the fastest and easiest path for IBM Power customers to accelerate their ERP transformation. Together, IBM and SAP aim to help organizations more seamlessly transition and modernize their on-premises ERP environments to the cloud and support AI-powered business processes. 

RISE with SAP is a guided journey delivering outcome-driven services, cloud ERP and platforms to help organizations rethink their operating model. As a new SAP hyperscaler offering, RISE with SAP on IBM Power Virtual Server can help reduce risk and improve SAP S/4HANA Cloud migration time from IBM Power Systems on-premises to cloud within 90 days¹.

"RISE with SAP has emerged as a business priority for enterprises across all industries as they move to SAP S/4HANA Cloud," said Anurag Agrawal, Founder and Chief Global Analyst, TechAisle. "The new offering from IBM and SAP promises to be a compelling option for businesses looking to migrate their mission-critical ERP workloads securely, quickly and with minimal disruption."

Cloud Migration Enabled by Industry-leading SAP Certified Infrastructure
Using IBM Power Virtual Server, the cloud-based version of the mission-critical IBM Power server platform used for on-premises ERP, customers can more rapidly transform on-premises SAP ERP systems on cloud, modernize business processes and become more agile. Known for its high security, scalability and reliability, IBM Power servers are ranked #1 in availability among SAP-certified infrastructure², engineered for fewer disruptions and faster migration, supported by the highly resilient and secured IBM Cloud platform.

"IBM has worked hand-in-hand with SAP to provide a seamless and fast migration path for customers that rely on the IBM Power platform for their SAP workloads and applications," said Rob Thomas, Senior Vice President, Software and Chief Commercial Officer, IBM. "This new capability helps reduce the complexity of moving to the cloud and accelerates impact, benefits we experienced firsthand in our own modernization journey using RISE with SAP."

IBM Completes Global SAP S/4HANA Cloud Modernization using RISE with SAP
IBM has deep expertise with SAP S/4HANA Cloud modernization and managed services projects. In one of the largest and most complex SAP S/4HANA Cloud modernization projects of any SAP customer to date, according to SAP, IBM recently moved its quote-to-cash and record-to-report processes to RISE with SAP on IBM Power Virtual Server.

The IBM project touched more than 150,000 users across 175 countries in 18 months. During this time, it resulted in a 30 percent reduction in infrastructure costs and related operations by rationalizing overall server and data footprint and increasing process automation³. IBM Consulting led this transformation work end-to-end, providing the technical services, implementation and application management services expertise required to help securely move and run these complex solutions.

"SAP is helping organizations run their best through cloud-based enterprise applications embedded with the power of SAP Business AI," said Thomas Saueressig, Member of the Executive Board of SAP SE. "This announcement is yet another milestone in SAP's long-term partnership with IBM, offering our joint customers a clear path to the cloud designed for faster time-to-value, increased flexibility, and continuous innovation."

IBM Consulting and Ecosystem of Partners to Help Accelerate Transformation
Customers will also be able to accelerate transformation with SAP S/4HANA Cloud by working with IBM Consulting or any other SAP partner. To give clients choice, IBM is also in the process of working with other global systems integrators and services partners to architect, deploy and migrate RISE with SAP projects.

The two companies, along with an ecosystem of partners, intend to work together to help IBM customers transform through RISE with SAP on IBM Power Virtual Server with combined solutions, capabilities, and joint go-to-market efforts. RISE with SAP on IBM Power Virtual Server customers and IBM Business Partners will also have access to a new IBM Transformation Suite for SAP Applications to help begin the migration to SAP S/4HANA Cloud and RISE with SAP. It will include a bundle of best-of-breed software and services for the assessment of current environments, data migration and automated testing.

More than 10,000 SAP customers over 50 years have used IBM to deliver and run SAP on IBM systems. IBM is a full lifecycle strategic partner of SAP providing end-to-end consulting and technology solutions for SAP customers including hybrid cloud, automation and generative AI with watsonx.

RISE with SAP on IBM Power Virtual Server is planned to be available in second quarter of 2025, along with a customized investment program from IBM. Customers can learn more here to begin planning for their transformation using assessment and migration services from IBM Consulting and other IBM and SAP Business Partners.

Statements regarding IBM's future direction and intent are subject to change or withdrawal without notice and represent goals and objectives only.

About IBM
IBM is a leading provider of global hybrid cloud and AI, and consulting expertise. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Thousands of government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM's hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM's breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and consulting deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM's long-standing commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service. Visit www.ibm.com for more information.

About SAP
As a global leader in enterprise applications and business AI, SAP (NYSE: SAP) stands at the nexus of business and technology. For over 50 years, organizations have trusted SAP to bring out their best by uniting business-critical operations spanning finance, procurement, HR, supply chain, and customer experience. For more information, visit www.sap.com.

This document contains forward-looking statements, which are predictions, projections, or other statements about future events. These statements are based on current expectations, forecasts, and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and outcomes to materially differ. Additional information regarding these risks and uncertainties may be found in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to the risk factors section of SAP's 2023 Annual Report on Form 20-F.
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Media Contacts: 
IBM
Jennifer Sukhraj
[email protected]

SAP
Scott Malinowski, +1 (781) 852-3822, [email protected]
SAP Press Room; [email protected]

¹ Estimate based upon internal IBM modeling of onboarding customers in an SAP landscape when moving from SAP S/4HANA on Power on-premises to Power Virtual Server assuming the right level of customer collaboration around network integration and testing.

² Based on the ITIC 2023 Global Hardware, Global Server Reliability Report and list of all SAP-certified and supported certified SAP HANA hardware.

³ Based on IBM results from worldwide migration to SAP S/4HANA and RISE with SAP.

SOURCE IBM