Practice · III.

SAP. RISE, indirect access, S/4HANA.

RISE with SAP migration, S/4HANA conversion, indirect access exposure, Named User classification, Business Technology Platform commitment, the GROW with SAP path for mid-market. Five contractual moves that bind a buyer to the publisher for the next decade. Independent buyer-side advisory across the full SAP estate. The RISE migration economics are reconstructed against the legacy ECC position before the publisher's pricing letter is returned.

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Sap licensing advisory

RISE is not a renewal. It is a ten-year decision.

The RISE with SAP migration locks the buyer into a multi-tenant private cloud architecture, a new commercial structure, and a vendor-controlled operating model. The decision is taken once, lived with for a decade.

Where the practice intervenes
Six points on the SAP contract cycle.
Pre-RISE
i.
ECC position reconstruction
The legacy ECC entitlement position, including Named User counts, package licences, indirect-access exposure, database engine entitlement and any RISE-eligible credit, is reconstructed before any conversation with the publisher about RISE migration begins. The position paper governs the migration commercial conversation.
RISE economics
ii.
Migration commercial model
RISE with SAP is priced as a subscription including infrastructure, application management, and base services. The total cost of ownership is reconstructed against the on-premise ECC baseline including hosting and Basis services. The economic case for RISE is documented with comparable-deal benchmarks before the publisher's pricing letter is returned.
S/4HANA conversion
iii.
Carry-forward and credit
S/4HANA conversion entitlement carry-forward, FUE conversion factors, and RISE migration credit are negotiated against the legacy ECC position. The credit calculation is contested clause by clause. The closing conversion position is signed by the senior advisor.
Indirect access
iv.
Digital Access exposure
SAP indirect access exposure under the Digital Access pricing model is reconstructed against documented integration architecture. Document counts are validated against the underlying integrations. Settlement scope is negotiated against integration architecture changes, not against publisher exposure estimates.
Named User
v.
Classification reconciliation
SAP Named User classification across Professional, Functional, Limited Professional, ESS and BSS categories is reconciled against documented usage. Reclassification opportunities are documented. Step-up and downgrade paths are modelled. The classification position is filed before the renewal commercial letter is returned.
BTP
vi.
Cloud commitment design
SAP Business Technology Platform Cloud Platform Enterprise Agreement and the BTPEA consumption model are designed against documented integration and extension architecture. Conversion rights, exit clauses, and integration with the RISE migration commercial model are negotiated as a single integrated commitment.
Where the work concentrates
Active mandate areas across the SAP book.
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RISE migration economics
TCO reconstruction, migration credit
RISE with SAP commercial reconstruction, total cost of ownership against ECC baseline, migration credit negotiation, transition services scope, ten-year contract terms.
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S/4HANA conversion
Entitlement carry-forward, FUE
S/4HANA conversion entitlement carry-forward, FUE conversion factors, capacity carry-over, deployment timing against renewal anchor.
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Indirect access
Digital Access, document pricing
Indirect access exposure reconstruction, Digital Access document-count validation, integration architecture mapping, settlement scope negotiation.
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Audit defence
Named user, document audits
SAP audit notification response, scope letter counter-position, settlement negotiation. Routed through the Audit Defence Programme. First response inside forty-eight hours.
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BTP commitment
BTPEA, consumption design
SAP Business Technology Platform commitment design, consumption modelling, conversion rights, exit clauses, integration with RISE commercial structure.
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Named User and packages
Professional, Functional, Limited
Named User classification reconciliation, package licence scope, country and entity allocation, reclassification opportunities, step-up and downgrade modelling.
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I.
Named senior advisor
The senior advisor named on the engagement letter leads every SAP conversation. No leverage model, no rotation of junior consultants onto the RISE migration negotiation, no anonymous correspondence with the publisher. The advisor signs every position document.
II.
Counter-signed positions
Every written counter-position to SAP is signed by the senior advisor and counter-signed by a second partner before transmission. Two named signatures on every RISE pricing position, every S/4HANA carry-forward position, and every indirect-access settlement position.
III.
Independent on every clause
Admodum holds no commercial relationship with SAP. No reseller margin, no implementation partner referral, no audit subcontract from SAP's licence audit team. We do not work both sides.
IV.
RISE is reconstructed, not accepted
RISE with SAP is a ten-year decision. The migration economics are reconstructed against the legacy ECC baseline including hosting, Basis services, and the on-premise renewal alternative. The economic case is documented before the migration is committed.
V.
Five-year retention
Every position paper, counter-position, scope letter, and closing memorandum is retained inside the firm for five years from engagement close. The buyer can request source workings at any point in that window.
VI.
Counsel coordination, never displacement
Where a SAP audit or indirect-access dispute escalates to a legal threshold, the senior advisor coordinates with the buyer's counsel through to legal close. Admodum remains advisory. Counsel remains the legal lead.
$380M
SAP Spend Advised
28
RISE Migrations Reviewed
19
Indirect Access Settled
12
S/4HANA Conversions
100%
Named Advisor
"
The publisher's opening indirect access exposure claim was twenty-six million. After integration architecture reconstruction and document count validation, the closing settlement was three point four million, with the integration architecture re-scoped to eliminate the underlying exposure.
Chief Procurement Officer
Global Consumer Goods Group · Settlement Q2 2025
Operating principles
How the practice is run.
RISE is a ten-year decision.
RISE with SAP is not a renewal. It is a ten-year commercial commitment to a multi-tenant private cloud, a new operating model, and a vendor-controlled architecture. The migration economics are reconstructed against the legacy ECC baseline before the migration is committed.
Indirect access is integration architecture.
SAP indirect access exposure is a function of integration architecture, not of usage in the abstract. Document counts under Digital Access are validated against documented integrations. Settlement scope is negotiated against architecture changes, not against publisher exposure estimates in isolation.
Named User by category.
SAP Named User classification is reconciled at user-population level against documented usage of the underlying SAP transactions. Reclassification opportunities between Professional, Functional and Limited Professional are documented per population. Step-up and downgrade paths are modelled.
S/4HANA with carry-forward in writing.
S/4HANA conversion entitlement carry-forward, FUE conversion factors, and RISE migration credit are negotiated in writing against the legacy ECC position. The credit calculation is contested clause by clause. The closing conversion position is filed before the migration is committed.
Questions

Asked before engagement.

What is SAP indirect or digital access risk?

Exposure created when third-party systems create or consume SAP documents without named-user licences. SAP's digital access model prices by document type, and historic indirect use is the most common audit finding. The defence is measurement, contract reading and a negotiated conversion rather than list-price settlement.

Is RISE with SAP a good deal?

RISE consolidates licence, infrastructure and managed services into one subscription, which simplifies the bill and removes negotiation surfaces. Whether it is a good deal depends on the carve-outs, the credit for existing perpetual licences and the exit terms, all of which are negotiable before signature and rarely after.

How do we prepare for an SAP audit?

Run the measurement (USMM and LAW) internally first, reconcile it against the contract's audit perimeter, and remediate before the results are submitted. The variance conversation should happen on the buyer's evidence, not the publisher's reading.

How are engagements priced?

Three frameworks: fixed fee for scoped deliverables, contingency tied to verified savings, and an annual retainer for continuous coverage across every vendor. The model is agreed on the first call, which is always complimentary, and independence is warranted in writing on every engagement letter.

Independence
Admodum is not a partner, reseller, or affiliate of any software vendor. No reseller margin, no referral commission, no audit subcontract from any publisher.
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Twenty-year practice across RISE, S/4HANA, indirect access, Named User, BTP, and the GROW path. Independent. Buyer-side only. Engagement structured as fixed fee · contingency · annual retainer.

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