The evolution of the administrator’s role in the cloud era
Imagine that, after years working as an SAP BASIS administrator, you are given a new opportunity. Instead of spending nights in the server room, firefighting and patching servers, you can focus on what genuinely creates value for the business: process optimisation, building intelligent monitoring systems, and strategic architecture planning. This is not science fiction. This is the reality of RISE with SAP.
The role of the BASIS administrator in a RISE environment resembles the transformation from a car mechanic into an autonomous-driving systems engineer. Deep technical knowledge is still required, but the way it is applied changes fundamentally. This is not a loss of competence. It is its evolution towards a more strategic and consultative direction.
RISE with SAP is a comprehensive digital transformation offering that combines S/4HANA licences, cloud infrastructure, migration tools, and professional operational management. SAP takes on responsibility for the infrastructure layer, allowing client teams to concentrate on business process optimisation and application-level innovation. It sounds appealing. In practice, it requires a new way of thinking about systems administration.
For many BASIS teams, this change was initially unsettling. Years of experience in direct server administration suddenly became less central. Questions arose: how do you monitor systems without access to the operating system? How do you respond quickly to incidents when you cannot restart a service directly? How do you retain visibility and control in the new architecture of responsibility?
In this article, we show how to effectively manage a RISE with SAP environment from the technical team’s perspective. This is knowledge drawn from real transformation projects that we deliver at SNOK for clients across various industries. Our largest client in the manufacturing sector, employing several thousand people, underwent a full transformation to RISE, and we supported its teams in building a new operating model. Today, its BASIS administrators say they would not go back to the old model.
As Jarosław Kamil Zdanowski, partner at SNOK, puts it: “RISE is not the end of the BASIS role - it is its natural evolution. Our teams have gone through this journey many times, and we know that the key to success is not clinging to old habits, but boldly embracing the new possibilities the cloud offers.”
What RISE really is from a technical team’s perspective
RISE with SAP is not merely a change in the licensing model. It is a fundamental reorganisation of responsibility for infrastructure and operations of SAP systems. To work effectively within this model, one must first understand precisely how roles and tasks are now divided.
The shared responsibility model
RISE is based on a shared responsibility model, similar to most cloud services. SAP delivers not only S/4HANA licences, but also complete infrastructure running on cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure or Google Cloud Platform, together with professional management of that infrastructure by SAP Cloud Operations teams. The client receives a fully managed SAP environment that meets the highest standards of security, availability and performance.
This approach differs from classic SaaS, where all customers share a single application instance. In RISE, every customer has a dedicated S/4HANA environment with full capability for customisation, extensions and integrations. This provides the flexibility of on-premise with the benefits of the cloud: scalability, professional management and continuous updates.
What SAP Cloud Operations provides
SAP assumes full responsibility for the technological foundation. This means managing physical and virtual infrastructure - servers, storage, networks and load-balancing mechanisms. The operating system is installed, configured and regularly updated according to security best practice by SAP teams. The same applies to the database, which is not only installed but also continuously monitored for performance, with backups automatically created and tested.
SAP also manages installation and updates of the SAP software itself, including critical kernel updates and support packages. Backup strategy and disaster recovery procedures are designed and tested by SAP, giving assurance that data remains safe in the event of a problem. Infrastructure monitoring at the level of resource utilisation, service availability and performance runs around the clock, seven days a week.
Security management at the infrastructure level is particularly significant. SAP implements advanced protection mechanisms: firewalls, network segmentation, encryption of data in transit and at rest, and regular security audits. All of this in line with the highest industry standards and regulatory requirements.
Where client responsibility remains
Client teams retain full control over the application layer and business processes. This is where the real magic of SAP happens, and where BASIS experts can demonstrate their value.
Managing transports and system changes remains entirely on the client side. The CTS transport system, TMS transport queue management, and the whole of release management and deployment coordination are areas where the knowledge and experience of the BASIS team are indispensable. System configuration - instance profile parameters, RFC connection definitions, batch job scheduling, or configuration of communication mechanisms - also remains the domain of the client team.
Authorisations and application-level security are a key area of responsibility. Managing user roles and authorisation profiles, implementing Governance, Risk and Compliance principles, and monitoring access to sensitive data all require deep knowledge not only of SAP but also of the organisation’s specific business context.
All extensions and modifications to ABAP code, BAPI programming interfaces, Fiori application extensions and integrations with external systems remain within the client’s remit. This is precisely where the greatest business value and competitive differentiation of the organisation lie.
Monitoring of business processes, analysis of transaction performance, tracking of integrations between systems and responding to application-level issues are daily tasks requiring both technical knowledge and an understanding of business processes.
A new quality of BASIS competence
Dariusz Kurkiewicz, Team Leader and Architect of SNOK’s cybersecurity and BASIS team, emphasises: “In RISE, we need BASIS administrators with broad competencies. They spend less time configuring operating system parameters and more time on solution architecture, application security and process automation. This is not a demotion of the role. It is its natural evolution towards greater business value.”
While working with our key client in the manufacturing sector during its transformation to RISE, we observed an interesting dynamic. Initially, the BASIS team feared losing relevance. After a year of operating in the new model, the same people say their work has become more interesting, less routine and more strategic. Instead of spending hours analysing system logs or optimising kernel parameters, they build intelligent monitoring systems, automate repetitive processes, and work closely with business departments on process optimisation.
This confirms that RISE does not eliminate the need for BASIS experts. It transforms their role from operational to strategic and consultative. Organisations that understand this and invest in developing their teams’ competencies gain a competitive advantage.
Practical takeaway: RISE is a partnership model between SAP and the client, in which each side does what it does best. SAP manages infrastructure to a world-class standard, while the client team focuses on business process optimisation and application-level innovation. Success requires understanding this division and leveraging the strengths of both sides.
The new reality for administrators - an evolution in ways of working
The first day of work in a RISE environment for an experienced BASIS administrator is a moment of transformation. Things that had been routine for years suddenly require a different approach. This is not a barrier. It is an invitation to learn a new, more effective way of working.
A shift in the paradigm of technical access
In a traditional on-premise environment, the administrator had direct access to every layer of the system. They could log in via SSH to a server, review system logs, modify kernel parameters, or install additional monitoring software. In RISE, that layer is managed by SAP Cloud Operations, meaning access is restricted to the SAP application layer.
For many administrators, this change was initially difficult to accept. One administrator at our manufacturing client described it as the feeling of switching from a manual to an automatic gearbox after years of driving. At first, you feel that something is slipping away, that you no longer have full control. But after a period of adjustment, you appreciate being able to focus on the road rather than on changing gears.
This change makes profound sense from a security and stability perspective. Uniform infrastructure management by a professional SAP team means consistent application of best practice, regular security updates, and standardisation of configuration. This eliminates many of the problems that, in on-premise environments, stemmed from inconsistent configurations or delayed updates.
New channels of communication and coordination
In place of direct access, structured communication with SAP Cloud Operations emerges through dedicated portals. The SAP for Me portal is the central place for managing RISE systems, where you can monitor system health, log incidents, plan changes, and track progress in resolving issues.
The Change Request system is a formal approval process for changes affecting the infrastructure layer. Every change goes through verification, testing, and implementation within agreed maintenance windows. This may seem more time-consuming than direct intervention, but in practice it delivers greater predictability and reduces the risk of unplanned downtime.
Incident management via the portal allows for transparency and tracking of issue history. Every ticket has its own identifier, documentation, communication history and clear status. This makes coordination between teams easier and ensures that no problem is forgotten or overlooked.
Jarosław Zdanowski of SNOK notes: “Formalising communication with SAP may initially seem like a burden, but in the long run it is of enormous value. You have full documentation of every change, every incident, every decision. That is invaluable during audits, reviews or trend analysis.”
Longer response paths and how to compensate for them
In an on-premise environment, when a system went down at night, an experienced administrator could diagnose the problem in fifteen minutes, apply a temporary fix, and restore operation. In RISE, the process looks different. The problem is detected, diagnostics are performed at the level available to the client team, a ticket is created for SAP with full documentation of the problem, there is a wait for a response from SAP Cloud Operations in line with agreed service levels, an exchange of diagnostic information and joint action follows, and finally implementation of a solution and verification.
This process may indeed take longer than direct intervention. However, organisations working in the RISE model quickly learn to compensate through proactivity. Instead of reacting to problems, they build early-warning systems that detect anomalies before they become critical incidents.
In the project for our manufacturing client, we built an intelligent monitoring system that analyses hundreds of performance parameters and generates predictive alerts. When the system detects a trend that could lead to a problem, a preventive ticket is automatically created for SAP. As a result, most potential incidents are resolved before they affect users.
Dariusz Kurkiewicz adds: “The best incident is the one that never happens. In RISE, we invest heavily in predictive monitoring and automation. This changes the game from reactive to proactive.”
Monitoring and diagnostic capabilities in the new architecture
Despite limited access to the operating system, BASIS administrators still have a wide arsenal of diagnostic tools at the SAP application level. Transactions such as ST22 for analysing ABAP dumps, SM21 for reviewing system logs, ST06 for basic operating system monitoring, DB02 for database space management, and SM50 and SM66 for analysing work processes remain fully available and form the foundation of day-to-day work.
SAP Cloud ALM, the new application lifecycle management tool dedicated to cloud environments, offers advanced capabilities for system health monitoring, performance analysis and business process tracking. This tool integrates naturally with RISE systems and provides significantly deeper insight than the traditional Solution Manager.
SecurityBridge, a partner of SNOK, is a specialised SAP security platform that compensates for the lack of access to the system layer through advanced application-level monitoring. It detects suspicious user activity, anomalies in system behaviour, attempts at unauthorised changes to critical configurations, and potential vulnerabilities in custom code.
Our clients often say that after implementing the right monitoring tools, they have better visibility into what is happening in the system than they ever had on-premise. The difference is that instead of manually searching logs and analysing memory dumps, they use intelligent systems that automatically correlate events, detect anomalies, and prioritise problems.
Practical takeaway: Limited access to infrastructure does not mean a loss of control. It means a change in how control is exercised - from direct intervention to intelligent monitoring, automation and collaboration with a professional SAP Cloud Operations team. Organisations that embrace this new approach often achieve better stability and predictability than they had on-premise.
How to collaborate effectively with SAP Cloud Operations
One of the key success factors in a RISE environment is building an effective working relationship with SAP Cloud Operations teams. This is not a vendor-client relationship in the traditional sense. It is a partnership within a shared responsibility model, in which both sides bring their expertise towards a common goal: stability and performance of SAP systems.
A shift in mindset from autonomy to orchestration
In the traditional model, the BASIS administrator was often a lone warrior. Problem, analysis, solution - all handled independently. In RISE, you become the conductor of an orchestra, coordinating the actions of various experts. You coordinate SAP Cloud Operations, responsible for infrastructure; your own BASIS team, handling the application layer; developers working on extensions and customisation; and business representatives, who define requirements and priorities.
This shift in perspective is fundamental. As Jarosław Zdanowski emphasises: “At SNOK, we develop our teams’ skills in the direction of soft skills and project management, because in the cloud world these are often just as important as technical knowledge. A good RISE administrator is someone who can not only diagnose a problem but also communicate it clearly and coordinate the actions of several teams.”
This orchestration skill is particularly evident during complex incidents requiring collaboration at multiple levels. In one project for our manufacturing client, we faced a situation where performance problems in the integration with the production planning system required analysis at the network, database, ABAP code and business logic levels. The resolution required coordination between the SAP Cloud Operations team, our BASIS experts, the client’s developers, and a functional consultant familiar with production processes. The BASIS administrator acted as coordinator, ensuring everyone worked in sync and no information was lost along the way.
The art of writing effective tickets
The quality of a ticket submitted to SAP Cloud Operations has a direct impact on the speed and quality of the support received. A professional, well-documented ticket is quickly understood and prioritised, while a vague, general ticket can lead to repeated follow-up questions and delays.
A good ticket starts with a precise, concise title that clearly communicates the problem. Instead of a general statement such as “system is slow”, a much better title is specific: “S/4HANA production: transaction VA01 times out after two minutes, affecting more than fifty users”. Such a title immediately gives the SAP team context and allows for proper priority classification.
Business context is equally important. SAP needs to understand the impact of the problem on the organisation. Which business process is affected? Is it order intake, goods dispatch, month-end financial close? How many users are experiencing the problem? Is it a handful of people in one department, or hundreds of employees across the entire organisation? What is the impact on the business? Is it a complete outage of a critical process, or a performance degradation with an available workaround?
Technical information must be complete and precise: system ID, client number, transaction code, exact time of first occurrence, whether the problem is repeatable or intermittent, and screenshots showing error messages. All of this allows the SAP team to quickly locate the problem without needing to ask additional questions.
A key element is documentation of the diagnostics you have already carried out. If there were ABAP dumps, attach screenshots from the ST22 transaction and shortdump identifiers. If the system log in SM21 showed suspicious entries, include excerpts. Performance data from ST06, alerts from database management in DB02, statistics records from STAD - all of this shows you have done your part of the diagnostic work.
Equally important is documenting what has already been checked and ruled out as the cause of the problem. Are user authorisations correct? Is the transaction configuration consistent with documentation? Are RFC connections working properly? Are there any conflicting batch jobs? Were there any recent transports that could have affected the issue? This saves the SAP team time, as they do not need to start with the most basic checks.
Building long-term relationships with the SAP team
Beyond the formal ticketing process, it is worth investing in building personal relationships with the SAP team responsible for your environment. Regular synchronisation meetings, ideally every two weeks or at least once a month, allow information to be exchanged about planned changes, upcoming challenges and potential problems before they materialise.
Sharing information about planned business changes is invaluable. If you know that peak sales season is coming in three months, inform SAP in advance. Together, you can prepare for increased load, discuss a resource-scaling strategy, and plan maintenance windows during periods of lower load.
In our project for the manufacturing client, regular meetings with the SAP Account Team delivered concrete benefits. When the client planned to launch a new product line requiring a significant increase in transaction volume, we were able to analyse resource needs together with SAP and proactively increase performance parameters. Had we acted only reactively, the first week after launching the new product line could have been problematic.
Dariusz Kurkiewicz of SNOK emphasises: “The relationship with SAP Cloud Operations is a marathon, not a sprint. Investment in good communication and mutual understanding pays off many times over, especially in crisis situations, where trust and established working procedures allow for swift action.”
Understanding service levels and priorities
SAP Cloud Operations works according to defined service levels that determine response and resolution times. The key to effective collaboration is using these priorities consciously and responsibly.
The highest priority, classified as very high, is reserved for complete production outages with no available workaround - situations such as a production system failure preventing critical business processes. The response time is typically one hour.
High priority applies to serious functional degradation that significantly affects the business but has some temporary workaround - for example, a critical transaction running slowly, which prolongs processes without stopping them entirely. The response time is usually four hours.
Medium priority covers localised problems affecting a limited group of users or functionality, where acceptable workarounds exist. The response time is typically one business day.
Low priority covers questions, requests for information, and improvement proposals that do not affect current business operations. The response time is two to three business days.
A common mistake we observe among clients just starting to work in the RISE model is overusing the highest priorities. If every ticket is marked as critical, credibility is quickly lost, and SAP may start reviewing and downgrading priorities. Use priorities judiciously and in line with the real impact on the business, and your tickets will be taken seriously.
Practical takeaway: Effective collaboration with SAP Cloud Operations is a skill that must be developed. It requires clear communication, professional documentation of problems, an understanding of processes on the SAP side, and building long-term relationships. Organisations that treat SAP as a partner rather than a vendor achieve significantly better results in the stability and performance of their systems.
How to retain control and visibility in the new architecture
For many teams, the greatest challenge in RISE is not the lack of technical access, but the sense of losing control and transparency over what is happening in the system. In reality, the right approach and tools can provide better visibility than was ever possible in a traditional on-premise environment.
Formalisation of processes as the foundation of control
In an environment where not everything is directly under your control, systematic discipline and documentation become key. Processes that in on-premise environments could be informal and dependent on the experience of specific individuals must, in RISE, be clearly defined and documented.
The incident management process should cover detection of problems through monitoring, intelligent alerts or user reports; initial analysis determining whether the problem concerns the application or infrastructure layer; diagnostics using your own tools if the problem lies in the SAP layer, or creation of a detailed ticket for SAP if it concerns infrastructure; coordination between teams; communication with the business about status and expected resolution time; and, after the incident is closed, a post-incident review analysing root causes and opportunities to improve processes.
The change management process gains in importance in RISE. Every change, particularly one affecting the infrastructure layer, should go through a formal cycle. It starts with a change request defining what, why, when and what the impact will be. This is followed by a risk assessment analysing what could go wrong and what the contingency plans are. If the change affects infrastructure, it requires SAP approval. All stakeholders must be notified of the planned change, especially if it may affect system availability. Implementation takes place in an agreed maintenance window with proper documentation. After the change, verification confirms everything works as expected, and system documentation is updated.
Jarosław Zdanowski of SNOK notes: “Formalising processes is not bureaucracy. It is an investment in the predictability and quality of system operation. At SNOK, we helped our key manufacturing client build operational processes that now run like clockwork. The team knows exactly what to do in every situation, and management has full visibility into what is happening with critical systems.”
Responsibility in the shared control model
Ambiguity of responsibility is a source of conflict and delays. The key is clearly defining who is responsible, accountable, consulted and informed for each type of activity. This responsibility matrix should be a living document, agreed with SAP and updated as the collaboration matures.
For example, operating system updates are the responsibility of, and accountable to, SAP Cloud Operations, while the client team is merely informed. SAP kernel updates are SAP’s responsibility, but the partner and client teams are consulted on timing and potential impact. Production transports are the responsibility of, and accountable to, the client’s BASIS team; SAP is informed, and the business is consulted. Management of user authorisations is the responsibility of, and accountable to, the client team; the partner may act as a consultant, and SAP is not involved.
This clarity of responsibility eliminates situations where a problem is passed between teams, or where everyone assumes someone else is handling it.
Documentation as a tool for visibility
In an environment where you lack full technical visibility of the infrastructure, architectural documentation becomes your foundation. The configuration database should contain a detailed inventory of all SAP systems with identifiers, roles and landscape; a map of RFC connections between systems; a catalogue of integrations with non-SAP systems, including communication protocols and data exchange frequency; a list of critical batch jobs and their dependencies; a network topology from the application’s point of view; and a list of business process owners for each system.
This may sound like a lot of documentation work, but in practice it is life insurance. When something breaks in the middle of the night and SAP asks about the details of an integration deployed two years ago, it is good to have the answer in a documented configuration base, rather than searching through old emails or the memory of people who may no longer work at the company.
Architecture documentation should include logical network diagrams showing data flow between components, integration architecture showing all touchpoints with external systems, data flow diagrams for critical business processes, security architecture with trust boundaries and control points, and disaster recovery procedures and business continuity plans.
At SNOK, we use a documentation-as-code approach, creating diagrams in tools that allow versioning and easy updates. Documentation stops being a static PDF from 2019 and becomes a living artefact that evolves alongside the system.
Tools that compensate for limited access
SAP Cloud ALM is the central tool for managing the health and performance of RISE systems. It offers monitoring of availability and performance across all components, tracking and management of system changes, test management prior to deployments, monitoring of integrations and exceptions, and analysis of business processes and their performance. Unlike the older Solution Manager, Cloud ALM operates on a push model, where RISE systems automatically send telemetry, without requiring agent installation.
SecurityBridge, as a specialised SAP security platform, offers real-time threat detection, monitoring of suspicious user activity, more than one hundred and fifty automated security and compliance checks, vulnerability scanning in custom code, and machine-learning-based user behaviour analysis for anomaly detection.
Dariusz Kurkiewicz of SNOK emphasises: “SecurityBridge is a key tool for us in RISE projects. It compensates for the lack of access to the system layer through advanced application-level monitoring. Our clients often say they have better security insight than they ever had on-premise.”
SNOK has also developed its own monitoring framework that aggregates data from Cloud ALM, SecurityBridge and its own checks, correlates events from various sources to identify patterns, generates intelligent alerts that eliminate information noise, integrates with IT service management systems such as ServiceNow or Jira, and delivers management dashboards showing key system health indicators in business language.
Automation and intelligent tools as a new competitive advantage
In the RISE world, where direct technical intervention is limited, automation becomes not merely a nice-to-have, but a fundamental competence. This is precisely where BASIS administrators can demonstrate their real value, by building intelligent systems that work on their behalf.
Proactive alerting instead of reactive firefighting
Standard alerting functionality in SAP via transactions RZ20 and RZ21 allows configuration of automatic email notifications for critical events. You can set alerts for critical dumps in ST22, system errors in SM21, failed batch jobs in SM37, database alerts in DB02, or high work process utilisation. This is the baseline every team should have configured.
A more advanced approach is integration via webhooks. It does require some simple ABAP development using an HTTP client, but it opens up enormous possibilities. You can integrate with communication tools such as Slack or Teams for instant team notifications, automatically create tickets in ticketing systems with full problem context, or log events to external SIEM systems for correlation with events outside SAP.
UiPath as an extension of the BASIS team
SNOK is a partner of UiPath, which means we have deep expertise in combining process robotics with SAP administration. UiPath can automate routine responses to problems, taking over tasks that previously required manual administrator intervention.
A sample scenario for the automatic restart of a failed batch job works as follows. A UiPath robot monitors the SM37 transaction, detects a job that ended in error, and automatically checks the job log to understand the cause. If it is a transient problem such as a lock or timeout, the robot automatically restarts the job. If it is a persistent error, the robot creates a detailed ticket for the BASIS team, with full diagnostics, attachments and context.
Another example is proactive disk space management. A robot checks DB02 daily and detects table spaces used above eighty per cent. It then analyses the historical growth trend and predicts when usage will exceed ninety per cent. If the trend points to breaching that threshold within seven days, the robot creates a change request to SAP asking for space expansion. If usage has already exceeded ninety per cent, the robot generates a high-priority incident.
In the project for our manufacturing client, we automated around sixty per cent of routine BASIS responses. This freed up the team’s time for strategic projects such as business process optimisation, implementation of new integrations, or developing competence in SAP Business Technology Platform, instead of spending hours monitoring and reacting to routine problems.
Jarosław Zdanowski of SNOK emphasises: “Automation with UiPath is a game changer in a RISE environment. Robots do not sleep, do not take holidays, and never skip a step in the procedures. This gives teams peace of mind and confidence that all critical processes are monitored twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.”
Daily tasks worth automating
The daily system health review is a typical task that, in many organisations, takes up the first thirty minutes of an administrator’s day. A UiPath robot can take this over entirely. At seven in the morning, the robot logs into all development, test and production systems, runs a checklist covering ST22, SM21, SM37, DB02 and SM50, collects screenshots and data, generates a system health report, and sends it to the team’s communication channel or by email. The team arrives at work already having the full picture.
Transport monitoring is another area for automation. A robot can regularly check transport status in STMS, verify whether critical transports are queued for production according to plan, alert when a transport is stuck or has failed, and automatically generate an import schedule in the change management system.
User administration is also amenable to automation. A robot can process access requests coming from the HR system, create users with appropriate role assignments, handle password resets, and regularly clean up inactive users in line with security policy.
Monitoring licence compliance is a task that is often deferred due to how time-consuming it is. A robot can track usage of named-user licences, alert when approaching a licence limit, and generate regular usage reports for SAP licence audits.
Dashboards and visibility for management
One of the challenges in RISE is communicating system status to management in business language. Traditional technical metrics such as CPU utilisation or database response time mean little to an operations or finance director.
At SNOK, we build management dashboards that present key indicators in business context. Instead of transaction response time, we show order-processing time from intake to dispatch. Instead of system availability, we show the percentage of time users could work without disruption. Instead of the number of incidents, we show the impact on business processes and whether there were outages in critical operations.
For our manufacturing client, we built a dashboard showing health indicators for key production processes. The operations director sees on a single screen whether the production planning system is working correctly, whether the integration with production machinery is stable, whether warehouse management is processing transactions within the expected time, and whether the quality system is logging inspection results without delay. This is language that management understands and appreciates.
Dariusz Kurkiewicz of SNOK adds: “A good dashboard is a bridge between the technical and business worlds. Management does not need to understand what an ABAP dump or a work process is, but it does need to see whether systems are supporting the business effectively. Our dashboards present technology through the lens of business value.”
Practical takeaway: In a RISE environment, where direct intervention is limited, automation and intelligent tools become your competitive advantage. Instead of reacting to problems, you build systems that predict and resolve them automatically. This is not the future. It is the current standard for organisations that take RISE seriously.
A new era of opportunity for BASIS experts
RISE with SAP is not the end of the BASIS administrator’s role. It is a natural evolution of that role towards greater business value, strategic thinking, and the use of modern cloud tools. Traditional systems administration, based on direct access to infrastructure, is transforming into the role of a solutions architect who designs stable, secure and efficient systems supporting business processes.
Key lessons from the RISE transformation
First, embracing the new way of working instead of resisting it. Limitations in infrastructure access are not a design flaw. They are a deliberate architecture of security and standardisation that brings long-term benefits to the organisation. Teams that accept the new framework and learn to operate effectively within it will quickly appreciate the benefits of professional infrastructure management by SAP.
Second, communication and collaboration have become key competencies. In a RISE environment, you are the bridge between the business, technical teams and SAP Cloud Operations. The ability to clearly communicate problems, document decisions, and coordinate the actions of different teams is just as important as knowledge of SAP transactions and system parameters.
Third, automation and intelligent tools provide an advantage. Properly configured monitoring using Cloud ALM, SecurityBridge and in-house solutions, automation of routine tasks via UiPath, and proactive alerting can deliver better control and visibility than was ever possible on-premise. The difference lies in moving from reactive firefighting to strategic design of systems resilient to problems.
Fourth, documentation and processes are the foundation. In a world of shared responsibility, clearly documented architecture, transparent operational processes, and an up-to-date configuration database are life insurance for the whole organisation.
SNOK’s experience with client transformations
As a partner of SAP, Microsoft, UiPath and SecurityBridge with more than twenty-five years of experience in its consulting team, SNOK supports organisations throughout the entire RISE transformation cycle. It does not end with the technical migration. The real value emerges in developing a new operating model that leverages the strengths of cloud architecture.
Our key client in the manufacturing sector completed a full transformation of its SAP systems to RISE. At the outset, the BASIS team was concerned about whether it would be able to manage systems effectively without direct access. Together, we built a new operating model based on intelligent monitoring, automation of routine tasks, and structured collaboration with SAP. Today, a year into the new model, the team notes that its work has become more strategic, less routine, and more valued by company management.
As Jarosław Zdanowski summarises: “RISE is not just technology. It is a cultural shift within the organisation. Companies that approach the transformation comprehensively, investing in people, processes and tools, gain not only more stable systems, but also teams that are more engaged and see meaning in their work.”
Dariusz Kurkiewicz adds: “In our cybersecurity and BASIS team, we see how RISE raises the bar of professionalism. Instead of being firefighters, we become security architects. Instead of reacting, we predict. It is a fascinating evolution for anyone who wants to grow as an SAP expert.”
An invitation to dialogue
If your organisation is in the process of transforming to RISE, or is already operating within it but you feel there is room to work more effectively, we would be happy to share our experience. At SNOK, we understand the challenges facing technical teams in the cloud era, because we have gone through it many times ourselves alongside our clients.
We offer comprehensive support in building operational processes tailored to RISE, implementing monitoring and automation using Cloud ALM and SNOK’s own solutions, deploying SecurityBridge for application-level security, using UiPath to automate routine BASIS tasks, and developing team competencies for the new way of working.
A closing thought
A good BASIS administrator in the RISE era is not someone with root access. It is someone who can design a system to be stable, secure and efficient without the need for constant intervention. It is someone who, instead of firefighting, builds fire-prevention systems. It is someone who, instead of working alone, orchestrates the efforts of teams towards a shared goal.
The new RISE reality demands that we evolve. It is a more demanding role, but also a far more interesting and valuable one for the organisation. If you are a BASIS administrator facing a transformation to RISE, or already working within one, remember: your expertise is needed more than ever. Only the way it is applied is evolving.
We invite you to get in touch and exchange experiences. Technology changes, but the fundamentals remain the same: expertise, passion, and commitment to excellence in what we do.
Interested in BASIS management in RISE? Have questions about security, monitoring or automation in a cloud environment?
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SNOK - more than 25 years of experience in SAP, IT security and intelligent automation. Partner of SAP, Microsoft, UiPath, SecurityBridge, Lenovo, Intel, SuSE. We support organisations in digital transformation, ensuring the security, stability and efficiency of business-critical systems.