Project
Transformation to RISE with SAP: Conversion to S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition
Client
Services
SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition
SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP)
Industry
Engineering & Construction
Background
OHLA is a global infrastructure group with more than 110 years of history and a strong presence in highly complex EPC projects. Its OHLA Industrial division delivers turnkey projects in energy, mining, cement, and fire protection, and has been a pioneer in the design and operation of renewable energy plants.
Since 2015, ASPA has partnered with OHLA Industrial in the implementation, evolution, and governance of its SAP systems, ensuring stable operations in an environment where reliability and cost control are critical for large-scale industrial contracts.
Overview
Since 2015, ASPA has supported OHLA Industrial in the continuous evolution of its SAP landscape, ensuring operational stability in a highly demanding sector. In 2021, the company decided to modernize its system through a brownfield conversion to RISE with SAP – S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition, combining technological renewal with process optimization.
The initiative included the migration from SAP ECC (AIX/DB2), the transition of all integrations from SAP PI/PO to SAP BTP Integration Suite, the replacement of the legacy ESS portal with Fiori applications, and the retirement of obsolete components in favor of SAP standard functionality. In addition, document management was consolidated into an integrated cloud-based repository.
Goals
The project aimed to ensure a seamless transition to a more modern and secure cloud environment.
OHLA Industrial sought to maintain business continuity across its core processes while adopting new technological capabilities such as BTP, Fiori, and cloud extensibility, improving overall system performance and modernizing critical functions like document management and employee self-services.
In parallel, the initiative was designed to reduce the complexity of a demanding on-premise infrastructure, optimize total cost of ownership, and establish a platform ready for continuous business evolution without compromising core stability.
Challenge
The conversion from a SAP ECC environment running on AIX/DB2 represented a significant technical challenge. It required the adaptation of custom developments, review and adjustment of Z code for S/4HANA, data conversion, redesign of integrations, and modernization of legacy functionalities such as ESS or VIM.
All of this had to be executed within a very tight timeframe and with minimal operational risk, in an EPC business highly sensitive to any disruption. The cutover was successfully completed with a downtime window of less than six hours, ensuring full business continuity.
Strategic Transformation
With this project, OHLA Industrial migrated its critical systems to a next-generation cloud environment, gaining improved performance, enhanced security, and direct access to continuous innovation.
The move to RISE with SAP – S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition provides a modern technological foundation with superior performance and immediate access to SAP’s innovation roadmap. The adoption of SAP BTP Integration Suite modernized the integration architecture, reducing legacy dependencies and enabling both current and future integrations.
In addition, the introduction of Fiori and the modernization of document-related processes delivered a clear improvement in usability and mobility. Overall, OHLA Industrial has taken a decisive step toward a far more agile and sustainable cloud operating model.
Results
In just six months, OHLA Industrial successfully completed its transition from a traditional ECC environment to RISE with SAP – S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition, maintaining full operational stability throughout the process.
The conversion was executed with a downtime window of less than six hours, a remarkable achievement for a mission-critical system. The new environment delivers improved performance through SAP HANA, a modern user experience with Fiori, a simplified integration architecture via BTP, and a significant reduction in TCO by eliminating owned infrastructure and obsolete solutions. The result is a modern, efficient platform ready to scale as business needs evolve.
Long-term Value
The new RISE-based platform lays the foundation for continuous digital transformation. OHLA Industrial now benefits from a modern, scalable architecture open to innovation, including advanced analytics, automation, RPA, generative AI, and any future integrations required by the business. This project establishes a solid technological foundation for the coming years, providing the agility needed to address new challenges in the engineering and construction sector.