Imagine: you have a huge house (okay, a palace!), and you need to transport it from one end of a continent to the other, along with its inhabitants, without them noticing! This is how we can describe the goals of one of the largest and most technically complex projects ever implemented by IT Infrastructure and Information Security Division team together with our strategic partner, AUXO.
We are talking about a project to migrate product landscapes of SAP systems to Russia carried out in the interests of our key Customer. This project included migration of more than 350 servers and virtual machines, as well as data and systems serving over 10,000 users from a data centre in Europe to two new data centres in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Since the operation of the system has a direct impact on many plants of the Customer’s Group of Companies, both in Russia and abroad, our team had an impressive responsibility and we could only count on success. At the same time, it was necessary not only to ensure scalability and better performance, but also to guarantee maximum reliability, fail-safe behaviour and data protection. The project was completed with minimal downtime, involving more than 2,500 concurrent sessions and more than 1,000 integration links with other systems, which shows its enormous scale and complexity. Today we will talk with the leaders and key participants of that project, we will discuss all the details and challenges they had to face.Denis, please tell us how it all began?
Denis Abramenko (project leader): It all started with a clear understanding of how large and complex this migration would be. We had to move critical IT infrastructure from Europe to Russia and that required not just moving data, but a complete redesign of IT landscape. The first step was to carefully plan. We developed a detailed schedule, identified the main stages and key tasks, and also assessed all potential risks. In parallel with this, we actively interacted with stakeholders - the Customer’s management, our partners and everyone who was involved in the project. An important part of the project start-up was team-building: we attracted the best specialists, distributed roles and began preparing the infrastructure for the upcoming changes. From the very beginning, it was clear that this project would require coordinated operations, prompt decisions and a high degree of responsibility from each participant.
Denis, tell us about the role you played in the project and what were the tasks you faced?
Denis Abramenko (project leader): In this project, my role was a team leader and I was responsible for the successful implementation of milestones to the Customers, i.e. from initial planning to final testing and implementation of solutions. The main task was not only to migrate product systems from a data centre in Europe to two new data centres in Russia, but also to ensure their scalability, reliability and fail-safety, while minimizing all potential risks. I defined key project goals, coordinated interactions with stakeholders, including company management and the Customer management, and managed resource allocation. Monitoring of deadlines, budget and project milestones was a priority for me. An important part of my job was making strategic decisions and quickly resolving problems to ensure that all goals were achieved.
A large team was involved in the project. Victoria, as a project manager, you have probably encountered a number of difficulties. Which ones would you rate as the most significant?
Viktoria Beitel (project manager): The project was difficult indeed and one of the difficulties was coordination of operations inside our big team with over 4 member in peak moments. Thorough preparation was the important stage: development of a detailed schedule, identification of relations between tasks. That gave us clear understanding which stages and which operations needed to be done and that allowed to avoid ritical incidents. However even with such careful preparation there were some unforeseen situations, for example, issues with data copying between data centres and that could cause delays. We had to quickly arrange migration of the data storage system from Moscow to St. Petersburg to hit the deadline.
Dmitry, as a team leader of IT infrastructure unit and a chief architect of the IT infrastructure, you are probably closely involved in technical aspects of the project. What technical solutions were the most difficult to implement?
Dmitry Urvantsev (team leader, IT infrastructure unit, chief architect of IT infrastructure): So yes, the project demanded a highly qualified technical approach. One of the most challenging tasks was to re-design the IT infrastructure of SAP systems landscape on the fly and to develop passports for systems. Equally important was ensuring high availability (HA). That included testing of scenarios for switching between key components of the system and that was vital for supporting continuity of the Customer’s business processes. Another problem lies with optimization of networking where we reviewed and optimized over 6,000 rules of internetworking. It is also worth noting the extensive work on reorganizing the terminal farm, which required the introduction of non-standard technical solutions.
Alexey, the role of information security in such a project is difficult to overestimate. How did you ensure the security of data and systems during the migration process?
Alexey Nikiforov (chief architect of information security): Safety assurance is one of the key priorities at all stages of the project. We needed to guarantee that no data was lost or compromised during the migration process. To achieve this, we developed and implemented comprehensive security measures that included access control, seamless reconnection to centralized information security tools, and real-time activity monitoring taking into account infrastructure and application systems were being transformed on the fly. In addition, it is important to consider that we were transferring data between different countries: this imposed additional requirements for compliance with legislation and security standards.
Victoria, you mentioned that at peak times the team consisted of more than 40 members. How did you coordinate such a large group of specialists and business representatives, and what role did the strategic partner play?
Viktoria Beitel: The project actually involved a significant staff of CSC-IT specialists, representatives of the Customer and experts from our strategic partner AUXO. To effectively manage such a large team, we used flexible project management methods (for example, Kanban), which allowed us to quickly respond to changes and emerging difficulties. Plus, we worked closely with our other strategic partners, especially in times of lack of resource. Involving external IT infrastructure architects became a key decision for the successful completion of critical stages of the project.
Denis, how did you manage to maintain control over the project’s time frame given the difficulties that arose?
Denis Abramenko: One of the key success factors was detailed planning at the early stages of the project. We not only carefully worked out the schedule, but also paid special attention to identifying the relationships between tasks, which allowed us to avoid bottlenecks in the process of work. When there was a threat of missing deadlines due to slow data copying, we were able to quickly make a decision to transport the equipment, thereby minimizing delays. This approach, in which each team member clearly understood their tasks and their time frames, became the key to our success.
Dmitry, tell us more about high availability testing. What role does this stage play for the Customer?
Dmitry Urvantsev: High availability testing is a critical stage, especially for such a major Customer, where any downtime of the system can lead to serious losses. We carried out extensive testing of various scenarios to ensure that the system is able to instantly switch between components in case of a disaster. This involved simulating real-life incidents so we could identify and address potential vulnerabilities before the system went live. As a result, the Customer's systems now operate in high availability mode, which ensures their reliable and uninterrupted operation. An even more difficult stage awaits us - testing DR performance and switching between data centres, which will finally validate the readiness of the system for any unforeseen situations.
Alexey, what do you think was the most difficult thing about security assurance when migrating data between different countries?
Alexey Nikiforov: The difficulty was the need to comply with the various legal requirements for data protection in different countries. We had to ensure full compliance with these requirements at every stage of the migration, guaranteeing that the data remained secure and not susceptible to compromise. Specific attention was paid to data protection at all levels - from transmission channels to storage facilities themselves; this was not easy, but necessary to guarantee complete information security. Such comprehensive protection allowed us to successfully cope with the challenges of transboundary data transfer while maintaining its integrity and confidentiality.
Denis, what is the team’s main achievement in this project, in your opinion?
Denis Abramenko: I believe that the main achievement was the successful completion of such a complex project with minimal downtime for the Customer. We were able not only to complete all assigned tasks, but also to do it with the highest quality, ensuring the security, reliability and scalability of key systems. It was a real team success, where each member contributed to the common cause.
Victoria, what moment in the project do you consider the most stressful, and how did the team cope with this challenge?
Viktoria Beitel: The most stressful moment was the stage when we transferred data between data centres and there was a risk of missing deadlines due to slow data copying. The situation required immediate actions and the team demonstrated true cohesion and efficiency. We quickly arranged transportation of the storage system and that allowed us to stay on schedule and successfully complete the migration. This moment showed that the team is capable of solving any problems that arise and coping with the most complex tasks.
Dmitry, what do you consider the most important conclusion from this project from the point of view of IT infrastructure?
Dmitry Urvantsev: The most important value was the understanding of how critical the preparation and testing of all scenarios is to the success of the project. Redesigning the IT infrastructure of SAP systems landscapes and developing system passports played a key role in reliability and fail-safety. This project showed that despite all the difficulties and with the right approach and planning it is possible to achieve high results that will satisfy all the Customer’s requirements.
Alexey, how do you evaluate the work to ensure data security after the completion of the project? Were all measures effective?
Alexey Nikiforov: I am confident that all the measures we implemented have been effective. We conducted thorough testing of all security aspects and made sure that the system was ready for operation with a level of risk acceptable to the company and the Customer. Continuous monitoring and control of security goes on after the completion of the project allowing us to quickly respond to any potential threats. We've also developed guidelines for administrators to maintain and update security to ensure long-term data protection.
Victoria, what lessons did you learn from this project as a leader?
Viktoria Beitel: Every project is unique, and this was no exception. One of the main lessons was the understanding of importance of flexibility and adaptability in project management. You must be prepared for the unexpected and be able to make quick decisions in changing environment. I also became convinced that the success of a project largely depends on the team: professionalism, cooperation and teamwork play a decisive role in achieving the goals.
Denis, Dmitry, Alexey, Victoria, thank you for the interesting conversation and detailed story about the project. Your efforts have brought impressive results, and we are confident that this experience will become the basis for future successful projects!
The project for migrating product landscapes of SAP systems for the key Customer was not just another project in the company, but a real breakthrough that demonstrated the high level of professionalism and competence of CSC-IT team. This project showed that even the most ambitious tasks can be achieved with the best results if careful planning, well-coordinated teamwork, and innovative technical solutions are at the core.
The implemented migration allowed not only to significantly improve the performance and fail-safety of systems, but also prepared the Customer’s IT infrastructure for future challenges ensuring its scalability and compliance with international security standards. The company's most important business processes are now supported at a new level of reliability, which minimizes risks and opens up new horizons for growth and development.
This experience also highlighted the importance of flexibility and agility in managing complex IT projects. CSC-IT team and the strategic partner AUXO not only successfully dealt with the challenges that arose throughout the migration, but were also able to turn those challenges into new opportunities to optimize and improve the infrastructure.
In addition, the successful completion of such a large-scale project strengthened the trust of the Customer and partners, confirming that CSC-IT is capable of solving problems of the highest level of complexity with guaranteeing quality, safety and stability of work.
As a result, the migration of the Customer's SAP product landscapes became a symbol of teamwork, technical excellence and strategic thinking, demonstrating that there are no tasks that cannot be completed if the team is composed of true professionals united by a common goal. Now that this project has been successfully completed, CSC-IT team is ready for new challenges and projects looking to the future with confidence.