IBM and SAP Strengthen Partnership to Help Clients Move Workloads from SAP Solutions to the Cloud

Press Release

ARMONK, N.Y. and WALLDORF — IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced it is teaming with SAP (NYSE: SAP) to provide technology and consulting expertise to make it easier for clients to embrace a hybrid cloud approach and move mission-critical workloads from SAP solutions to the cloud for regulated and non-regulated industries.


IBM is the first partner to offer
cloud infrastructure and technical managed
services as part of the RISE with SAP offering


As clients look to adopt hybrid cloud strategies, moving the workloads and applications that are the backbone of their enterprise operation requires a highly secured and reliable cloud environment. With today’s launch of the premium supplier option with IBM for RISE with SAP, clients will have the tools to help accelerate the migration of their on-premise SAP software workloads to IBM Cloud, backed by industry-leading security capabilities.*

IBM is also unveiling a new program, BREAKTHROUGH with IBM for RISE with SAP, a portfolio of solutions and consulting services that help accelerate and amplify the journey to SAP S/4HANA Cloud. Built on a flexible and scalable platform, the solutions and services use intelligent workflows to streamline operations. They provide an engagement model that helps plan, execute and support holistic business transformation. Clients are also offered the flexibility and choice to migrate SAP solution workloads to the public cloud with the support of deep industry expertise.

Today’s announcement of IBM becoming a premium supplier makes IBM the first cloud provider to offer infrastructure, business transformation and application management services as part of RISE with SAP. IBM’s premium supplier designation is a continuation of SAP’s long-standing efforts to provide choice and optionality to customers and further support IBM customers that have a preference for their RISE with SAP package to run on IBM Cloud.

Additionally, migration to SAP S/4HANA on IBM Cloud from on-premise data centers can potentially deliver the following benefits, according to a study by IDC, sponsored by IBM.**

  • Return on investment: Migrating to SAP S/4HANA on IBM Cloud delivered revenue increases for up to 90% of organizations making the transition according to users surveyed.
  • Reduced costs: More than 80% of the organizations in the study said they experienced a reduction in operational costs.
  • Greater productivity: 9 out of 10 businesses in the study said they improved their productivity after migrating to SAP S/4HANA on IBM Cloud.

“We are thrilled to advance our long-standing partnership through RISE with SAP,” said John Granger, Senior Vice President, IBM Consulting. “Our shared commitment is to meet our clients, especially those in highly regulated industries, where they are in their digital journey, while giving them choices for migrating or modernizing their mission-critical workloads with a hybrid cloud approach.”

“BREAKTHROUGH with IBM is an outstanding complement to RISE with SAP as it lays the foundation for our customers to embark on or advance their business transformation journeys. Further, it reaffirms the value customers recognize from RISE with SAP and the impact and innovation opportunity RISE with SAP offers to organizations that move to the cloud. I have every confidence that the combined expertise and experience SAP and IBM offer will accelerate cloud adoption and business growth for customers across the globe,” said Brian Duffy, President of Cloud, SAP.

IBM and SAP have worked with hundreds of clients globally on thousands of individual projects to modernize their systems and business processes based on an open, hybrid cloud approach. Recent examples include Coca-Cola European Partners, Parle Products, Harmont & Blaine, Puravankara Ltd and Virgin Megastore KSA.

Underscoring its commitment to SAP S/4HANA both as an SAP customer and a business partner for 50 years, IBM has also made a significant investment in RISE with SAP to help transform its own infrastructure. IBM is a new premium supplier for the RISE with SAP offering and is using the IBM Hybrid Cloud, including IBM Power–enabled Infrastructure as a Service, to enhance the performance, availability and security of deployments of private editions of SAP S/4HANA Cloud.

To learn more about the BREAKTHROUGH with IBM program for the RISE with SAP offering, please visit: ibm.com/services/sap/rise-with-sap.

Visit the SAP News Center. Follow SAP on Twitter at @SAPNews.

About IBM

IBM is a leading global hybrid cloud and AI, and business services provider. 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. Nearly 3,000 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 business services deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM’s legendary commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service. Visit www.ibm.com for more information.

About SAP

SAP’s strategy is to help every business run as an intelligent enterprise. As a market leader in enterprise application software, we help companies of all sizes and in all industries run at their best: SAP customers generate 87% of total global commerce. Our machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced analytics technologies help turn customers’ businesses into intelligent enterprises. SAP helps give people and organizations deep business insight and fosters collaboration that helps them stay ahead of their competition. We simplify technology for companies so they can consume our software the way they want – without disruption. Our end-to-end suite of applications and services enables business and public customers across 25 industries globally to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and make a difference. With a global network of customers, partners, employees, and thought leaders, SAP helps the world run better and improve people’s lives. For more information, visit www.sap.com.

Note to editors:
To preview and download broadcast-standard stock footage and press photos digitally, please visit www.sap.com/photos. On this platform, you can find high resolution material for your media channels. To view video stories on diverse topics, visit www.sap-tv.com. From this site, you can embed videos into your own Web pages, share video via email links, and subscribe to RSS feeds from SAP TV.

For customers interested in learning more about SAP products:
Global Customer Center: +49 180 534-34-24
United States Only: 1 (800) 872-1SAP (1-800-872-1727)

For more information, press only:
Stacy Ries, SAP, +1 (484) 619 0411, stacy.ries@sap.com
SAP Press Room; press@sap.com
Lauren Nowicki, IBM, lauren.nowicki@ibm.com

*Based on IBM Hyper Protect Crypto Service, the only service in the industry built on FIPS 140-2 Level 4–certified hardware. FIPS 140-2 Level 4 provides the highest level of security defined in this standard. At this security level, the physical security mechanisms provide a comprehensive envelope of protection around the cryptographic module with the intent of detecting and responding to all unauthorized attempts at physical access.
**IDC White Paper, sponsored by IBM, Business Benefits Possible by Choosing the Right Cloud Provider to Run SAP Workloads. Doc #US47166220, December 2020.

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

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 2020 Annual Report on Form 20-F.
© 2022 SAP SE. All rights reserved.
SAP and other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP SE in Germany and other countries. Please see https://www.sap.com/copyright for additional trademark information and notices.
Please consider our privacy policy. If you received this press release in your e-mail and you wish to unsubscribe to our mailing list please contact press@sap.com and write Unsubscribe in the subject line.