Driving a cloud-ready SAP transformation

CGI has been a trusted partner to Bell Retail for over two decades, delivering comprehensive SAP application enhancements and system upgrades aligned with evolving business needs and modernization goals. This long-standing relationship is built on consistent technical expertise, seamless collaboration, and an in-depth understanding of Bell’s systems and business processes.

The business challenge: Enabling cloud transformation

To modernize its IT infrastructure, Bell Retail aimed to migrate its SAP application landscape from a traditional on-premise data center to a scalable public cloud platform. The goal: to leverage the benefits of cloud hosting—including increased flexibility, improved scalability, and reduced costs related to hardware maintenance and enhancements.

This transformation involved:

• Migrating 5 business-critical SAP applications
• Transitioning nearly 100 servers
• Managing a total database size of 10 TB
• Completing the production deployment within a strict 48-hour window to avoid disruption to operations

Bell Retail sought a partner with the technical depth and delivery experience required to execute such a complex initiative—turning to CGI for leadership and execution.

Project delivery: Seamless migration to AWS

CGI led the successful end-to-end cloud migration of Bell Retail’s SAP suite to AWS. This included the core ERP system, BW (Business Warehouse), Gateway middleware, and the Fiori mobile application platform.

Highlights of CGI’s approach included:

• Comprehensive project planning and execution with minimal business disruption
• Strategic coordination with AWS to ensure alignment on technical architecture and delivery objectives
• Proven system integration capabilities that strengthened client confidence in the joint delivery team

The migration marked a key milestone in Bell Retail’s digital transformation, completed within 30 hours—surpassing the 48-hour target—and without requiring costly near-zero downtime solutions.

Value delivered

The project delivered measurable business and technical benefits:

• Seamless user experience: The migration was so smooth that many end-users were unaware a major transition had occurred. AWS stakeholders echoed this sentiment, describing the go-live as a “non-event.”
• Faster infrastructure flexibility: Infrastructure changes that previously required weeks can now be executed in hours.
• Improved scalability: Temporary or seasonal changes in infrastructure capacity are now achievable within hours, eliminating the need for physical data center interventions.
• Reduced long-term costs: Long-term infrastructure enhancements no longer require months-long planning and project cycles, allowing for more agile and cost-effective operations.

The entire migration, from initial design through to production deployment, was completed in just 1.5 years.

Lessons learned: Collaboration over competition

Several key takeaways emerged from this successful engagement:

• Early engagement matters: CGI’s involvement during early roadmap discussions enabled proactive, relevant solution recommendations tailored to the client’s unique environment.
• Collaboration drives results: By maintaining a collaborative posture with both Bell Retail and AWS, CGI ensured shared alignment on goals, avoiding friction and fostering unified delivery.

Looking ahead: A blueprint for future transformations

This case illustrates CGI’s ability to optimize cost and delivery outcomes as a dedicated implementation partner. With our global delivery model, budget-aligned resourcing, and strong collaborative approach, we remain a trusted advisor to clients embarking on complex, large-scale digital transformations.

CGI continues to support Bell Retail on their modernization journey, reaffirming our reputation as a reliable, capable, and forward-looking systems integrator.