Surrey, United Kingdom Aug 14, 2023 (Issuewire.com) - Air India, India's foremost airline and a distinguished member of the Star Alliance, has achieved a significant milestone in its journey toward digital transformation. According to a report published in SAP News Center, the airline has completed its enterprise resource planning (ERP) modernisation programme ahead of schedule. This achievement is a pivotal step forward for its digital transformation strategy. The step has been facilitated by migrating from an on-premise legacy mainframe system to the innovative SAP Cloud. This comprehensive endeavour reflects the airline's commitment to staying ahead in the ever-evolving aviation landscape.

The report highlights the adoption of RISE With SAP as a key factor in Air India's digital journey. It's a tailored ERP software bundled with transformation services, advanced business analytics, and expert guidance. This comprehensive approach ensures a seamless transition to the cloud while maintaining a personalised trajectory for the company's digital evolution. 

The migration to SAP Cloud is expected to yield substantial advancements in the company's core operations, notably in the human resources and finance sectors. Furthermore, the report anticipated this move to accelerate the airline's capability to introduce high-end features in key domains, including operations, commercial, and engineering. 

The report highlighted the company's obsolete ERP system running on a decade-old mainframe and the related systems as one of the formidable challenges that Air India encountered during this modernisation drive. The migration and transition of such complex systems typically require the involvement of intricate backup and restore processes executed on an equivalent platform. However, Air India faced an exceptional hurdle because no such system existed anywhere in the world. This seemingly insurmountable obstacle necessitated a collaborative effort with SAP to formulate ingenious solutions and techniques, according to the report.

The report stated that Air India's partnership with SAP was an enabler of the company's seamless and fast migration to SAP Cloud infrastructure. 

"Air India's vision is to emerge as the world's most technologically advanced airline. A critical and foundational capability for this is a highly reliable, scalable modern ERP system that will drive significant improvements to our operational efficiency and assist us in creating a delightful customer experience. We identified the migration of our ERP System to a modern cloud infrastructure as one of the most important steps in this transformation journey," said Air India's Chief Digital and Technology Officer, Dr. Satya Ramaswamy.

Future-focused enterprises looking to drive agility in their business operations are striving to accelerate their SAP migration to the cloud. However, assimilating a new system is a complex task that requires expert expertise. 

SAP-centric businesses are urged to leverage high-end managed and professional services from certified SAP partners, like Protera. Such services focus on measured business outcomes while migrating and modernising even the most intricate enterprise systems. The result is a smooth transition and accelerated digital transformation.

Air India's accomplishment in completing its ERP modernisation program highlights its commitment to staying at the forefront of technological advancement in the airline industry. The migration to SAP Cloud not only addresses immediate operational needs but also positions the airline for future growth and innovation. It solidifies its status as a trailblazer in the aviation sector, according to the report.

Air India, which had been incurring losses, was acquired by the Tata Group in January of the previous year. After the acquisition, the airline initiated a five-year plan for its transformation.