Sanofi transforms their Test Data Management and client refreshes on SAP S/4HANA

The challenge: Inefficient data refresh process

Before Sanofi implemented EPI-USE Labs' Data Sync Manager™ (DSM) Suite, client refreshes or copies were carried out by an external service provider. This operation generated around a week of downtime, which made planning complicated.

Sanofi also had a large system which meant that IT teams could only carry out one refresh per semester, resulting in test data that did not reflect the reality of Production.

Sanofi's drivers included:

• consolidating the nine legacy ECC environments worldwide into a single S/4HANA platform, resulting in simplified processes and improved performance
• automating tasks related to refreshes and minimising system downtime
• refreshing data independently from the providers managing the platform
• building new clients and refreshing them with Production data, quickly and flexibly
• running mass tests without having to recreate data sets
• anonymising sensitive information in non-production environments to ensure data security.

Data Sync Manager: an SAP-certified, S/4HANA compatible solution

To address their challenges, Sanofi chose to implement the Data Sync Manager (DSM) solution, on the advice of their partner Invarture. There was no other tool on the market capable of meeting all the specific requirements of this project, in particular compatibility with S/4HANA.

DSM is an SAP-certified solution that enables you to:

• create new clients or update existing ones consistently in ERP, SRM, CRM, GTS, BW and SCM systems
• simplify data selection: select from data profiles or simply re-use previous runs
• copy only the period and/or company code(s) you need
• automatically manage your customised tables
• considerably reduce downtime in the transport infrastructure, allowing the system to be updated over a weekend
• improve security by offering numerous data masking options via Data Secure
• save up to 90% of disk space
• eliminate the need to use the BDLS transaction.

The solution was co-developed by the EPI-USE Labs and Sanofi teams to meet the new challenges presented by the S/4HANA architecture. The project was managed internally by Sanofi, using service providers for cloud hosting of the platform and certain Basis operations for the front end.

Improved refresh process, better test data and autonomy

The outcome of the project included:

• Sanofi's SAP teams now carry out four refreshes a year, so one every three months.
• Each operation can now be launched when they choose to do it, and takes less than a weekend.
• DSM enables Sanofi's SAP teams to improve the quality of their test data (client refresh, backup creation, user copies, etc.)
• DSM is highly flexible and easy to use. It takes just a few hours to learn how to use it.
• The improved process means there is greater flexibility for internal teams to carry out refreshes independently, without the need for external service providers.
• Invarture and EPI-USE Labs were able to meet the expectations of the Sanofi teams, with a good level of responsiveness from the technical teams.

About Sanofi

Sanofi is a French company and world leader in the healthcare sector. Its activities include pharmaceuticals and vaccines. The group owns some of the world's leading brands of over-the-counter medicines, such as Doliprane, Lysopaïne, Maalox and MagnéB6. Sanofi invests more than 17% of its sales in Research & Development, making it the leading French group in this field.