RISE with SAP Tiers and July 2025 Premium Packaging Changes

The Old Tier Structure: What Existed Before July 2025

Until mid-2025, RISE with SAP private cloud was sold across three packaging tiers: Standard, Premium, and Premium Plus. Each tier bundled a progressively broader set of capabilities, with SAP positioning the higher tiers as containing more automation, AI-enabled features, and advanced analytics tools.

The Standard tier contained the base S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition licences, infrastructure, SAP Enterprise Support, and a limited BTP credit allocation. It was primarily aimed at organisations migrating from ECC with minimal innovation requirements beyond the core ERP.

The Premium tier added advanced analytics capabilities (SAP Analytics Cloud starter licences), a larger BTP credit allocation, extended transformation services, and access to a broader set of SAP's intelligent enterprise features. Premium represented the majority of commercially signed RISE deals for enterprise customers.

The Premium Plus tier bundled the highest level of AI, sustainability reporting capabilities (SAP Sustainability Control Tower), SAP Datasphere, and additional Joule AI assistant access. It was positioned as the most comprehensive transformation package and priced at a meaningful premium over the Premium tier.

What SAP Changed in July 2025

In July 2025, SAP executed a packaging restructure that effectively collapsed the three-tier model. The central changes were:

• Premium Plus was discontinued. The highest tier ceased to exist as a standard purchasable SKU. Customers who had contracted for Premium Plus prior to July 2025 continued on their existing terms for the duration of their contract, but new buyers could no longer procure it.
• Premium was rebranded to SAP Cloud ERP, Private Edition. This became the single primary bundle for private cloud S/4HANA. The name change reflected SAP's broader shift away from the "RISE with SAP" product label for specific SKUs, moving towards "SAP Cloud ERP" as the governing product name.
• AI and sustainability features were unbundled. Capabilities that were previously bundled in Premium Plus — most notably Joule (SAP's AI assistant), SAP Datasphere, and advanced sustainability tools — were removed from the base bundle and repositioned as separately purchasable add-ons.
• List prices for certain FUE volume ranges increased. Independent analysis noted that the new SAP Cloud ERP Private Edition SKU carried higher list prices than the old Premium tier at comparable FUE counts, though in practice negotiated net rates were variable.

The Unbundled Add-Ons: What Now Costs Extra

The commercially significant consequence of the July 2025 restructure is that capabilities which many enterprises assumed were included in their RISE contracts — or would be included in future renewals — are now explicitly positioned as paid add-ons. Understanding exactly what was unbundled is essential for budgeting and renewal negotiation.

SAP Joule — AI Assistant

Joule is SAP's generative AI assistant, embedded across S/4HANA processes to provide natural language query, intelligent task automation, and process guidance. Following the July 2025 changes, Joule is no longer included in the standard SAP Cloud ERP Private Edition bundle. Access requires a separate Joule add-on subscription, priced per user per month. Organisations that have been piloting Joule as part of their RISE engagement should expect a commercial proposal for paid access during their next renewal cycle.

SAP Datasphere

SAP Datasphere — formerly known as SAP Data Warehouse Cloud — provides data fabric capabilities for connecting and managing enterprise data across SAP and non-SAP systems. It was positioned in Premium Plus as enabling advanced analytics and enterprise data management. Following unbundling, Datasphere is sold separately, either as a standalone subscription or as an add-on within a broader SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) package. Organisations that require Datasphere functionality must now budget for it independently and negotiate its inclusion within the broader RISE commercial framework rather than assuming inclusion.

Advanced Sustainability Tools

SAP Sustainability Control Tower — SAP's tool for tracking and reporting ESG metrics — was previously available within Premium Plus. It now requires a separate procurement. For organisations subject to CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive) or SEC climate disclosure requirements, this represents a new line item in the SAP licensing budget that was not anticipated in pre-2025 multi-year financial models.

SAP Analytics Cloud (Extended)

The standard SAP Cloud ERP Private Edition bundle includes a limited SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC) starter allocation. Organisations requiring SAC at production scale — for financial planning, reporting, and analysis — must procure additional SAC capacity as a separate line item. SAC is priced per user per month on a named user model, with planning users commanding a higher rate than business intelligence or viewer users.

What the Changes Mean for Existing Contracts

Organisations that signed RISE contracts at the Premium or Premium Plus tier prior to July 2025 retain the contracted scope for the duration of their agreement. SAP does not retroactively revoke bundled entitlements from existing contracts. However, three scenarios create commercial risk for existing customers:

Scenario 1: Renewal alignment. When an existing RISE contract approaches renewal, SAP will propose a new agreement under the post-July 2025 structure. Features that were previously bundled may not automatically carry forward. The renewal proposal will reflect the new SAP Cloud ERP Private Edition baseline, with add-ons (Joule, Datasphere, sustainability tools) offered separately. Customers must explicitly negotiate the continuation of previously bundled capabilities — they will not renew automatically at equivalent scope.

Scenario 2: Mid-contract expansion. Organisations that expand their RISE scope mid-contract — adding entities, geographies, or user populations — may find that the expansion order is priced under the new structure. The expanded scope joins the contract under post-July 2025 terms, which may differ materially from the original contract's bundled inclusions.

Scenario 3: BTP credit consumption. The S/4HANA migration baseline reset that accompanies every RISE contract establishes a new licensing baseline for the entire S/4HANA estate. The DDLC (Digital Documents Licence Charge) metric governs indirect access charges — any non-named-user system that creates, updates, or reads documents via the S/4HANA APIs is potentially subject to DDLC charges. These charges are denominated in BTP credits in some configurations. As BTP credit allocations were adjusted in the post-July 2025 packaging, organisations with DDLC-heavy integration landscapes may find their included credit allocation insufficient and face overage charges at contract renewal.

The BTP Credit Allocation Under the New Structure

SAP BTP (Business Technology Platform) credits are the currency of the cloud era SAP estate. They underpin integration scenarios, extension development, AI service consumption, and indirect access management via the DDLC metric. The July 2025 packaging changes adjusted the BTP credit allocation included in the standard SAP Cloud ERP Private Edition bundle, typically reducing the starter allocation compared to what was available in the old Premium tier.

For organisations with complex integration landscapes — those connecting S/4HANA to third-party systems via SAP Integration Suite, or building extensions on SAP BTP Application Development — the reduced starter allocation creates near-certain overage exposure. Independent modelling of BTP consumption should be conducted before accepting any BTP allocation in the new contract structure. The modelling must account for current integration volumes, planned new integrations, DDLC document processing, and the cost of Joule and other AI services that consume BTP credits.

Negotiation Strategies for the New Packaging

Insist on granular bundle documentation. For any RISE contract signed or renewed under the post-July 2025 structure, require SAP to provide a line-by-line enumeration of all included capabilities, credit allocations, and usage limits. Do not accept a reference to the "SAP Cloud ERP, Private Edition" bundle without a detailed schedule that specifies what is in scope.

Negotiate add-ons as bundle components, not standalone purchases. If your organisation requires Joule, Datasphere, or sustainability tools, negotiate these as discounted components within the overall RISE deal rather than purchasing them separately. Standalone add-on pricing carries minimal discount; bundle negotiation delivers 20 to 40 percent better rates.

Lock in BTP credit volumes at the outset. Model your BTP consumption needs for the initial contract term and negotiate a committed volume that reflects actual production requirements. BTP overage charges are disproportionately expensive compared to pre-committed rates.

Time renewals and expansions for Q4 leverage. SAP's fiscal year ends December 31. Renewals and expansions executed in October through December attract the highest discounts as SAP's field teams drive towards annual targets. A well-timed renewal of a post-July 2025 contract can offset the effective price increase from the unbundling through incremental discount. Our SAP commercial advisory specialists time and position renewals exclusively from the buyer's perspective.

Document the S/4HANA migration licence baseline change. The migration from ECC to RISE resets the licence baseline. This baseline now incorporates the new FUE metric and the DDLC framework for indirect access. Any discrepancy between the baseline agreed at RISE signing and actual production system usage creates audit risk. The DDLC audit methodology counts documents processed — not users logged in — so high-volume integration environments require careful pre-contract DDLC mapping.