Case Study – Retail

Digital transformation of a leading retail company with Altostratus and AWS

On its journey toward digital transformation, one of the largest retailers in Spain and Europe began a modernization process of its SAP infrastructure with the goal of improving scalability, performance, and security. Operating with systems like SAP HANA, SAP S/4HANA, SAP Fiori, and SAP SLT on on-premise servers, the company needed a more flexible and efficient solution to optimize operations and meet growing business demands.

To achieve this, they trusted Altostratus, part of Telefónica Tech, to design and implement a migration strategy to AWS, ensuring a scalable, secure, and future-ready infrastructure.

The Challenge: An infrastructure with operational limitations

The on-premise infrastructure presented multiple challenges that compromised the company’s efficiency and growth. In an increasingly demanding environment, the system began to show limitations in key areas:

Restricted scalability, making it difficult to manage demand peaks and expand operations.
High operational costs, due to constant hardware maintenance and upgrades.
Complexity in security and compliance, with critical interdependencies between SAP systems and increased data management risks.
Manual processes and lack of automation, slowing down key tasks and increasing the risk of errors.

To ensure sustainable technological evolution and minimize risks, the company needed a more agile and optimized infrastructure. Migrating to AWS, with the support of Altostratus, became the key strategy to transform its technological environment.

A structured and secure approach to SAP Migration on AWS

The project was carried out in two main phases to ensure a controlled transition with no impact on business operations. In parallel, SAP HANA was modernized to ensure the platform was fully optimized before final deployment. To maximize performance and security, the strategy included:

Pre-assessment with a Migration Readiness Assessment (MRA), identifying risks and optimizing planning.
Phased migration, using SAP HANA System Replication and export/import strategies to ensure continuity.
Scalable architecture on AWS, with segmented environments for development, QA, and production, managed through AWS Control Tower.
Automation with Ansible and Terraform, reducing manual tasks and improving operational efficiency.
Enhanced security, with advanced encryption and network segmentation to ensure comprehensive protection.

Results: greater efficiency, security, and cost optimization

The migration of SAP to AWS marked a significant turning point for the company, providing a more modern and agile technological foundation capable of overcoming the limitations of the previous system. Among the main benefits achieved, the following stand out:

Seamless migration, ensuring the continued operation of SAP HANA, SAP S/4HANA, and related systems.
Improved performance, with optimized processing times and better responsiveness.
More secure infrastructure, with network segmentation and advanced data encryption.
Scalability and flexibility, enabling dynamic resource adjustment based on operational demand.
Automation and efficiency, reducing manual intervention and improving SAP environment management.
Cost optimization, thanks to the reduction of physical infrastructure and the pay-as-you-go model in AWS.

A future focused on operational sustainability

Thanks to the adoption of AWS, the company now has a flexible and scalable infrastructure capable of meeting business demands without limitations. The reduction in operational complexity has allowed internal teams to focus on strategic initiatives and the implementation of new capabilities, strengthening their market competitiveness.

With this transformation, the company has not only modernized its infrastructure but also laid the foundation for sustainable growth in the digital age.