Due to the high complexity of the overall system, critical system states repeatedly occurred during the import of the SAP transports, up to and including the shutdown of central SAP solutions during core working hours. An additional workload resulted for the IT staff from the manual execution of the transports and the preparation of audit documents in accordance with SOX and KWG requirements.
For CSS Versicherung, security and efficiency are top priorities in SAP development. SAP Basis administration therefore decided to optimize the execution of the transport processes required for the further development of business-critical SAP applications. The previously largely manual import of software and data changes resulted in a very high level of effort for the employees of the SAP Customer Competence Center (SAP CCC). At the same time, there was a high risk of system failures caused by an incorrect import sequence or incomplete transports.
“We wanted to sustainably reduce the risk of this central application failing due to development work,” explains Massimo Cangi.
The SAP team evaluated the options for Change Request Management with SAP Solution Manager and the functions offered by REALTECH SmartChange (formerly theGuard! SmartChange). The decision was ultimately made in favor of REALTECH SmartChange. The main reasons for this were faster implementation and simple adaptation to existing processes – without costly customizing. CSS also considered the detailed reporting functions of the software to be another plus point of the solution. These form the basis for a gapless documentation of all processes. Audit requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) or the German Banking Act (KWG) can thus be met much more quickly and with a high level of quality.
New products and services, continuous process improvements, changing organizational structures, and laws require permanent further development of SAP applications. However, changes in SAP systems harbor risks that can lead to the standstill of an organization’s central processes if errors occur. To minimize these, cross-departmental Change Management workflows and IT tools for an automated SAP transport system are urgently needed.
With REALTECH SmartChange software solution, SAP administrators from CSS can synchronize transports of ABAP and Java objects and transfer changes to SAP solutions securely and efficiently to productive operation. The approval processes mapped in the solution integrate the business department and the IT department in equal measure. This allows all parties involved to coordinate planned changes and analyze their impact on ongoing operational processes.
“After evaluating various alternatives, we opted for Transport Management from REALTECH SmartChange. We were impressed by the rapid implementation as well as the deep integration into SAP,” explains Massimo Cangi, SAP Basis Responsible, CSS Versicherung.
Thanks to the implementation of Transport Management from REALTECH SmartChange, CSS’s SAP specialists are now able to import transports into the SAP landscape more securely, efficiently, and transparently and traceably at all times. Completeness and collision checks now run automatically and reduce the risk of system failures to a minimum. Thanks to a comprehensive authorization concept and complete documentation of changes, change processes are securely documented for auditing.
The implementation also enabled CSS to meet all central requirements for SAP Transport Management. For example, the change and release processes were standardized with the involvement of the specialist departments and an individual authorization concept for releases was introduced. The availability and consistency of the SAP systems is now significantly higher, as collisions and overtaking in the SAP transport system are avoided.
“We are highly satisfied with Transport Management from theGuard! SmartChange, as we can now use a central tool to plan and control our SAP transports across divisions. This effectively prevents downtime of business-critical productive systems due to incorrect changes and significantly reduces the workload of our SAP CCC staff,” explains Massimo Cangi excitedly.
CSS
With over 1.73 million insured persons, CSS Group is one of the leading Swiss health, accident and property insurers. With 1.31 million insured persons in compulsory health insurance, CSS is the largest basic insurer in Switzerland. Founded in 1899, CSS Versicherung today employs 2,500 people and has a premium volume of 5.1 billion Swiss francs (4.11 billion euros).
With the introduction of Transport Management from REALTECH SmartChange, we were able to noticeably reduce the workload of our internal SAP CCC team and sustainably minimize the risk of system malfunctions: By automating our transport management processes, the responsible employees save valuable time that can be used for new projects and innovations.
Massimo Cangi, SAP Basis Manager, CSS Versicherung