A significant step in the journey of its digital transformation was made by PPC. The company completed the automation project of data transfer from its source systems to the Cloud, with the use of Microsoft technologies and the support of WITSIDE.
Upon the completion of the project, PPC unleashes amazing possibilities for its operational departments and employees, as it offers them, in real time, unhindered access to the entire range of the company's data.
Specifically, the project accelerates the development of solutions that help change corporate culture by democratizing data, operating efficiency, developing innovation, reducing the environmental footprint, and providing better services to the company's customers and partners.
Mr Konstantinos Zagalikis, Group Chief Technology & Information Officer at PPC S.A., stated that: “PPC sets high goals and innovates in the implementation of its digital transformation. In this journey we are happy to have partners who listen to our wishes and implement our drive. In this project we set an almost "impossible" goal with time and technological constraints that were overcome and proved the ability of the organization to lead in the field of data. The continuation will be equally dynamic, upgrading the customer experience and contributing to the improvement of the business operation of the organization.”
Ms Yanna Andronopoulou, Sales Director, Enterprise Segment at Microsoft Greece, Cyprus and Malta, commented that: “Data and analytics are changing everything in businesses, and today there’s not a single company that isn’t thinking about how to utilize them with security and simplicity. We always strive to make it very easy for organizations to adopt analytics, while ensuring, that the line of business people and decision makers are utilizing data and have powerful insights at hand, which support them into their decision making and into developing new products or services. We are very proud that PPC is committing to become a data - driven organization though the collaboration with WITSIDE and particularly about the speed that the data from SAP IS/U were made available to the Azure Data Lake. I am looking forward to witnessing the impact this development will have on customer experience, operational optimization and on the amazing transformational journey they are embarking on.”
For the implementation of the project, innovative technologies of the Qlik Data Integration platform were used, and pioneering techniques were applied that contributed to the rapid implementation of the project with the minimum cost.
The project includes codeless data transfer and integration, from the company's source systems (SAP ISU – ERP, EBIL, etc.) to Microsoft Azure Data Lake and then to the company's Databricks Delta Lake. The project was carried out by WITSIDE, a Microsoft partner and Qlik representative in Greece, Cyprus, Malta and the Western Balkans, with the full support of PPC and Microsoft.
Mr Christos Papadopoulos, WITSIDE’s CEO stated: “The moment we were requested by PPC to integrate data in real-time from its core production systems to the Cloud, we accepted the challenge and in less than a month, we delivered the agreed pilot project. The next step was even more impressive. Within two months after the pilot, we integrated and started synchronizing data in real time, from SAP ISU and SAP ERP to MS Azure. Τhe project progressed with the onboarding of additional sources. As a result, PPC became the first utility company in Central and SE Europe that enables its business units to directly leverage the wealth of their data, and we are proud of that.”