Supernova Award Category
The Problem
At IGT, when they have a long-running, large scale project, they set up a separate Development and QA system for that project so as not to impact ongoing work in support mode. They have parallel development with two almost independent Development systems and two QA systems. Finally, the development objects come together into the Pre-Production system before going into Production.
[See IGT SAP environment diagram >>]
Eventually IGT need to retire the second Development system. In their most recent project, weaving everything back into a single Development system required the comparison of over 1700 objects before moving them from the primary to the secondary Development system. Before they had the Salt Matrix app, they manually compared versions one object at a time between the two Development systems and the Production system. This would have taken weeks.
The Solution
Time is a scarce resource in development. When faced with a mountain of manual object reviews, you know there’s a better way; one with less risk. The collection of 8 Salt Apps for SAP from Revelation Software Concepts delivered an extremely reliable runtime environment saving IGT time, money and reducing risk.
One powerful Salt app, Matrix provides cross-system and cross-landscape object version comparisons, serving up any individual object for complete visibility across systems to reveal critical differences between versions in DEV, QAS and PRD. IGT shaved days off of what it would take to do this comparison manually using Matrix.
Another Salt app, Cold Case, is used with Matrix when IGT refresh the Development system from the Production system. Before Salt, the process required a developer to review each object comparing between Development and Production to determine if they’re the same or different. Work in progress varies but it can be many hundreds of objects.
The results
When IGT ran 1700 objects through Matrix, Salt’s system comparison app, it only took minutes to identify all 164 objects that needed more work. When finished, Salt had freed up 8 entire developer days (vs. manual approach) that IGT deployed on more strategic initiatives.
The Life Saver app is just that - it can “save your bacon.” Some of IGT's developers use Life Saver routinely to recover code that got deleted accidentally, which can happen on any task.
IGT swear by Code Ferret, Salt’s code search app, and use it several times a day. It’s simply the best and quickest code search tool they have found for ABAP and SAP systems. There are other tools they could use to search code, but they require an untenable amount of setup and configuration. Code Ferret is one of those tools that, once you use it, you use it every day.
Contractors come and go in today’s global environment. Sometimes a developer leaves and no one is sure what was left unfinished. Cold Case is the first tool to tell IGT about transports that are incomplete. It takes one quick shot to do a much better job than the multi-step, semi-manual set of steps we used before.
Matrix was what drew IGT to Salt, but each Salt app is used regularly. IGT get better work out the door faster, and their users have confidence it will work as intended – and in the wagering world, there’s no room for error.
Metrics
Merging Two SAP Systems into One: Comparing Objects with Matrix
Comparison
- Manual: 8 developers x 2.5 hrs x 10 days = 200 hrs x $81* = $16,200
- With Salt: 1 Sr. developer, 2.5 hrs x 3 days = 7.5 hrs x $97 = $727.50
*RSC ROI Calculator assumptionThat’s a decrease of 95.5%, and a total savings of $15,472.50; plus the value of 200 hours of new development that can be pursued. Matrix compares versions, told IGT which objects were identical to Production and which were not, in seconds. IGT targeted which system they needed to focus on in terms of changes needing to be reintroduced. Simplified Development System Refresh with Cold CaseOnce IGT ID which transports are in flight and not in Production, they determine what objects on those transports are of concern; this is where Matrix comes in. Prior to Salt, the process required a developer to review each object and compare between Development and Production to see if they’re the same or different. Last November there were between 600-700 objects to compare. Comparison
- 700 objects x .90* x 15 minutes = 157.5 hrs
- 700 objects x .10* x 45 minutes = 52.5 hrs
- 210 hours x $81/hr = $17,010
*Most objects don’t need any action and comparison takes 15 minutes/object accounting for 90% of objects. Those that do, take 30-60 minutes.Costs add up, but the cost can go much higher and business disrupted if an error goes unnoticed and causes any amount of downtime.
The Technology
After years of innovating in SAP change control, Revelation Software Concepts discovered that system visibility and control issues around managing SAP software changes tend to be common to all organizations. This led to the creation of their second software invention Salt – a set of 8 apps for understanding what’s happening in SAP systems and across SAP landscapes. “Change Intelligence” vs. “Change Control.”
Disruptive Factor
Now IGT do in minutes with Salt, tasks that took many hundreds of hours to be done manually with far less risk and significant cost savings.
Shining Moment
The shining moment is right around the corner. IGT and GTECH have separate SAP systems and they're exchanging a lot of code between them as the merger continues. When IGT connect Salt to the GTECH system they'll be able to do version compares of the shared objects. They can measure a significant dollar return but risk reduction is even more important. Imagine the loss potential resulting from a serious Production system error and subsequent downtime!