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Secure systems – both externally and internally: How we supported Frequentis AG with its SAP S/4HANA conversion

The speciality: fail-safe systems

Work emails. Private WhatsApp messages. Signs that show us the way. We have long since entered the age of communication. We could easily do without some of this information, whilst other information is vital for our survival. And in all areas where fail-safe communication systems are required – such as for the fire service, police, emergency services or air traffic control – you’ll find security solutions from Frequentis AG.

The Vienna-based company is the global market leader in safety-critical control centres. It develops and supplies hardware and software that meets particularly high safety standards. Whilst the company is headquartered in Austria, it operates worldwide. Consequently, 95 per cent of its turnover comes from countries outside Austria.

“For a safer world” – that is the group’s slogan. And this philosophy is reflected not only in its product range but also in the very DNA of the entire company. That is why particular attention is paid to modern internal systems, such as business management software. Security at every level, in other words – both externally and internally. No wonder Frequentis AG adopted SAP at an early stage – as far back as 1994.

Over the years, the company has expanded and now employs 2,200 staff. The SAP system grew steadily alongside it, but eventually reached its limits. And why the comparison with a spaceship? Well, we’ll come to that in a moment. In any case, it was clear at the time that a new, improved, modern SAP ERP system needed to be implemented – SAP S/4HANA. And our scc team was ready to help.

The SAP conversion at a glance

For this extensive project, we drew on a selection of SAP experts from across the entire scc Group – namely scc, Cross IT and HR Force – totalling ten consultants from the areas of Finance & Controlling, Materials Management, Sales, Human Resources, Analytics, Conversion Services and Infrastructure.

The Frequentis core team for the project, in turn, comprised twelve IT staff members as well as numerous colleagues from specialist departments such as Finance, Controlling, Procurement and HR – each responsible for specific specialist areas. The project was divided into several phases – we would like to outline the most important of these:

1

Roadmap:

The project began with a roadmap, which was drawn up jointly between March and October 2021. In this preliminary phase, the focus was on exploring new functions and analysing key areas of the ERP system, as well as the solutions and processes in use. It was also necessary to assess which approach would be most appropriate. Ultimately, the decision was made in favour of a brownfield migration – in other words, not a greenfield implementation, but a technical conversion from ECC 6.0 to S/4HANA – involving only the absolutely essential system adaptations.

2

Preparatory work:

In the next step, Frequentis AG carried out important preparatory work with our support. For example, the old ERP system was first brought up to date, a switch to Business Partners was carried out, and a number of minor tasks were completed, such as a cost accounting area consolidation. The first S/4HANA sandbox was also set up. From April onwards, a test system was therefore already available for trialling and better assessing all further steps and functions.

3

Project launch:

In February 2023, the kick-off meeting for the S/4HANA conversion finally took place. The preliminary considerations from the roadmap formed the basis for the project scope. The core project team met in weekly regular meetings to discuss progress and plan further activities.

4

Conversion runs:

A total of three SAP S/4HANA conversion runs were carried out on the test system. The fourth conversion run was also the live run – and thus marked the go-live of the new S/4HANA system.

5

Go-Live:

The go-live finally took place on 18 November 2023. The new system has therefore now been in operation for just under half a year.

6

Special case Fiori:

To avoid overwhelming users, Frequentis AG also decided to activate selected SAP Fiori apps for HCM before the project even began.

The key project objectives for Frequentis

The main objective was the complete migration of the SAP ECC solution to S/4HANA.

This was accompanied by a number of other objectives:

1

Focus on implementing necessary adjustments and identifying potential ‘quick wins’.

2

Reducing complexity in the ERP system by simplifying data structures (particularly FI/CO)

3

Providing a state-of-the-art ERP system as the basis for follow-up projects and upgrades

4

Successful implementation of the defined preliminary projects in accordance with the S/4HANA Readiness Check

5

Replacement of obsolete functions with equivalent S/4HANA successor solutions

6

Training of all users up to go-live

1

Focus on implementing necessary adjustments and identifying potential ‘quick wins’.

2

Reducing complexity in the ERP system by simplifying data structures (particularly FI/CO)

3

Providing a state-of-the-art ERP system as the basis for follow-up projects and upgrades

4

Successful implementation of the defined preliminary projects in accordance with the S/4HANA Readiness Check

5

Replacement of obsolete functions with equivalent S/4HANA successor solutions

6

Training of all users up to go-live

Challenges leading up to Day X

Among the greatest challenges of the SAP S/4HANA conversion were:

1

Strict schedule:

Adhering to the strict project timeline took priority over expanding the project scope to accommodate key milestones for Frequentis’ business.

2

Workarounds:

Certain aspects, such as a function for accruing revenue from maintenance contracts, are no longer supported by S/4HANA in the same way. Here, it was necessary to find workarounds or integrate proprietary SAP modules such as RAR. Another example was the required switch to Business Partners.

3

Ressources:

During such a conversion, normal operations must be maintained and must not be disrupted – the team had to manage all of this.

Conversion mastered, mission accomplished

The system has now been live for just under half a year and is functioning flawlessly – 24 hours a day. The estimated budget was also adhered to; in fact, more functionalities were implemented than originally planned. The excellent collaboration, the perfect division of tasks and the interactive approach, including conversion runs, were, amongst other things, key pillars of success for Frequentis AG. Or, to draw an analogy with the space industry: a spaceship also needs a few test flights beforehand. The first usually involves major problems; by the second, the system is already working better; by the third, you should be able to make it to landing; and by the fourth, everything finally runs smoothly. It was with this approach that the project was successfully completed.

The project was completed to the management’s complete satisfaction, and everyone was delighted with how smoothly it went. The conversion runs and the interactive approach were invaluable, as there are simply so many issues that need to be taken into account during a transition of this kind. Fiori, as the new user interface, was certainly a challenge and required intensive change management to support users through this transition. User feedback on response times and performance, thanks to the new HANA database, was very positive – in some cases, the first users were quite amazed at how quickly reports can now be retrieved. The resolution of outstanding items and so on also benefited the whole process – everything is now much more organised. Ultimately, it was the expertise and commitment of the business departments and the scc consultants that enabled the project to be completed within the estimated timeframe and to a high standard. And whenever we needed additional staff support from the scc Group at short notice, this was always provided.

Dr. Wolfgang Hutter

Head of IT ERP Business Solutions, Frequentis

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