SAP Operational Excellence and

the Journey to ERP Modernization

Produced by:

Interview with

Atul Jain

SAP BASIS ADMINISTRATOR & ARCHITECT

Your transition to SAP S/4 HANA stands out as a significant move for your organization. Can you dive deeper into the challenges faced, strategies implemented, and key metrics you've been tracking?

Transitioning from our conventional non-SAP system to SAP S/4 HANA wasn't just about implementing a new software platform; it was a strategic shift. The predominant challenges were two-fold: assimilating new technology and aligning human resources to this technology. It necessitated a profound understanding of the platform, followed by intensive training sessions. Additionally, stakeholder alignment was essential, especially considering our strategic move to adopt a 'cloud-first' approach, where all our SAP activities would pivot to cloud-based operations.

As for the metrics, it's essential to have tangible measures to track success. System performance, user feedback, and response times stood out. Achieving a 300ms response time in our live SAP S/4 HANA system, for instance, was no minor feat. It serves as a testament to our team's commitment and the robustness of the system, particularly when you consider the extensive business operations it supports.

As for the metrics, it's essential to have tangible measures to track success. System performance, user feedback, and response times stood out.

In today's IT landscape, system uptime and security are paramount. Could you elaborate on your strategies and tools to ensure these aspects?

Uptime and security aren't just buzzwords for us; they form the core of our IT operations. Our approach towards ensuring uptime revolves around a well-planned maintenance schedule, allowing us to achieve the highest availability with minimal disruptions. We've designed our infrastructure for high availability, always ensuring that swift recoveries are possible.

Security, on the other hand, is a multi-tiered effort. We implement robust tools and protocols at both infrastructure and application levels. A case in point is our reliance on Onapsis for SAP applications, which offers active vulnerability scanning and timely mitigation.

Our approach towards ensuring uptime revolves around a well-planned maintenance schedule, allowing us to achieve the highest availability with minimal disruptions.

A phased approach offers a controlled, step-wise transition. By prioritizing system stability, we ensure that each phase adds value without causing disruptions.

The phased approach seems pivotal to your SAP S/4HANA implementation. Can you discuss its benefits and any other best practices you advocate?

Certainly. A phased approach offers a controlled, step-wise transition. By prioritizing system stability, we ensure that each phase adds value without causing disruptions. As we achieve stability, we sequentially migrate business units, thus minimizing the risk. Besides this, a robust disaster recovery system is non-negotiable. We've also invested heavily in edge setups, ensuring that data flows seamlessly and securely between our core systems and peripheral devices.

Talent acquisition and retention, especially in niche areas like SAP, can be challenging. How have you approached this?

SAP S/4HANA, being a specialized domain, certainly presents talent challenges. To bridge the skills gap, we've formed alliances with premier training platforms. Self-learning is encouraged, with our in-house resources, like guides and tutorials, playing a supportive role. By fostering continuous learning, we aim to have a team that’s not only adept at handling our current SAP operations but is also poised for future advancements in the domain.

By fostering continuous learning, we aim to have a team that’s not only adept at handling our current SAP operations but is also poised for future advancements in the domain.

Our association with Avantra is burgeoning. Its monitoring capabilities have been invaluable, and we’re keenly exploring its automation potential.

Given the rapid evolution in the SAP landscape and systems like Avantra coming to the forefront, how do you envision the future of your IT operations?

SAP’s continual evolution, exemplified by offerings like "Rise with SAP," promises to redefine the way businesses operate. While such solutions might cater to medium-scale businesses, our organization's complexity requires us to tread carefully. Our association with Avantra is burgeoning. Its monitoring capabilities have been invaluable, and we’re keenly exploring its automation potential, especially in system maintenance. Collaborations with industry stalwarts like Deloitte are also pivotal, though they come with their own set of challenges and opportunities. Ultimately, our goal remains unaltered: to harness technology and collaborations for maximal operational efficiency.

The adoption of cloud-first strategies, especially in large-scale operations like yours, often brings about considerations of data privacy and compliance. How do you navigate these complex terrains, ensuring that data is protected, and regulatory requirements are met?

Navigating the complex maze of data privacy and compliance is one of the most pressing concerns in today's digitized landscape, even more so when you're moving a behemoth like our organization to the cloud. Our strategy is multi-pronged.

Firstly, we've initiated regular audits and compliance checks. These aren't just to ensure we're on the right side of the law but also to cement stakeholder trust. Transparency with our clients, partners, and stakeholders about our data handling and storage practices is of utmost importance.

Next, we have collaborations with external consultants who specialize in regional regulations. Given our global footprint, it's essential to understand and adhere to local data protection laws, and these experts ensure we're always in compliance.

Lastly, and perhaps most crucially, is our ongoing training initiative. Every member of our IT team undergoes rigorous training to understand data privacy's nuances. They're updated about changes in international laws, ensuring that our systems and operations evolve with the changing regulatory landscape.

Technologies like SAP provide us with tools to monitor and control data access, ensuring that data privacy is never compromised. It's a continuous journey, but one we're committed to, ensuring that our move to the cloud is both efficient and secure.

Navigating the complex maze of data privacy and compliance is one of the most pressing concerns in today's digitized landscape.

Atul Jain is a SAP Basis Administrator and Architect, responsible for managing the infrastructure of the SAP system on Google Cloud Platform. His role also includes overseeing the SAP S/4 HANA systems, handling daily operations and ongoing projects, and acting as the primary liaison with integration partners for implementation decisions and changes.

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