Case Study: Alfanar achieves 30% less downtime and VPN‑free access to 150+ apps with SAP HANA

Digitalization Enabling alfanar’s Journey to Excellence

alfanar, a Riyadh-based engineering and electrical manufacturing group with 25,000 employees and an international footprint, faced the impending warranty expiry of its on‑premise SAP ERP landscape alongside numerous legacy custom applications and integrations without Single Sign‑On and insufficient GDPR controls. The company needed a fast, zero‑impact migration to the cloud to reduce TCO, improve security and availability, and enable remote global access.

alfanar performed a lift‑and‑shift to RISE with SAP S/4HANA Cloud (private edition) on Microsoft Azure and implemented SAP Business Technology Platform and SAP SuccessFactors Work Zone to provide SSO and mobile access to 150+ apps. The three‑month cutover (42 hours downtime) delivered a unified inbox for approvals, replaced legacy apps on BTP, and produced measurable gains: 30% less downtime, ~50% better system performance, 66% fewer ERP support staff, 52K workflows processed monthly, GDPR compliance by storing data in the EU, and readiness for a future full S/4HANA Cloud migration.

Alfanar

Syed Zeeshan Akbar

Project Manager