Neste’s SAP platform cloud migration with Sogeti

Neste (NESTE, Nasdaq Helsinki) creates solutions for combating climate change and accelerating a shift to a circular economy. The company refines waste, residues and innovative raw materials into renewable fuels and sustainable feedstock for plastics and other materials.

As the world’s leading producer of sustainable aviation fuel and renewable diesel and a forerunner in developing renewable and circular feedstock solutions for polymers and chemicals, Neste helps its customers to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20 million tons annually by 2030.

The company’s ambition is to make the Porvoo oil refinery in Finland the most sustainable refinery in Europe. Neste is committed to reaching carbon-neutral production by 2035, and will reduce the carbon emission intensity of sold products by 50% by 2040. Neste has also set high standards for biodiversity, human rights and the supply chain. The company has consistently been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices and the Global 100 list of the world’s most sustainable companies. In 2023, Neste’s revenue stood at EUR 22.9 billion.

Client challenge: Following the implementation of SAP S/4HANA using on-premises data centers, Neste sought to migrate critical SAP platforms to the cloud without disrupting business operations during agreed downtime. With Neste expanding its business across multiple countries globally, they desired an independent assessment of quality. Sogeti leveraged its proven expertise in all the areas of quality assurance supported by the best-in-class QA professionals and processes.

Solution: Sogeti, as a Quality Engineering and Testing (QE&T) partner, has been firmly entrenched in its longstanding relationship with Neste since 2013.  Sogeti’s strategic approach with a team of experts for each functional area, incorporating test automation, performance testing, and security testing make them a trustworthy partner.

Benefits of cloud migration:

• Improved scalability and flexibility
• Stronger cybersecurity
• Zero disruption to business operations and business continuity
• 35% reduction in carbon emissions*

* Based on the calculation by Neste’s partner using the Sustainable IT Playbook Emissions Calculator

Neste has evolved significantly over the past decade, transforming from a local oil refining company to a global leader in renewable products. With a deep commitment to environmental sustainability, Neste positions itself as a pioneer in renewable and circular solutions, striving for global leadership.

Recognising the need for operational improvement, the company took a substantial step in migrating its SAP platform from traditional on-premise data centers to the dynamic Microsoft Azure cloud environment. Each decision is guided by Neste’s values, reinforcing its dedication to a sustainable future.

Sogeti has been Neste’s preferred testing partner for almost a decade now. Sogeti supports Neste in their IT transformation journey by providing a 360-degree view on quality in all the areas of testing. Sogeti is supporting Neste in areas like test management, functional testing, non-functional testing, and test automation. Additionally, Sogeti is involved in establishing the Test Center of Excellence (TCoE) to define the testing processes and best practices across the organisation.

Solving challenges

Having successfully implemented SAP and converted to S/4HANA in its refineries and terminals, Neste faced the challenge of maintaining a robust ERP environment. The initial infrastructure, housed in on-premise data centers, demanded constant investment for renewals and upgrades. Neste needed a strategic shift to the public cloud to fortify its cyber security, infrastructure, and scalability, aligning with the company’s commitment to sustainability.

Efficient testing solution

Neste collaborated with their partner to finalise the migration strategies, leveraging the collective strengths of the partners, and setting the stage for a successful and well-executed migration.

Sogeti’s testing approach was pragmatic and focused on results. They deployed subject matter experts and testing specialists to ensure efficiency. The plan included a comprehensive test strategy covering both functional and performance testing. Sogeti’s solution involved meticulous execution and a focus on post-rollout optimisation of Neste’s Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) solution.

Sogeti established a comprehensive test case repository and best practices guide, streamlining the testing processes. This long-standing documentation not only reduces the learning curve for testers, but also serves as a valuable resource for navigating Neste’s unique systems and adapting to evolving fields and new applications seamlessly.

“Sogeti played an important role during the SAP to Azure migration. When transitioning business-critical environments to cloud, it is imperative to conduct successful testing to ensure the quality, and thereby minimise possible business risks.” Marko Mäki-Ullakko, Head of ERP Transformation, Neste

Benefits realised

The collaborative efforts yielded substantial benefits for Neste:

• Reliability and scalability: achieved heightened reliability and scalability of systems.
• Performance improvement: systems witnessed marked improvement in performance.
• Market readiness: enhanced preparedness for product launches and market deployment.
• Security: ensured the robust security of Neste’s systems within the Azure environment.
• Risk mitigation: The risk of downtime during the migration was significantly minimised.

The future and partnership progress

Looking ahead, Neste aims to run SAP in a cost-effective and environmentally friendly way on the public cloud infrastructure. The partnership with Sogeti will continue to evolve, focusing on developing optimisation capabilities, eliminating unused capacity, and improving cost awareness. Neste’s overall integrated SAP journey to support its strategy will progress, with a gradual adoption of new S/4HANA capabilities.

“In highly business-critical transformations, such as in this case migration of 17 critical applications to cloud, the importance of well-organised test management, end-to-end quality assurance and testing, is paramount to ensuring successful business continuity. This engagement was delivered as part of our Managed Testing Services to Neste, which we have developed together over the years. Neste management has demonstrated consistency and leadership in progressively advancing the service across all Neste operations, which has been the key to success.” Juha Vaitilo, CSO, Quality Engineering & Testing Practice Leader, Sogeti Finland