Transforming Real-Time Data Integration and Analytics at Esri with SAP Landscape Transformation (SLT)

Company Overview

Esri, headquartered in Redlands, California, is a leading American multinational geographic information system (GIS) software company. Renowned for its ArcGIS products, Esri holds the largest market share in the GIS software industry. The company is committed to providing cutting-edge solutions that help organizations manage and analyze spatial data effectively. To enhance its data management and analytics capabilities, Esri partnered with CyberTech, a leading IT solutions provider, to address its legacy data integration challenges.

Challenges

Esri faced challenges with its legacy data integration processes, which hindered their fast-paced environment where up-to-the-minute data was essential for market analysis, demand forecasting, customer service, resource optimization, and decision-making. Other challenges faced:

• Data Latency : The existing system, managed by Theobald Software, relied heavily on batch processing, leading to significant data latency
• Hindered Real-Time Analytics – Data latency hindered real-time analytics and decision-making, which were critical in Esri’s fast-paced environment
• Need for Up-to-the-Minute Data – Esri required up-to-the-minute data for market analysis, demand forecasting, customer service, resource optimization, and strategic decision-making
• Complex Data Integration – The legacy system’s complex data integration processes made it difficult to maintain data integrity and consistency

Solution

To address these challenges, SAP Landscape Transformation (SLT) Replication Server was chosen. CyberTech implemented SLT, a powerful data replication tool within the SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP). SLT enables real-time replication of data from both SAP and non-SAP systems to the SAP HANA database, ensuring that data is always current and accessible.

Implementation Lifecycle

After completing the POC on a sandbox system to prove the capabilities of the tool, actual implementation project was taken up and completed in 4 months.

Technical Specifications

Significant Obstacles

Significant obstacles encountered during the process- Conversion exits, history tables automation, time stamp formats were some challenges encountered which were resolved by the team using their expertise in the core S/4HANA system and SLT tool.

Business Functions Strengthened

Benefit

• Capture and Replicate Data in Real-Time – SLT captured and replicated changes in Esri’s ERP system (SAP) to the target SAP HANA database with minimal latency, ensuring that data was always up-to-date.
• Minimized Disruption – The implementation was carried out with zero downtime, ensuring business continuity and minimizing operational disruptions.
• Data Filtering and Transformation – SLT allowed for data filtering and transformation during replication, ensuring that only relevant and high-quality data was transferred to the target system.
• Real-Time Analytics – With real-time data available in SAP HANA, Esri could perform advanced analytics and reporting, gaining valuable insights into their operations and making informed decisions
• Increased ROI and Cost Savings – The decommissioning in due course of the expensive legacy tool will result in significant savings

Testimonial

CyberTech Systems and Software Inc.