Vecchiola, a Chilean mining services company, achieved greater operational efficiency and flexibility by migrating its legacy and SAP solutions to the cloud with Novis, its AWS and SAP partner.
With nearly 50 years of experience, Vecchiola has become a key player in the mining services industry. Operating from Antofagasta to Santiago, the company provides comprehensive open-pit mining solutions, including drilling, blasting, transport, and earthmoving.
Despite its history of innovation, Vecchiola faced common challenges associated with on-premise legacy systems:
- Limited Scalability: Local infrastructure hindered their ability to handle increasingly complex projects.
- High Operational Costs: Maintaining servers, energy, and internal training imposed significant financial burdens.
- Insufficient Technological Flexibility: They needed systems that could support growth and facilitate remote management.
César Aguilar, Internal Audit, Management Control, and Logistics Manager at Vecchiola S.A., stated: The market demands greater efficiency; projects are becoming increasingly complex and tighter. Optimizing our value chain with platforms like SAP and transitioning to AWS has been fundamental.
The Challenge: Migrating to AWS
Vecchiola’s digital transformation journey began in 2006 with SAP implementation. By 2017, however, their on-premise infrastructure no longer met operational demands. The company decided to take the next step: migrating SAP first, followed by legacy systems, to the AWS cloud. Both projects were led by Novis, a certified AWS partner for SAP systems.
Key challenges in cloud migration included:
- Ensuring a seamless transition without operational disruptions.
- Maintaining data security and availability.
- Training teams to adapt to the new technology.
César commented: Migrating to AWS broke paradigms. At the time, we trusted having everything on local servers. However, with Novis’s support, we made this technological leap without any issues.
The Solution: A Comprehensive and Ambitious Project
The migration project for SAP solutions, completed in just two days, combined transitioning to AWS with upgrading SAP to the latest version.
We shut down the systems on a Saturday, and by Monday, everything was running perfectly. It was a milestone for our company. said César.
Additionally, Novis implemented a training strategy that allowed teams to adapt quickly:
“I thought it would be torture, but it was magical. Users quickly understood the benefits, such as working from anywhere.”
Encouraged by the success of this initial project, Vecchiola decided to migrate its legacy systems as well:
“We have SAP, our robust platform for cost, revenue, and analysis data. Additionally, we have an internal platform, iVecchiola, with data not managed in SAP. Since the AWS migration was so successful, we decided to migrate these systems as well, again with Novis.”
Results and Benefits
The migration of SAP and legacy solutions to AWS transformed Vecchiola’s operations on multiple levels. The technological preparation enabled the company to efficiently manage unforeseen scenarios, such as the pandemic, facilitating remote work without disruptions.
Key benefits included:
- Flexibility and Scalability: “If we run out of memory on a server, a quick call resolves it with more processing power and memory in minutes.”
- Efficiency and Cost Reduction: “We no longer worry about servers and updates. Now we focus on our core business.”
- Remote Availability and Mobility: “We can connect from 5,000 meters above sea level and have all the information online.”
- Improved Decision-Making: “We now project results daily, compared to the previous monthly process.”
- Transparent and Reliable Operations: “Most users don’t even realize they’re in the cloud. For them, it’s transparent—or even easier because they no longer need multiple passwords.”
Novis: AWS and SAP Partner
Since 2006, Novis has been a key partner for Vecchiola, providing continuous support and robust standards in managing technological projects, including operating legacy systems on AWS.
César highlighted: “Novis has a very solid standard. Their human quality and methodology have been crucial to the success of each project.”
Conclusion: An Inspiring Case
Vecchiola’s experience demonstrates that migrating both legacy systems and SAP solutions to the cloud is not only feasible but also a competitive advantage. Companies facing similar challenges can find in Novis a strategic ally for digital transformation.
“For any company, whether in our industry or another, migrating to the cloud is a must. With Novis, everything worked perfectly,” César concluded.
This case exemplifies how technological innovation can transform a company’s operations, enhancing efficiency, flexibility, and resilience.
If your organization is looking for a reliable partner with solid methodologies and a strategic vision to migrate critical systems to the cloud, Novis is ready to assist, helping maximize the return on your technology investments and transforming operations in a global, digital environment. Contact us.
Note by Gilda Valderrama Martínez, Editor of Novis Bulletin.
Chile
México
Estados Unidos
