SAP has announced a partnership with IBM to offer services that help customers migrate their SAP workloads to the cloud.
SAP's deal with IBM builds on an existing initiative that SAP offered its customers called Rise with SAP. IBM is now offering an enhanced version to help companies move their SAP workloads to the cloud, called Breakthrough with IBM for Rise with SAP.
The program offers advisory, implementation, and application management services to S/4HANA users. This includes technical help with migration, along with strategic consulting. IBM emphasized the need to streamline workflows and optimize business operations as part of a cloud migration.
IBM offers services including rapid discovery and automated migration to S/4HANA from any source. It also offers templates for migration and test automation.
IBM will want to prioritize its own cloud for SAP migrations and, as such, SAP has also appointed IBM as a premium supplier of Rise with SAP. This makes it the first cloud partner to offer both technical services and cloud infrastructure as part of Rise with SAP.
IBM's cloud revenues have gradually risen as a proportion of its overall revenues and it has focused increasingly on this part of its business. Last month, it beat Q4 revenue expectations with its strongest growth in ten years, thanks in part to its cloud operations.
Last year the company split in two by spinning off its managed infrastructure services unit. This left it focused on cloud services consulting and global business services, its software portfolio (including Red Hat), and hybrid cloud, which included its mission-critical public cloud business.
SAP refocused heavily on its cloud business in 2020, with an expected growth in subscription-based services from its software.
