When SAP brings a RISE proposal forward, the account team controls the calendar, the scope, the modelling, and the framing. The result is a deal that closes on the seller's timetable, with the seller's assumptions, against the seller's pricing logic. The work of this service is to reverse that dynamic. We take the negotiation back, run it on buyer terms, and close on contract language that protects the enterprise across the full seven year horizon.
Across more than 500 RISE engagements, average reduction against the first SAP proposal has been 68 percent. Total client savings delivered exceed 180 million dollars.
SAP RISE proposals arrive with a calendar attached. Account teams structure timelines around quarter end pressure, RISE conversion incentives that expire on a specific date, and pricing claims that are positioned as best and final long before they are. The order form is a single composite price that combines compute, hyperscaler pass through, FUE entitlements, application support, and migration credits into one figure. Most enterprises sign without ever decomposing that figure or pressure testing the underlying assumptions.
The result is predictable. Across the engagements this firm has audited, initial RISE proposals carried an average uplift of between 30 and 45 percent above defensible buyer pricing. The clauses inside the order form carried recurring exposure: open ended uplift on renewal, indirect access language that captured custom integrations, FUE recategorisation rights, and exit terms with no operational substance. None of this is unique to one customer. It is a templated buyer experience.
The service exists to break that template. We intercept the deal before the SAP account team locks the calendar, we model the seven year cost across realistic scenarios, we negotiate every line item, and we close on contract language that survives audit, restructure, and renewal.
Every engagement runs the same sequence. Tactics vary by deal. Discipline does not.
The headline discount is the smallest of the available concessions. We unpack volume, commitment, term, RISE conversion, hyperscaler, and migration credits into separate lines and negotiate each.
Full Use Equivalent counts determine the price floor. We model the actual user mix, target the right FUE ratios, and protect against recategorisation at renewal.
The hyperscaler line inside RISE is rarely benchmarked. We compare AWS, Azure, and GCP reserved capacity and price the RISE pass through against the open market rate.
Standard RISE renewal terms allow open ended uplift. We negotiate a seven year price lock with capped escalation tied to a defined index.
Custom integrations and downstream consumers are the most common audit exposure inside RISE. We rewrite the indirect access language and define a clear measurement model.
RISE exit language is almost always cosmetic. We negotiate concrete exit credits, data extraction commitments, and transition support with measurable service levels.
"On three quarters of the deals we audit, the first RISE proposal carries between thirty and forty five percent of buildable buffer. The number is not a negotiation outcome. It is a starting position the account team expects to lose."— Lead Partner, RISE Negotiation Practice
The work product is portable. Every artefact is owned by the client, written in plain language, and engineered to be used long after the engagement closes.
A fully built model in Excel covering RISE Private Edition, RISE Public Edition, brownfield S/4HANA on hyperscaler, and hybrid options. Each scenario decomposed into compute, storage, FUE, application support, hyperscaler reserved capacity, migration cost, and exit cost. Sensitivity analysis included.
A complete record of every counter proposal exchanged, the rationale offered by SAP, the buyer side response, the dollar value of each concession, and the running cumulative reduction. Used in the boardroom for the approval paper.
A full redline against the SAP RISE master subscription agreement and order form. Each change carries a written rationale tied to the deal value at risk. The redline is structured so internal legal can pick up the deal at any point without external dependency.
A ninety day post signature plan covering FUE entitlement governance, integration registration, hyperscaler operational baselines, and the renewal preparation timeline. The plan is the bridge into the post signature optimisation service.
If a RISE proposal is on the table, on the calendar, or in early signal, the firm can intercept. Initial scoping conversations are free and confidential. We do not work for SAP.