SAP Public Cloud Implementation at Ocilion
From a Bulletin Board to the Public Cloud – The Ocilion Success Story
In just six months, we transitioned from a custom-built inventory management system and BMD to a modern cloud-based ERP system—we’re thrilled to celebrate this successful go-live with Ocilion IPTV Technologies GmbH and would like to share a few behind-the-scenes insights.
A bulletin board, two notes, three clear rules – that was the starting point in April 2023 at Ocilion.
- Rule No. 1: We define WHAT, not HOW
- Rule No. 2: ERP process before your own process
- Rule No. 3: We define what is NOT within the scope
In the previous issue of “SAPspots” magazine (No. 20 – Dec. 2023), we discussed the differences between on-premise, private, and public cloud solutions, and we can therefore conclude that the guiding principles formulated by Ocilion are ideally suited for a public cloud implementation. After many years using a custom-programmed merchandise management system and BMD as its financial system, Ocilion decided to implement a new ERP system. As a provider of its own cloud solutions, it quickly became clear that on-premise was no longer an option, and during the pre-selection process, the SAP Public Cloud impressed with a customized demo. “We made a conscious decision to stick with the standard. With the public cloud, we have minimal operational overhead and remain future-proof,” says Hermann Grabner.
The project kicked off in July 2023, and just a few days later, the fully configured starter system was available, complete with test data. “The starter system is essential so that everyone speaks the same language. Through ‘show-and-tell’ sessions in the Fit-to-Standard workshops, we walk through the processes directly in the system. With a small team of consultants and subject matter experts, we were able to work very efficiently across modules and departments and translate the requirements into SAP. However, due to the standardization of the public cloud, we had to accept a few workarounds here and there. For example, SAP now only allows percentage-based partial invoices for orders, not value-based ones,” says Wolfgang Wiesmayr. The solution here was to switch to service agreements or sales contracts. This actually allowed the real-world processes to be mapped even more accurately.
Based on the results of the workshops, the originally estimated workload was reevaluated, and the development and test system was set up by the end of August. The relevant best-practice items—which are included in the Customizing delivery, among other things—were activated, and the processes were configured and tested.
“Without the highly motivated project team at Ocilion, we would not have been able to complete the project so successfully—from the very beginning, a wide range of scenarios were tested on the starter system and later on the test system. Their familiarity with the system was also evident in the fact that the department contributed its own solution proposals for handling more complex business processes, which were subsequently implemented,” said Wolfgang Wiesmayr. After two successful integration tests, the time had come—the go-live at the turn of the year went off without a hitch, and the first invoices were issued as early as the second day.
When asked how things are going with the system after a few months, Hermann Grabner replies: “Great—the analytics alone are a dream. What used to take days of work to compile is now available in a minute, and the seamless integration is simply fantastic. But you should always make sure that when introducing new processes, you don’t fall back into old habits. What good is a modern fleet to me if, in the end, I’m just harnessing the ox again and not taking advantage of the system’s performance?”
Related posts
