CPKC Railways' Success: Seamless RISE with SAP Migration with Protera and SAP ECS 

"CPKC Railways’ recent RISE with SAP go-live in partnership with SAP and Protera has been a tremendous success. Protera's deep RISE with SAP knowledge and hands-on approach ensured a smooth transition to the cloud, minimizing disruption to our operations. The expert Protera team worked closely with us at every phase of the project, from planning to execution, ensuring that our unique business requirements were met while staying on target for a successful go-live.”

~  Gopi Ranganathan, Principal Advisor, SAP - CPKC Railways

Business Challenge

The merger provided CKPC Railways’ IT leadership with the opportunity to modernize their SAP landscape via a RISE with SAP solution, with a goal to fine-tune operations before year-end deadlines. CPKC Railways saw tremendous value in the RISE with SAP solution, which enabled them to maximize their ERP investment and meet technical expectations without exceeding financial constraints.

With the RISE transformation, CPKC Railways adopted a clean core strategy to safeguard intellectual property while ensuring flexibility for future enhancements. The RISE with SAP migration required that security configurations be maintained, including firewalls and network setups to be completed by the Protera team. CPKC Railways also integrated SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) into their SAP landscape to take advantage of the integration suite (CPI) to modernize current Process Orchestration.

The Protera Solution

Transitioning to RISE with SAP allowed CPKC Railways to focus on core business functions while minimizing the complexities of technical SAP upgrades and integrations. Protera's expertise in public Cloud solutions played a pivotal role in ensuring a successful migration project, allowing CPKC Railways to leverage existing infrastructure for a rapid transition. This expertise, combined with practical RISE with SAP migration experience, made them the ideal partner to complete the project.

"CPKC Railways’ recent RISE with SAP go-live in partnership with SAP and Protera has been a tremendous success. Protera's deep RISE with SAP knowledge and hands-on approach ensured a smooth transition to the cloud, minimizing disruption to our operations. The expert Protera team worked closely with us at every phase of the project, from planning to execution, ensuring that our unique business requirements were met while staying on target for a successful go-live,” said CPKC Railways’ Gopi Ranganathan, Principal Advisor, SAP.

Protera’s plan for a quick and seamless RISE transformation was backed by a successful track record of delivering on tight timelines with 100% customer satisfaction. Protera’s deep technical knowledge of SAP S/4HANA, coupled with their proactive approach and collaborative efforts with both CPKC Railways’ IT team and SAP Enterprise Cloud Services (ECS), ensured a successful project outcome.

“Working with the expert Protera delivery team on Canadian Pacific Railway Company’s RISE with SAP migration project was a game changer. Protera’s long-standing expertise in RISE with SAP migrations, technical SAP knowledge, attention to detail, and commitment to excellence were key to the project’s success,” said SAP’s Paddy Gopalakrishnan Enterprise Customer Success Manager. “From planning to execution, Protera demonstrated their ability to manage complex technical landscapes and develop creative solutions, ensuring a smooth transition with minimal disruption to client operations. Protera’s proactive communication, customer first approach, and deep RISE expertise made them an invaluable RISE with SAP quality partner in achieving customer success for CPKC Railways.”

Why RISE with SAP?

RISE with SAP offered CPKC Railways the flexibility and scalability needed to support the dynamic nature of their growing business. Cost control and avoidance of unplanned expenditures were critical desired outcomes of the RISE with SAP solution, positioning the company for efficient expansion and streamlined operations. Protera met these needs by delivering a comprehensive RISE with SAP migration project that included:

• Migration of CPKC Railways’ S/4HANA, SAP GRC, and SAP SLT to a RISE with SAP solution
• Multiple migration waves to RISE with SAP – with rigorous testing at each phase
• Migration of the production environment within a minimal downtime window (less than 24 hours)
• Real-time monitoring and post-go-live support, ensuring enhanced system performance in the new environment

"Our RISE with SAP migration success was the result of a coordinated approach across multiple migration waves, leveraging Protera’s technical expertise in SAP systems and seamless orchestration of project resources. With Protera’s guidance, we implemented a structured testing framework that ensured system integrity at each stage,” said Robert Laasu, Project Manager CPKC Railways. “The combined efforts of specialized teams from CPKC Railways and Protera enabled precise execution, minimized disruptions, and optimized performance, culminating in a timely and efficient go-live”

Other key areas of success working with the expert Protera team included:

• Collaboration: The strong partnership between CPKC Railways, Protera, and SAP ECS was crucial for meeting project milestones and overcoming challenges.
• Skill Set and RISE with SAP Expertise: Protera's team required no ramp-up time based on a track record of successful RISE migrations, saving valuable time during the transition.
• Mitigate Complexity: Protera seamlessly converted the ADS, GRC, and SLT databases from a multi-tenant database cluster (MDC) to separate database instances.
• Proactive Problem-Solving: The Protera team proactively addressed issues, delivering a fully operational solution within a short outage window
• Effective Communication: Direct access to Protera’s dedicated project team ensured quick decision-making and a smooth communication flow between CPKC Railways, Protera, and SAP ECS.
• Comprehensive Support: Protera provided a complete solution, from initial planning through post-go-live monitoring, ensuring a seamless transition and consistent performance.

“We appreciate the team effort for completing an important first step towards transforming SAP at CPKC – This is a critical foundational component of the SAP strategy that positions CPKC to take full advantage of SAP RISE’s advanced capabilities! The 20-hour end to end cutover plan was practiced and executed with precision,” said Brad Reinholz P.Eng., Managing Director, SAP CoE - CPKC Railways.

Realized Results

Weeks after the go-live, CPKC Railways reported significant improvements in system performance and scalability. The RISE with SAP solution led to considerable cost savings, including reduced expenses for disaster recovery hosting and maintenance, resulting in double-digit savings for CPKC Railways.

“The RISE with SAP project was delivered on-time and within scope, with our users already experiencing the benefits of improved performance and scalability. Protera’s commitment to excellence made this RISE transformation seamless and has well positioned our SAP landscape for future growth,” said Ranganathan.

Looking to the Future

CPKC Railways’ RISE with SAP project, executed in partnership with Protera and SAP ECS, highlights the strategic advantages of implementing a RISE with SAP solution during a period of significant organizational change. The successful RISE with SAP deployment was executed with minimal disruption and positions CPKC Railways for long-term growth, with agility and scalability embedded in their IT operations.