SAP RISE: AWS vs Azure vs Google Cloud — How Your Hyperscaler Choice Affects Licence Costs and Flexibility

When you sign RISE with SAP, you choose a hyperscaler—AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud. SAP controls the contract, but your hyperscaler choice affects costs, data residency, existing credits, exit flexibility, and future negotiating power.

Most enterprises choose their hyperscaler based on which one they already use. That's a tactical mistake. Your existing hyperscaler relationship is exactly the lever you should be using to negotiate the RISE deal itself. SAP doesn't want you to know that.

How RISE Infrastructure Actually Works

RISE with SAP is SAP's managed cloud offering. SAP provisions S/4HANA on your chosen hyperscaler's infrastructure (AWS, Azure, or GCP), manages the entire stack (operating system, database, middleware, S/4HANA application), and you get a single invoice.

What SAP doesn't tell you: you don't control the infrastructure directly. SAP does. You get the security, compliance, and operational benefits of that control. But you lose negotiating leverage—you can't shop your infrastructure separately, you can't optimize your own compute and storage usage, and you can't leverage existing hyperscaler commitments to reduce costs.

SAP's infrastructure markup is estimated at 15-30% above the underlying IaaS costs they actually pay their hyperscaler. That's how RISE is profitable for SAP. Understanding this gap is critical to negotiating fairly.

AWS vs Azure vs GCP: The Commercial Differences

AWS: The Default Choice

AWS has the largest installed base of SAP customers globally. RISE integrations with AWS are mature, and AWS is the most competitive on raw IaaS pricing. If your enterprise already uses AWS—and most large enterprises do—SAP will assume AWS is your default choice.

Why that matters: SAP won't negotiate as hard on AWS as they will on Azure or GCP. You're the path of least resistance. If you're already an AWS customer, leverage that explicitly. Tell SAP: "We're moving to RISE on AWS because we have $5M in annual AWS spend, and we want to consolidate. But if your RISE AWS pricing is higher than Azure parity, we'll move to Azure." SAP will drop the price.

AWS advantages: Largest SAP RISE ecosystem, strong integration with SAP's ecosystem apps, best for leveraging existing AWS commitments (EDPs, reserved instances). AWS also offers the most flexible region coverage if you have global data residency requirements.

Azure: Microsoft Relationship Synergy

If you're a Microsoft EA (Enterprise Agreement) customer, Azure is SAP's pitch to you. The logic is simple: SAP on Azure + Microsoft licenses (Windows Server, SQL Server, etc.) + Microsoft 365 + Teams = unified Microsoft relationship, one invoice per quarter, perceived cost savings.

Why that matters: SAP is willing to discount RISE on Azure to win deals against AWS. If you're a heavy Microsoft customer, you have genuine leverage. Tell SAP: "We're on an Azure EA and we want to extend that relationship. But we need infrastructure cost transparency and a pass-through of our EA discounts." SAP will negotiate.

Azure advantages: Synergy with Microsoft EA customers, good for hybrid cloud scenarios (on-premise + Azure), strong compliance certifications. Azure's pricing is also competitive, though often opaque without transparency.

Google Cloud: Aggressive Pricing, Limited SAP Footprint

GCP has the smallest SAP RISE footprint. Google wants to build that market share. As a result, GCP is aggressive on infrastructure pricing and SAP is willing to discount RISE pricing on GCP.

Why that matters: If you have existing Google Cloud commitments (GCP Flex Slots, commitment discounts), you can use that to negotiate aggressive RISE pricing on GCP. SAP doesn't have as much RISE GCP revenue yet, so they're hungry. Alternatively, if you're cloud-agnostic, GCP can be your competitive threat. Tell SAP: "We're evaluating GCP because of their infrastructure pricing and commitment discounts." It works.

GCP advantages: Aggressive infrastructure pricing, good for data analytics and BigQuery integration, strong if you have existing GCP spend. Less mature RISE ecosystem than AWS or Azure, but improving rapidly.

Existing Hyperscaler Commitments: The Real Negotiating Weapon

This is where most enterprises leave money on the table.

AWS EDPs and Reserved Instances

If you have an AWS EDP (Enterprise Discount Program), you likely have committed spend of $10M–$100M+ annually. SAP provisioning your RISE infrastructure on AWS burns some of that commitment. The question is: does SAP pass through the discount, or does SAP pocket it?

What to negotiate: Demand EDP discount pass-through. SAP's IaaS costs are already discounted through their own AWS agreements. You want your EDP discount applied on top. This can save $200K–$1M+ annually depending on your commit size.

How to push back: "We have a $20M AWS EDP with three years remaining. We want RISE infrastructure costs to apply against that commitment, and we want full transparency on SAP's infrastructure spend." SAP will either pass the discount or reduce the RISE price to compensate.

Azure Consumption Commitments

Azure consumption commitments work differently than AWS EDPs. You commit to spending $X annually on Azure services. RISE infrastructure spend can burn that commitment. But SAP's billing to you for RISE infrastructure might not explicitly show up as "Azure consumption."

What to negotiate: "We want RISE infrastructure costs coded to our Azure consumption commitment so we get the benefit of our annual spend tier discounts." This requires SAP and your Azure account team to coordinate, but it's doable.

Google Cloud Commitments

Google Committed Use Discounts (CUDs) work for compute and storage. RISE infrastructure will use compute and storage. Demand that SAP apply CUDs to RISE.

What to negotiate: "Apply our Google Cloud CUDs to RISE infrastructure compute and storage. If that's not possible through your current billing model, reduce the RISE price by the equivalent CUD benefit."

Data Residency and Compliance by Hyperscaler

If your business operates globally, data residency requirements will influence which hyperscaler makes sense.

EU/GDPR Compliance

All three hyperscalers have EU regions, but Azure has the strongest GDPR story (Microsoft's European data centers, EU-based support). AWS has the most EU region options (Frankfurt, Ireland, Stockholm, Paris, Milan). Google Cloud has growing EU presence but fewer region options than AWS.

Implication: If you need European data residency, AWS gives you the most flexibility. Azure is competitive if you're already Microsoft-heavy. GCP is viable but fewer region options.

APAC and China

AWS has the most extensive APAC regions (Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, Mumbai, etc.). Azure is competitive (Sydney, Singapore, Tokyo). GCP has growing APAC coverage but fewer options than AWS.

Implication: If APAC is critical, AWS is the safest choice.

Critical Question for Negotiation

Ask SAP: "Can we change hyperscalers mid-contract if our data residency needs change?" The answer is almost always no. So pick the hyperscaler that covers your current AND foreseeable future compliance requirements. This locks you in, which is why SAP won't negotiate the exit as easily.

Exit Flexibility: Which Hyperscaler Lets You Leave Easier?

All three hyperscalers have similar exit constraints when you're running RISE. SAP controls the S/4HANA layer, the database, the OS. You can't just "move to another hyperscaler" without SAP's help, and SAP's exit pricing is typically 30-50% of your annual RISE cost.

But the exit path differs slightly:

AWS Exit

AWS has the richest ecosystem of native tools (DataSync, DMS, Storage Gateway) for migrating data out. If you need to leave RISE on AWS, you can provision your own S/4HANA on AWS infrastructure and migrate. AWS tooling makes this easier than Azure or GCP.

Azure Exit

Azure's hybrid tools (Azure Arc, Azure Migrate) theoretically help, but RISE on Azure is tightly coupled to SAP. If you're leaving RISE on Azure for on-premise or another hyperscaler, Azure's tooling is less helpful than AWS.

GCP Exit

GCP has native migration tools (GCP Transfer Service, Migrate for Compute Engine) but less mature than AWS. Exit path is similar to Azure—slower, more dependent on SAP's cooperation.

Implication: If exit flexibility matters (and it should), AWS is marginally better. But frankly, all RISE exits are painful and expensive. The real mitigation is the contract terms: demand a clear, fixed exit price cap, and a timeline for data migration (e.g., 90 days at no additional cost).

What to Negotiate with SAP Based on Your Hyperscaler

If You Choose AWS

• EDP/RI pass-through: Demand your AWS EDP discount or reserved instance benefits apply to RISE infrastructure. If SAP can't engineer that, ask for a 5-8% price reduction to compensate.
• Infrastructure cost transparency: Request quarterly breakouts of compute, storage, data transfer, and licensing so you can audit SAP's markup.
• Region flexibility: Ensure you can spin up RISE instances in any AWS region without additional SAP licensing costs.
• Exit clause: "If we terminate RISE, you assist with data migration to AWS at cost for 90 days at no additional SAP fees."

If You Choose Azure

• EA consumption mapping: Demand that RISE infrastructure spend appears on your Azure EA bill and applies to your annual commitment discount tier.
• Microsoft hybrid benefits: If you have on-premise SQL Server or Windows Server licenses, ask if SAP can apply those to RISE infrastructure. (Often SAP can't, but it's worth asking.)
• Region consolidation: Push for all RISE instances to run in your primary Azure region to maximize your EA discount efficiency.
• Reserved instance alignment: Ask if you can reserve Azure capacity for RISE so you get Azure Reserved Instance discounts.

If You Choose GCP

• CUD application: Demand your Google Cloud CUDs apply to RISE compute and storage. If SAP's billing can't support that, ask for a 7-10% price reduction equivalent to the CUD benefit.
• Committed Use Discount alignment: Align your GCP CUD renewal with RISE contract renewal so discounts stay in sync.
• BigQuery integration: If you do advanced analytics, negotiate whether RISE can share BigQuery costs under your GCP commitment.
• Aggressive renewal pricing: GCP is hungry for SAP workloads. At contract renewal, push hard for price decreases. SAP will negotiate with GCP if they're losing RISE deals to competitors.

The Dual-Vendor Strategy: Negotiate Both SAP and Your Hyperscaler Simultaneously

This is the move that SAP wants you to avoid.

SAP controls the RISE contract. But you can—and should—negotiate your hyperscaler relationship in parallel. Here's how:

1. Tell your hyperscaler account team that you're considering RISE. AWS, Azure, and GCP all have enterprise sales teams dedicated to SAP. Let them know you're evaluating RISE and you want them to optimize your commitment discounts and infrastructure costs to make RISE more attractive on their platform.
2. Ask your hyperscaler to provide a "RISE discount estimate." This is informal, but it signals to SAP that you're getting independent infrastructure cost data. SAP hates this because it makes their markup visible.
3. Use that hyperscaler discount as negotiating leverage with SAP. Example: "AWS is offering us a 12% commitment discount if we move RISE there. Your current pricing is 18% above that baseline. We need to see a reduction."
4. At contract renewal, flip the leverage. If you're on AWS, tell SAP you're evaluating Azure or GCP to see if they can beat AWS pricing. SAP will push back with their hyperscaler to negotiate better rates, then pass some savings to you.

Why this works: Hyperscalers want SAP workloads because they're long-term, high-margin. SAP wants committed customers. If you create competitive tension between them, you win.

The Hidden Costs SAP Doesn't Disclose

Data egress costs: If you move data out of your RISE infrastructure (for analytics, backup, archival), you pay hyperscaler data egress charges. SAP's pricing typically doesn't include those. Ask for an explicit cap or exclusion.

Support and downtime: RISE comes with 99.99% uptime SLA. But what happens if you breach it? SAP's credits are typically 1-2% of that month's RISE cost. Negotiate for higher credits (5-10%) because your business downtime cost is likely much higher.

Scaling costs: If you need to scale RISE during peak periods (e.g., year-end inventory closing), what happens to pricing? Is scaling "free" within limits, or does it trigger additional charges? Clarify this in the contract.

Add-on services: Advanced analytics, machine learning integration, third-party app marketplaces—these often have per-transaction or per-seat costs on top of RISE. Budget 15-20% on top of your RISE contract for these add-ons.

Real-World Recommendation

If you're evaluating RISE, here's the framework:

1. Assess your existing hyperscaler relationship: Where do you have the largest spend? Where are your commitments deepest?
2. Model your data residency requirements: Which hyperscaler's region coverage matches your compliance needs best? Don't negotiate this later—it locks you in.
3. Quantify your existing commitments: If you have an AWS EDP, a Microsoft EA, or GCP CUDs, that's real leverage. SAP knows it. Use it.
4. Create competitive pressure: Tell SAP you're evaluating all three hyperscalers. Run preliminary contracts with AWS, Azure, and GCP. Bring the best terms to SAP and ask them to match or beat.
5. Negotiate hyperscaler relationship in parallel: Don't just negotiate RISE with SAP. Negotiate your hyperscaler discount simultaneously. This makes SAP's markup visible and forces negotiation.
6. Lock in exit terms: Before you sign RISE, demand a clear exit price (capped at 30% of annual cost) and a data migration timeline (90 days at no additional cost).
7. Review your contract with independent counsel: RISE contracts are standardized by SAP. But your term, pricing, scaling costs, and exit clauses are negotiable. Don't sign without independent review.

Additional Resources

• RISE with SAP Advisory Services
• SAP Contract Negotiation
• SAP Licensing Blog
• SAP Licensing Experts Home