A Financial Pitstop: How Aricoma Guided the ČSOB Group Through a Successful Migration to SAP S/4HANA

ČSOB is part of the international financial group KBC Group NV. The ČSOB Group is one of the leading providers of financial services in the Czech Republic and comprises a number of specialist companies, such as Hypoteční banka, ČSOB Pojišťovna, ČSOB Stavební spořitelna, ČSOB Penzijní společnost, ČSOB Leasing, ČSOB Factoring and Patria Finance.

ČSOB faced the need to completely modernise its key SAP environment and migrate to the SAP S/4HANA platform. The main driver was the impending end of support for the existing solution, which created significant pressure for technological transformation. The bank was grappling with growing demands for performance, flexibility and speed of data processing. At the same time, the business required faster innovation and better reporting, which called for the simplification of the complex IT environment and a reduction in operating costs.

The aim was to carry out the migration with minimal impact on operations, maintain the continuity of critical processes and integrations, ensure high data quality, and create a technological foundation for further digitalisation. Given the extreme complexity, it was clear from the outset that no one could manage such a massive transformation on their own. That is precisely why specialists from Aricoma came on board, offering extensive experience, a pragmatic approach and the ability to manage even the most complex challenges. The experts from Aricoma became a key partner, as they were able to precisely address both the technical and procedural aspects of the migration.
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The aim of the entire project was to transform the existing SAP environment through a combination of greenfield development and selective data migration within a large-scale and complex IT landscape. Led by Aricoma’s specialists, the project spanned two countries, fifteen companies, thirteen thousand users, a 20 TB environment, 34 servers and more than 150 integration interfaces. It was also important to coordinate with other suppliers regarding related deliverables in the areas of HR and Procurement. The main challenge was coordinating such a large-scale environment, ensuring business continuity and managing a high degree of complexity. The project was organised across several functional streams.

Although the project was primarily managed using the waterfall methodology, it required a high degree of flexibility from Aricom’s experts, ongoing adaptation on a weekly basis, regular review of priorities, rapid decision-making and proactive risk management. To minimise downtime, we designed a robust plan for the final migration with minute-by-minute granularity and carried out several rounds of test migrations. We carefully integrated the SAP S/4HANA platform and the FIORI user interface into the solution and ensured connectivity to the Product Factory systems and the CEB payment interface. It is abundantly clear from the execution that, without Aricoma’s leadership and cutting-edge expertise, such a complex project could not have been successfully brought to a conclusion.
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