UOL Group

Speed and efficiency in data gathering are important to facilitate analysis. The large amount of data from UOL Group’s business systems needed to be processed and integrated promptly and accurately.

UOL Group migrated its core SAP applications to the SAP HANA database, and upgraded to the latest IBM Power Systems servers and high-performance IBM Storwize® storage.

UOL Group is one of Singapore’s leading real estate companies, operating many shopping malls, offices and hotels. As part of its operations, UOL Group collates and analyzes data relating to its properties to improve its performance and meet customers’ needs.

To facilitate greater efficiency and productivity in data analysis, and as its existing hardware was due for replacement, the company began looking for an updated technology solution.

UOL Group manages many operational functions—such as finance, procurement and materials management—using its core SAP ERP (link resides outside of ibm.com) applications.

To accelerate the analysis of its SAP data and as the existing hardware was due for replacement, UOL Group decided to migrate its entire SAP ERP landscape to the SAP HANA database.

To support the SAP HANA database, the company deployed three state-of-the-art IBM Power System S824L servers, which are virtualized using IBM PowerVM® and run the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications operating system.

Data from both SAP HANA and the SAP ERP solutions is stored on IBM Storwize V5020 devices, and automatically backed up to an IBM TS5100 tape library. The IBM infrastructure includes devices for disaster recovery, and IBM Systems Lab Services has set up replication of SAP HANA data between the back-up sites.

Hitachi Consulting Singapore, an IBM Business Partner, supported the hardware procurement, and Tech Data Advanced Solutions, another IBM Business Partner, acted as a distributor. Simpliopen, an IBM Business Partner, supported the deployment and acted as a single point of contact in case of questions or problems.

Foo Say Twang, Assistant General Manager, Group IT at UOL Group, explained: “SAP HANA solutions equip our employees across the globe with a reliable platform. We felt that IBM offered a combination of reliability, performance and value for money. The IBM team was helpful in addressing our queries and we have built a good relationship with them. We were satisfied with both the solution and implementation services from IBM and its partners.”

Migrating the entire SAP landscape to SAP HANA deployed on IBM Power Systems servers resulted in significant database performance improvements for UOL Group.

“Since moving to SAP HANA and IBM POWER8® servers, reports are running faster than previously, with performance up by 30 percent on average,” said Foo. “As a result, employees are more productive and spend less time waiting for reports.”

The IBM solution is also helping UOL Group pursue a greener approach to IT by reducing its data center power consumption.

Foo said: “Our previous servers used two racks in the data center, whereas our new IBM Power servers take up just one—a 50 percent reduction in our carbon footprint. The space saving gives us extra room to grow without having to expand our data center, avoiding unnecessary capital expense.

“Additionally, consolidating on fewer physical machines has cut our energy consumption by around 65 percent, in accordance with our corporate sustainability objectives.”

In future, UOL Group plans to equip employees with SAP Fiori®, which will enable them to complete operational tasks on their mobile devices—further boosting productivity.

“Hotel managers have a lot of responsibility—such as ensuring high occupancy, planning for major events, and approving purchases,” explained Foo. “All these administrative tasks can leave them shackled to their desks.

“By launching SAP Fiori, we help them complete more tasks on-the-go, so that they can spend more time meeting guests and building relationships, to understand customers’ views and pinpoint areas for improvement.”

Foo concluded: “We believe that running SAP HANA on IBM Power Systems delivers an advantage, as employees receive critical reports faster than before. We look forward to seeing what the future will bring.”

UOL Group (link resides outside of ibm.com) is one of Singapore’s leading developers, with an extensive portfolio of development and investment properties, hotels and service suites. UOL Group, together with its hotel subsidiary Pan Pacific Hotels Group Limited (PPHG), owns two brands—namely Pan Pacific and PARKROYAL. PPHG now owns and/or manages over 30 hotels in Asia, Oceania and North America.