RS Components has upgraded its SAP installation using SAP’s “near zero downtime” service – the first use of this process to upgrade SAP in the UK.
When upgrading SAP with conventional methods, system downtime can be greater than two days. For RS, this would have had an unacceptable effect on its operations. Near zero downtime records live transactions to an upgraded “offline” copy of the system that is kept in synch with the current online system. This allows for a quick transition from the old to the new system at cutover.
RS upgraded its systems over just one weekend reducing the operational impact on its business. Because both the old and the new systems were available up until the cutover, this reduced the risk of the upgrade to the business.
“The upgrade was a significant undertaking achieved with minimal impact to our service and ultimately our customers,” said Phil Cook, global IT director at RS parent Electrocomponents. “It was made possible due to great team work across the Group and with our partners SAP and Atos. We now have an operational platform that will support the global growth of our business and prepares us for a rollout of SAP into Asia.”
In parallel with the SAP upgrade in UK and EMEA, RS also transitioned all of its key applications from legacy data centres in London to a new ‘utility’ based infrastructure service, operated by Atos, in Scotland.
