In the world of coffee, and especially for a giant like illycaffè, precision is everything. Not only in the production and quality of the product, but also in the technological infrastructure that supports its global operations. Partnering with SORINT.lab meant more than just a technology transition-it was a true strategic redesign of the IT environment, designed to maximize efficiency, resilience, and innovation.
The reason of the Challenge: An IT Infrastructure Under Pressure
illycaffè, with its presence in more than 140 countries, manages a complex supply chain that includes coffee machine production, cup collections, cafeteria management and the famous University of Coffee.
Such a large operation, with annual sales of more than 600 million euros, could no longer tolerate the inefficiencies of the pre-existing IT infrastructure.
The issues were real and of high-impact:
- Critical Instability: Three ERP system crashes in two months demonstrated an unacceptable vulnerability for global manufacturing. Each outage resulted in significant losses and supply chain impacts.
- Lack of Visibility and Control: The on-premises data center infrastructure suffered from limited monitoring capabilities and fixed resources, making it difficult to proactively identify problems and manage resources efficiently.
- Inadequate Governance: Dysfunctional operational flow and a lack of clarity in the multi-outsourcer model generated unexpected costs and performance problems. There was no single source of truth or centralized management.
- Heterogeneous Technological Stack: The presence of dozens of VMs (Linux & Windows) and diverse applications such as SAP, Azure AI Bot Service, Oracle, and JD Edwards, necessitated a unified and modern approach, especially for a complete replatforming and upgrade of JD Edwards.
SORINT.lab’s Strategic Approach
SORINT.lab’s response was a “highly cross-functional” project, involving several “sircles” (specialized units within SORINT.lab) including Cloud.lab, Next Generation Managed Services, AWS, Oracle, Microsoft Azure and FinOps. This synergy allowed the project to be approached from multiple angles, ensuring comprehensive coverage and methodical execution, divided into six sub-phases, two key milestones and three main sub-projects.
1) Cloud Migration
The migration from on-premise infrastructure to the cloud was the first and most crucial phase. The approach was not a simple lift-and-shift, but included:
- Multi-cloud Strategy: A strategic choice to leverage the strengths of AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Oracle, providing flexibility, resilience, and specific optimization for different workloads.
- Critical Replat forming: The complete upgrade and replat forming of Oracle JD Edwards from IBM AIX to Oracle Linux OS, a move that modernized the beating heart of illycaffè’s operations.
- Application Optimization: The upgrade of the application layer and database versions, along with the implementation of Single Sign-On and VPN, improved security and usability.
- FinOps: Not just a technical migration, but the introduction of a cloud financial management discipline. This includes cost optimization through pay-per-use models, reserved plans, and other strategic approaches, which lay the foundation for long-term efficient economic management.
The results were immediate and tangible: a 50 percent reduction in time spent on online and batch workloads, with batch execution times cut in half. This translates into faster processes, faster decisions and increased throughput.
2) IT Managed Services: Control, Monitoring, and Global Availability
The second pillar was the implementation of comprehensive managed services, crucial to maintaining performance and stability in the new cloud environment. This meant:
- End-to-End Monitoring: A comprehensive view of infrastructure and applications, allowing anomalies to be proactively identified and resolved.
- 24x7x365 Coverage: A “follow-the-sun” global service model that ensures continuous support, regardless of location or time zone.
- Automated SLAs and Clear KPIs: The formalization and automation of Service Level Agreements and Key Performance Indicators have provided illycaffè with certainty about the timing of incident and request resolution. This has “enabled a significant improvement in IT service availability and incident response times.”
3) Workplace Support
The third subproject focused on the end user and cultural integration among teams. The presence of a SORINT.lab team directly in illycaffè’s headquarters, through a model of “staff augmentation” and close collaboration, created a synergistic work environment. This has ensured:.
- Operational Service Excellence: The creation of a local end-user support management team dramatically improved the illycaffè employee experience.
- Deep Integration: As Fabio Bogoni, Head of Technology, Operations and Security at illycaffè pointed out, SORINTians “worked with illycaffè, not for illycaffè!” This collaborative mindset eliminated barriers and accelerated problem solving, testifying to a “very high level” of professionalism in each technology vertical.
IT-Business Alignment: The Concrete Benefits
The overall results of the project were outstanding:
- 10% Cost Reduction: Significant savings compared to the previous IT operating model.
- Superior Operational Efficiency: The improvement of service availability, speed of operations, and reduction of incidents.
- Enhanced Governance: The creation of a single consolidated point of contact for operational and cost management.
- Strategic Alignment: The project is a clear example of how organizations can “delegate IT responsibilities and services to focus on their core business,” while elevating operational excellence and capitalizing on the latest IT best practices.
As Luca Pedrazzini, Managing Director of SORINT.lab, remarked, the synergy between illycaffè’s “clear and defined business objectives” and SORINT.lab’s “vertical expertise” created the “right formula” for success. Illycaffè has not only modernized its infrastructure, it has laid the foundation for a more agile, efficient, and innovative digital future.
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