Scapa

Employees: 1.300

Turnover: £291m

Moving to the Cloud

In collaboration with NTT DATA Business Solutions, who have been supporting their SAP landscape since 2016, the organisation reviewed Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) options. Scapa’s preference was to move forward with an IaaS model using Microsoft Azure due to previous positive experiences of hosting solutions on the Azure platform. NTT DATA Business Solutions provided guidance and advice with a structured plan to move from their SAP on premise landscape to a managed cloud environment. This included the timing, sequencing and logistics in order to migrate to development, test and live environments.

The migration project ran from January to May 2018 with Scapa now running a safe and secure SAP environment. Savings have been significant at circa £0.5m on a like for like basis, achieved through reduced energy costs and simplified IT infrastructure administration. The migration to the new platform has enabled Scapa to establish a comprehensive disaster recovery plan and business continuity plan. Previously, switching between primary and secondary environments would have been highly technical and complex but is now achievable in minutes. The secondary environment encompasses the complete SAP landscape with interfaces, printers, labelling and access points all fully tested. Vulnerabilities have been dramatically reduced and clear communication processes enabled.

Scapa operate an internal SAP support function that is augmented by NTT DATA Business Solutions SAP Support (SAP AMS). The interface between Scapa and the NTT DATA Business Solutions Service Desk is now critical to maintaining an effective SAP solution. The close collaboration has resulted in the operation of a single support team with key NTT DATA Business Solutions consultants operating in both a support role and as a functional analyst with deep technical knowledge of the Scapa environment. The migration project was delivered on time and to budget with the responsiveness of the NTT DATA Business Solutions SAP Support team being a major factor in the project success. With a new managed cloud environment, Scapa is ideally placed to continue their digital journey. Current plans include a review of SAP S/4HANA and alignment to the SAP roadmap to ensure the organisation continues to get the most out of SAP and its future innovations.