Anyone operating an SAP Basis landscape knows the pattern: day-to-day business runs stably until a bottleneck suddenly arises. A colleague is absent, a transport needs to be prioritized at short notice, or a system copy is due for which internal capacity is simply lacking. Classic operating models rarely react flexibly to such situations because they are designed for fixed scopes of services and long-term contractual commitments. This is precisely where Manage Now’s SAP Basis RSM Flex Support comes in.

The Problem with Classic SAP Basis Contracts

Companies with their own SAP Basis team often face a dilemma. Internal capacity is usually sufficient for ongoing operations, but in-depth knowledge is often lacking for specific specialized topics such as authorization management, transport management, or complex migration steps. A full-service contract with a provider would be oversized and would mean relinquishing operational responsibility that should ideally remain in-house. A classic consulting mandate, on the other hand, is too cumbersome for short-term, small-scale requests.

The consequence: knowledge gaps remain unclosed, bottlenecks delay projects, and teams work at their limit, even though external support would only be needed selectively.

What RSM Flex Support Does Differently

RSM Flex Support is an SAP Basis expert pool that is booked by hour contingent, not by a rigid scope of services, and you decide how to use these hours: for daily support with technical questions, for individually bookable services such as authorization management or ticket processing, or for defined project packages such as system copies, upgrades, and migrations.

The decisive difference from classic managed services models lies in the distribution of responsibility. With Classic RSM, the provider assumes full operational responsibility, bound by an SLA and a contractually defined scope. RSM Flex Support works differently: the customer organization retains operational responsibility but flexibly adds expertise and capacity when needed. Instead of an SLA, an agreed service time applies, within which services are provided according to priority.

Classification: RSM Flex Support, Classic RSM, and TAMS in Comparison

Even in comparison to TAMS within the framework of RISE with SAP, the model’s unique character becomes apparent. While TAMS also offers flexibly selectable services and hour packages, the basic responsibility remains shared between the customer and SAP. With RSM Flex Support, it clearly lies with the customer, while Manage Now supports as an expert pool in the background. For companies that want to manage their SAP Basis governance themselves but occasionally rely on external specialized knowledge, this is a significant difference.

How Hour Contingents Work in Practice

Unused hours do not expire immediately. They are carried over to subsequent months of the same quarter and only expire at the end of the quarter. If the contingent is exceeded, additional hours are billed at the end of the quarter based on actual effort, aligned with qualification and agreed T&M rates. Additionally, the booked package can be adjusted for subsequent months within the current quarter if needs change. The model is therefore not only flexible in use but also in management.

Service delivery itself follows clear framework conditions: standard from Monday to Friday between 8 AM and 5 PM CET/CEST, in German or English, with the option to book on-call duty, weekend work, or monitoring and reporting. A one-time technical basic fee covers the secure provision of administration access, for example, via a dedicated Advanced Admin Host in Azure.

Who RSM Flex Support is Suitable For

This model is particularly well-suited for companies that generally have their SAP Basis landscape under control but repeatedly encounter capacity limits or require specific expertise on an ad-hoc basis. Typical scenarios include bottlenecks due to personnel changes or vacation periods, complex authorization topics that rarely occur internally, or clearly defined technical projects such as a system copy or an upgrade for which no permanent capacity should be built up.