From On-Prem to Cloud: SAP S/4HANA Deployment Options and RISE with SAP

S/4HANA isn’t one product. It’s three editions with three different deployment models, each with different update cycles, customisation limits, and cost structures. And then there’s RISE with SAP bolted on top, bundling private cloud with infrastructure and BTP services into one subscription.

I reckon most people approach the deployment choice from the wrong angle. They start with “which cloud?” when they should start with “how much do we need to change SAP’s standard processes?” That single question determines your deployment model. Everything else follows.

TL;DR: Thirty per cent of organisations are now fully live on S/4HANA, up from 19% the prior year, while legacy ECC usage dropped below 50% for the first time (SAPinsider, 2025). S/4HANA offers three deployment models: public cloud (multi-tenant SaaS, fastest updates, least customisation), private cloud (single-tenant, RISE with SAP, moderate customisation), and on-premise (full control, full responsibility). RISE with SAP bundles private cloud with BTP, infrastructure, and migration tools into one contract.

What Are the Three S/4HANA Deployment Models?

The S/4HANA market is projected to grow from USD 20.35 billion to USD 48.46 billion by 2033 (Verified Market Reports, 2025). That growth splits across three deployment models, each built for a different appetite for customisation.

Public Cloud (S/4HANA Cloud, public edition). Multi-tenant SaaS. Your instance runs alongside other customers on SAP’s infrastructure. Quarterly automatic updates that you can’t skip or delay. Minimal customisation: you configure within SAP’s boundaries, extend through BTP, but you’re not touching core code. Best for organisations willing to adopt SAP’s standard processes and live with them.

Private Cloud (S/4HANA Cloud, private edition). Single-tenant, managed by SAP or a hyperscaler. You get more room: custom code, industry add-ons, custom enhancements. Updates come bi-annually with more control over timing. This is the RISE with SAP model. Most organisations end up here.

On-Premise (S/4HANA). You own and run everything. Full control over customisation, update timing, infrastructure. But you’re responsible for hardware, patching, upgrades, scaling. Highest TCO, most flexibility.

What Is RISE with SAP and What Does It Include?

Forty-three per cent of organisations say generative AI influenced their ERP decisions in 2025, up from 14% in 2023 (ERP Today, 2025). RISE with SAP is how SAP packages the AI-ready cloud ERP into a single subscription.

The bundle:

• S/4HANA Cloud, private edition: your dedicated ERP instance
• SAP BTP credits: for integration, extensions, and AI services
• SAP Business Network: supplier collaboration and procurement
• SAP Signavio: process intelligence and transformation tools
• Infrastructure: managed by SAP on a hyperscaler (AWS, Azure, or GCP)
• Migration tools: assessment and conversion utilities from SAP

One contract instead of separate licences for software, infrastructure, and services. Neat from a procurement standpoint, though it makes apples-to-apples cost comparison with unbundled alternatives harder.

De facto, RISE is SAP saying: “Let us handle the infrastructure, and you focus on business processes.” If your organisation doesn’t want to build cloud operations expertise in-house, this is a solid path.

How Do You Choose Between Public, Private, and On-Prem?

Nearly half of C-suite executives say more than 30% of their IT projects are over budget and late (BCG, 2024). Picking the wrong deployment model contributes to those overruns when you discover mid-project that your chosen edition can’t handle your customisation needs. That’s an expensive lesson.

Three factors drive the decision:

Customisation needs. If your business runs on heavily customised SAP processes (custom transactions, industry Z-code, complex pricing logic), you need on-prem or private cloud. Public cloud won’t let you in.

Operational model. Want SAP to manage infrastructure, patching, and upgrades? Go with RISE or public cloud. If your IT team wants hands on the full stack, on-prem.

Update frequency. Public cloud updates automatically every quarter. No skipping. Private cloud goes bi-annually with more control. On-prem updates when you say so.

What Does the Migration Path Look Like?

Organisations that engage experienced ERP consultants report an 85% success rate (Panorama Consulting, 2025). The migration approach depends on where you’re coming from and where you’re going. No surprises there.

ECC to S/4HANA Public Cloud. This is a re-implementation. Not a migration. You configure S/4HANA Cloud from scratch, migrate master data and open transactions, adopt SAP’s standard processes. Your custom code doesn’t come with you. Timeline: 6-12 months for a mid-size organisation. It’s painful but clean.

ECC to S/4HANA Private Cloud (RISE). System conversion. SAP provides tools (Readiness Check, Custom Code Migration) to assess your existing code, flag what needs fixing, and convert the system. Timeline: 9-18 months depending on how much custom mess you’ve accumulated.

ECC to S/4HANA On-Premise. Same system conversion process as RISE, but you handle the infrastructure yourself. Hardware provisioning, database migration, go-live infrastructure. All you.

S/4HANA On-Premise to RISE. Move-to-cloud migration. Your existing S/4HANA system and customisations transfer to SAP-managed infrastructure. This is the simplest path if you’re already running S/4HANA on-prem.

FAQ

What happens to custom ABAP code in a cloud migration?

Public cloud: it doesn’t transfer. You replace custom code with BTP extensions or adopt standard processes. Private cloud (RISE): most custom code transfers, but SAP’s tooling will flag deprecated APIs and incompatible patterns. Expect 20-40% of custom code to need modification. That number is usually bigger than people want to hear.

Is RISE with SAP more expensive than on-premise?

Depends on the time horizon. RISE’s subscription model has higher annual costs but eliminates capital expenditure for infrastructure. Over 5 years, RISE is often cheaper for mid-size organisations because it includes infrastructure, updates, and BTP. For large enterprises with existing data centres, on-prem may have lower TCO. Fair enough either way.

Can I move from public cloud to private cloud later?

Technically yes. Practically, it’s a mess. The data models differ between editions. SAP has migration tooling, but budget 3-6 months for the transition. Better to pick the right deployment model upfront.

What’s the ECC end-of-support deadline?

SAP mainstream maintenance for ECC ends in 2027. Extended maintenance is available until 2030 at a premium. After that, you’re on your own. Thirty per cent of organisations are already fully live on S/4HANA (SAPinsider, 2025). The wave is picking up speed.

Does RISE include everything I need?

RISE includes S/4HANA Cloud, BTP credits, infrastructure, and basic services. It does not include implementation consulting, custom development, data migration services, or extra BTP services beyond the included credits. Budget for those separately. People get surprised by this one a lot.