In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, businesses are under increasing pressure to accelerate transformation, modernize operations, and maximize the value of their SAP investments.  As organizations evaluate infrastructure options for RISE with SAP, many are turning to IBM Power Virtual Server (PowerVS) to unlock performance, flexibility, and cost efficiencies—without compromising on mission-critical reliability.

What is RISE with SAP?

RISE with SAP is more than just a move to the cloud.  It’s a holistic business transformation-as-a-service offering that combines SAP S/4HANA Cloud with business process intelligence, platform capabilities, and tools to streamline the journey to an intelligent enterprise.

However, not all cloud infrastructures are created equal—especially when it comes to supporting enterprise-grade SAP workloads.

Why IBM Power Virtual Server?

IBM PowerVS brings the power and performance of IBM Power Systems—long trusted for their reliability, scalability, and security—to a flexible, hybrid cloud environment. It’s tailor-made for organizations that want cloud benefits while preserving the unique advantages of running SAP on Power.

Here’s why PowerVS is a game-changer for RISE customers:

🔹 1. Performance Without Compromise

SAP workloads are demanding—especially S/4HANA and HANA databases. IBM Power architecture delivers superior compute performance, memory bandwidth, and throughput, which translates to faster processing, better concurrency, and smoother user experiences.

With PowerVS, you get all of that in a cloud-native package.

🔹 2. Seamless Migration and Integration

For customers already running SAP on Power on-prem, PowerVS offers a low-friction path to the cloud. Your existing skills, tools, and optimizations remain relevant—enabling faster migration with minimal disruption.

Even better  PowerVS can integrate with other cloud environments, allowing hybrid models that meet specific workload and compliance needs.

🔹 3. Resilience and Security You Can Trust

Mission-critical systems require enterprise-grade resiliency. PowerVS is built on the same trusted Power infrastructure used in financial services, healthcare, and other regulated industries. Combined with IBM’s layered security model, this gives RISE customers confidence in uptime, data protection, and compliance.

🔹 4. Flexible, Consumption-Based Pricing

With PowerVS, you get cloud economics—pay-as-you-go models, rapid provisioning, and elasticity—without sacrificing enterprise features. This allows for better cost control, efficient scaling, and the ability to experiment or test without heavy capital expenditure.

🔹 5. Aligns with SAP’s Clean Core Philosophy

RISE emphasizes a “clean core” to drive agility and continuous innovation. PowerVS supports this by enabling modern DevOps practices, containerization, and automation around SAP environments—helping customers simplify and innovate faster.

Real-World Impact

Many enterprises across industries—banking, manufacturing, retail, and more—are already leveraging the combined power of RISE with SAP and IBM PowerVS to:

• Reduce infrastructure costs by consolidating workloads

• Accelerate digital transformation without re-platforming

• Improve SLA adherence with robust performance and uptime

• Meet data residency and compliance requirements through hybrid cloud

Final Thoughts

Running RISE with SAP on IBM Power Virtual Server allows organizations to modernize at their own pace, with the confidence of high-performance infrastructure, enterprise-grade security, and cloud-native agility. It’s an ideal match for businesses that want the best of SAP and IBM—combined into a powerful foundation for innovation.

If you're evaluating your SAP transformation strategy, IBM PowerVS might just be the platform to power your RISE.  Click here to learn more now!