SAP recently announced updates for its RISE with SAP methodology, including a new customer onboarding experience and “clean core” quality checks throughout project implementation phases.
Designed to “help customers transform with confidence,” as per the April 25 announcement, the RISE updates aim to help customers implement cloud ERP solutions in alignment with best practices.
Encompassing both SAP’s managed cloud offering and its more recently announced RISE with SAP Migration and Modernization program, the updates are intended to strengthen a RISE with SAP methodology that SAP has established to provide a consistent approach for implementing customers’ cloud transformation journeys.
These updates were first made available April 1 to all customers subscribing to RISE with SAP for the first time, at no additional cost:
- Dedicated SAP onboarding guidance: RISE with SAP customers will now have access to SAP advisors via 1:1 enablement sessions focused on topics including the RISE with SAP Methodology, clean core strategies, and implementation tools. In addition to initial 1:1 sessions focused on establishing a clean core success plan and initiating compliance with established implementation project checkpoints, larger advisor-led sessions are available, focused on project readiness, project guidance, project progress, and go-live preparation. Finally, customers will have access to a library of role-based enablement sessions and other content covering business process leading activities, solution architectures, and—for SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition customers—sessions geared toward IT leads, project teams, and business users on topics including conversion and new implementation. For more details on the embedded launch activities SAP will make available to customers, consult this in-depth guide from SAP.
- Clean core-focused success plan, runbook, and quality checks: As part of its effort to instill a “clean core” mindset for customers and make it easier for them to implement RISE with SAP in accordance with best practices, SAP will provide RISE customers a clean core success plan, with clear milestones and KPIs. Accessible in the SAP Activate roadmap viewer, this success plan will be supported by quality gate checks that continually validate that customers’ implementations are proceeding in accordance with clean core best practices before customers proceed to subsequent project stages.
In a statement to ASUG, Kristin Martinez, SAP Product Marketing Director for SAP S/4HANA at SAP, explained that, following a successful rollout of RISE, “it’s important to persistently monitor your usage of RISE of SAP, leverage the opportunity to uncover areas of potential improvement, and ensure your business is making the most of new features or updates rolled out by SAP.”
Martinez further noted that the recently announced enhancements were informed by specific customer feedback. Based on best practices and insights from previous RISE with SAP customers, the methodology guides users through the digital transformation process, from planning to go-live to ongoing operations and evolution.
"With these enhancements,” she added, “customers can benefit from best practices experiences, ensure high-quality project execution, and achieve operational excellence.”
For more information, register for the Rise into the Future: Transform with confidence using RISE with SAP Methodology webinar on May 23 where SAP will dive into the new customer onboarding experience and clean core quality checks to ensure your cloud ERP solutions align with best practices. Register here.