Foodstuffs North Island Accelerates their SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.2 Ramp Up and Migration
NewreleasesofSAPBusinessObjectsoftenincludecompellingfeaturesandcapabilitiesthatcancreatebusinessvaluedriversforcustomerstomigratetothenewrelease.Historically,customersmightwaitforseveraldotreleasestofollowbeforedecidingto implement.SAPhasmaintaineda long-standing"RampUp"programtocreateabenchmarksetofcustomerstobeearlyadopters.ThispreviouslycamewiththerequirementforthecustomertoengageSAPforaRampUpCoachandassociated teammembers toguide thecustomer through thisprocess.Recently though,SAP lifted therequirement for a Ramp Up Coach and with that, Foodstuffs North Island (FSNI) in Auckland, NZ, selected EVTechnologiestoassistwithanewplatformandimplementationofSAPBusinessObjectsBI4.2.
A Thoughtful Plan HowdowehelpcustomersgetthroughasuccessfulSAPBusinessObjectsupgrade?WithSherlock,ofcourse.Sometimeago,wespokecandidlyonourvisionfor10stepstogettoBI4.Oneofthosewastostartwithasolidapproachtosizing.AswecontinuedownourpartnershipwithSAP,oneofthemostvaluableoutcomeshasbeenourredevelopmentoftheBI4SizingDashboard.Thisdata-drivenapproachtosizinghasallowedustoaccomplishafewkeythings:
1.RealisationthatwecouldretireNetWeaverforTomcatasthewebtierforthislandscape.
2.PropersizinganddistributionofservicesforSAPDesignStudioandSAPLumira.
The new BI 4 Sizing Estimator, powered by Sherlock
[email protected] +1 314.227.0115
Overcoming Obstacles Aswithmost upgradeprojects, and especiallywith SAPBusinessObjects being in RampUp, therewere somebumpsalongtheroad.However,FSNI isanexistingVirtualPlatformManagement(VPM)customerofEVTechnologies,whichmeantthattheEVTechnologiesteamhadagreatunderstandingofFSNI’ssystemsandarchitecture.EachchallengewasovercomewithEVTechnologiesplayingtheliaisonbetweenSAPSupport,FSNIbusinessusers,theinternalFSNIprojectteam,FSNIBasissupportandtheexpertiseoftheEVTechnologiesteamtoresolveallproject issues.ThissignificantlyreducedtheriskandpotentialbarrierstomovingtheprojectforwardforFSNI.
Furthermore,timingiseverything!AkeylandmarkfortheprojectwasthatFSNIwaspoisedtogothroughitsfinancialyear close at the end ofMarch 2016,which coincidedwith the implementation of the new SAP BusinessObjects 4.2platform.ThankstothepartnershipbetweenFSNI,EVTechnologies,andSAP,wewereabletomeetthetimelineandseeasuccessfulyear-endclose.
Exploiting the New Capabilities With FSNI nowupgraded from4.0 to 4.2 and in a business-as-usual state, itwas time for them to leverage thenewfunctionalityandtoolsintheBI4.2platform.BothSAPDesignStudioDashboardsandSAPLumirastoryboardsarebeingdeveloped and rolled out to the business as key innovations. Coming from a typical Analysis for OLAP and WebIntelligence site, the new visualisations in SAP Design Studio and data discovery capability in SAP Lumira are beingwarmly received by the end users who hadn't historically had access to these tools before. As part of the newarchitecture, FSNI are also looking at aMobile deployment strategy, which is included in the BI Suite. Themobilityfeaturesfreemanagementfromtheirdeskstobeabletoviewreportingandanalyticsonthemoveandmakeeffectivedecisionsontheshopfloor.
Final Word from FSNI “EmpoweringourMembersand thebroader cooperative tomakeeducated, insightful and timelydecisionsbasedonfactisakeyenableroftheFoodstuffsNorthIslandmission;‘MakingsureNewZealandersgetmoreoutoflife’. Withtheupgrade to SAPBusinessObjects4.2, ourAnalytics teamhasprovided the cooperativea significant step towardsenabling our BI goals for our Brands. Partnering with EV Technologies, leveraging their deep technical expertisecombinedwiththeirintegralrelationshipswiththeSAPproductsteams,waspivotalinensuringasuccessfuloutcomeinchallengingcircumstances.”
Withthat,therearesomekeylearnings:
• RampUpprovidesyouwithgreatearlyaccesstothesoftware,butbeawarethattheproductyouareworkingonwillneedtobepatcheduptotheGeneralAvailabilityrelease.
• Alwaystestthenewfunctionalityrigorouslytoensureitmeetsyoursaswellasyourendusers’expectations.• Don’t underestimate the dependency on the greater team such as VM, Networks, Database, SAP Basis and
Security.• WhendoinganupgradefromXI3.1orBI4.0,aside-by-sideupgradeistheupgradepathwiththelowestrisk,as
youcanalwaysrelyonyouroldersystemifyourBI4.2systemhasissuesthatneedtobeironedout.• Whendoingaside-by-sideupgrade,besure toallowforplentyof time for theLCMprocess ifcoming froma
BI4.xsystem.• Bereadytoanswertotheincreasedappetiteforcontentfromyourendusers,especiallynowwithSAPLumira
documentsbeingabletoruninyourBIPlatform.
