Success Story

Implementation of SAP Cloud ALM at BKW

Customer
Industry Energy & Infrastructure
Location Switzerland
Employees 12’100
Service SAP Cloud ALM Implementation & ServiceNow Integration
Customer since 2018

BKW is one of Switzerland’s largest energy and infrastructure companies. With over 12,000 employees, a 22,000 kilometer power grid, and more than 200 subsidiaries, it covers the entire value chain of the energy transition from grid operation and power generation to infrastructure and building solutions in the DACH region.

This breadth is reflected in the IT landscape. Different business units, numerous SAP systems, and parallel initiatives characterize day-to-day operations. Stability is not an option, but a prerequisite. At the same time, the demand for transparency, controllability, and integrated processes is growing.

Over the years, many systems had accumulated within SAP Application Lifecycle Management. A Solution Manager whose end-of-life was approaching, KeyUserPro as a ticketing solution, and various processes for change management and documentation they all served their purpose but required increasing coordination. The old system had to be phased out by the end of 2025. The question was: What comes next?

Clarity before making decisions

Before defining specific steps, BKW decided to conduct a structured cloud ALM assessment in collaboration with blue.works. The goal was not to evaluate a tool, but to realistically assess its current situation.

The assessment included a systematic questionnaire, the SAP Readiness Check, and an evaluation of the existing competency groups: Monitoring, Basis, Implementation and Change Management, Documentation, and Testing. The result was a clear “North Star” – a jointly defined target architecture that served as a guide for all subsequent decisions.

“First, we wanted to understand what options were available. What could be replaced by what – and which processes would change as a result.”

Vanessa Deubel · SAP Lead Architect & Project Manager, BKW

Implementation with a focus on operations

With this foundation in place, implementation began in late 2024. The decision had been made: SAP Solution Manager and KeyUserPro would be replaced by SAP Cloud ALM and ServiceNow. The company deliberately opted for standard solutions – to ensure that operations and further development remained manageable in the long term.

As an already established tool, ServiceNow took on the role of the central gateway for incidents, service requests, the order catalog, and changes. SAP Cloud ALM became the ALM platform for feature and transport management in the SAP landscape.

Monitoring was implemented for all SAP systems-ranging from real-user monitoring to job and configuration monitoring. At the same time, the existing core functions of Solution Manager were systematically phased out.

The project team worked using an agile approach – with regular check-ins that kept progress transparent and identified obstacles early on.

Collaboration that makes decision-making easier

BKW’s core project team – comprising platform management, architecture, and ServiceNow experts-worked closely with the Cloud ALM experts at blue.works. As the project progressed, it became clear how important it is to have a partner that positions itself not as an external service provider, but as part of the team.

“To me, they felt like colleagues.”

Vanessa Deubel · SAP Lead Architect & Project Manager, BKW

This type of collaboration made all the difference. blue.works not only brought expertise in Cloud ALM and Solution Manager to the table, but also took the time to truly understand BKW’s existing processes – and to work together to make the right decisions based on that understanding. With blue.works, the tool was set up optimally and used correctly from the very beginning.

“blue.works really took the time to understand our processes. Without blue.works, it would have been much more difficult.”

Vanessa Deubel · SAP Lead Architect & Project Manager, BKW

Challenges and Solutions

The project was not without its challenges. Planned Cloud ALM features, such as the Feature API and role-based control within the Feature, were postponed in the SAP roadmap. The solution: an alternative process using stories, which, while still partially manual, did not block implementation – accompanied by an Influence Request to SAP, which has since garnered 104 votes and now has the status “Accepted.”

Several SAP projects were running concurrently at BKW. This led to personnel changes within the project team. The solution: dedicated on-site project days to ensure stability and continuity. After the go-live, it became apparent that the less tightly managed processes in Cloud ALM were leading to more frequent errors than usual. Intensive training sessions with EnableNow and consistent monitoring by platform management were implemented as countermeasures.

Result

Today, BKW has a cloud-based ALM setup that reduces the operational burden while also providing greater transparency. SAP Cloud ALM, as a SaaS solution, reduces operational overhead and enables transport management for BTP services as well. ServiceNow consolidates all IT requests into a single tool. Confluence offers a central, flexible documentation platform.

The architecture’s scalability is ensured because a consistent focus has been placed on standards. And with the ALM working group, which was established after the go-live, BKW ensures that processes do not stagnate but are continuously refined.

Video about the Success Story

Vanessa Deubel, SAP Lead Architect and Project Manager at BKW, discusses the considerations, decisions, and experiences gained from the implementation of SAP Cloud ALM:

author avatar
Stefan Thomann
Stefan works as a Senior ALM Consultant and has in-depth knowledge of various ALM topics. He has extensive experience in areas such as Focused Build, Process Management, Testing, Focused Insights and ChaRM.
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