FNM Group: Building a platform for flexibility and innovation
About FNM Group
FNM Group is the main private, integrated group in transportation and mobility in the North of Italy.
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About Innext
Innext, one of Italy’s select Google Cloud partners, helps companies turn objectives into tangible actions, and change into a competitive advantage.
With help from Innext, FNM Group is migrating to SAP HANA and SAP S/4HANA on Google Cloud and Google Workspace to build a flexible, cost-effective, cloud-based enterprise platform adapted to long-term challenges
Google Cloud results
- Builds an effective, scalable, adaptable enterprise platform with SAP HANA and SAP S/4HANA on Google Cloud
- Reduces costs by only paying for resources it uses with flexible pricing from Google
- Mobilizes its workers with Google Workspace and SAP HANA and SAP S/4HANA on the cloud
Eliminates the need for on-premises infrastructure
Founded in 1877, the FNM Group is Italy’s second largest railway company, operating in the Lombardy region. With 700,000 passengers a day, the core business remains with railway operations, but in recent years the FNM Group has redefined itself as a mobility service provider rather than just a public transport operator, with transport solutions like car-sharing platforms in parts of the country disconnected from the main railway lines. As part of this evolution, in 2016, FNM Group initiated a new strategy to overhaul its technology and build a platform that could support its ambitious, new direction.
“We needed an IT system that could rapidly adapt to the new market requirements we are planning to address,” says Augusto de Castro, Director of Human Resources, Organization, and IT at FNM Group. “To achieve this goal, we decided to modernize our information system and move to a cloud-based infrastructure, so we started testing various solutions. For us, the best came from Google.”
“We needed an IT system that could rapidly adapt to the new market requirements we are planning to address. To achieve this goal we decided to modernize our information system and move to a cloud-based infrastructure, so we started testing various solutions. For us, the best came from Google.”
—Augusto de Castro, Director of Human Resources, Organization, and IT, FNM GroupCollaborative office productivity
Since 2005, the FNM Group had used SAP Business Suite for its platform, using on-premises servers to manage its technology and database solutions. By 2016, when the group expanded its horizons, the on-premises infrastructure was showing its age and limitations. In addition, FNM Group office productivity tools limited workers’ mobility and flexibility. The company decided that a cloud-based solution was the most economical and effective infrastructure for its new innovation-focused strategy, but also wanted to continue the high-quality service it received from SAP.
In April 2017, FNM Group teamed up with Innext, a leading Italian consultancy and Google Cloud partner, to help transition to the cloud. After taking the time to assess specific needs at FNM Group, Innext supported the company’s decision to start the project with a migration to Google Workspace, replacing the existing email and office productivity platform. With help from Innext, FNM Group provided its workers with new tools such as Gmail, cloud-based storage on Google Drive, and fast, effective collaboration with Google Meet. As well as technical help, Innext brought a whole change management program designed to help FMN workers take full advantage of the new platform. “One of our top goals in any project is the adoption of the Google Workspace platform,” says Andrea Servili, Co-founder and Partner at Innext.
“SAP HANA and SAP S/4HANA on Google Cloud and Google Workspace will make our employees much more mobile. They can access the system through a web browser if they have to, so they’re not tied to a local physical interface.”
—Augusto de Castro, Director of Human Resources, Organization, and IT, FNM GroupCloud-based enterprise solutions with SAP HANA and SAP S/4HANA
While defining the Google Workspace migration, Innext and FNM Group began looking for an infrastructure solution. The timing was perfect. Earlier in the year, Google announced that SAP HANA and SAP S/4HANA, the latest software from SAP, would be able to run on Google Cloud. Running on Google Compute Engine instances, Google Cloud Storage for backups, and Google Virtual Private Cloud as a networking solution, FNM Group can continue to use the enterprise platform of its choice along with all the advantages of Google cloud technology. By July, 2018, FNM Group plans to have fully migrated to SAP HANA and SAP S/4HANA on Google Cloud and have its 1,200 employees using Google Workspace.
“SAP HANA and SAP S/4HANA on Google Cloud and Google Workspace will make our employees much more mobile,” says Augusto. “They can access the system through a web browser if they have to, so they’re not tied to a local physical interface.”
“Our main priority is to shut down our on-premises infrastructure and take advantage of the benefits of the cloud. Google Cloud and SAP HANA will help us reduce our maintenance costs and improve our flexibility. I think we will spend less time continually upgrading our infrastructure and more time improving our productivity.”
—Augusto de Castro, Director of Human Resources, Organization, and IT, FNM GroupBuilding a platform to last
With Innext and SAP HANA and SAP S/4HANA on Google Cloud, FNM Group is building an enterprise infrastructure that can handle the demands of its traditional public transport operations and adapt to the company’s more innovative activities, such as car-sharing or energy management. By the time the migration is complete in 2018, FNM Group will save on infrastructure costs by only paying for the resources it uses with flexible pricing from Google. Google Workspace lets the company’s workers stay mobile and effective, and with Google Compute Engine, FNM Group can easily scale its infrastructure up or down to meet whatever challenges it faces in the future. Meanwhile, Google Cloud Storage helps ensure that FNM Group will have a highly secure, reliable backup solution. Once the migration is complete, FNM Group can start exploring other ways in which Google can help its business, especially with data analytic products like Google BigQuery or Google Cloud AI machine learning tools. Whatever the challenge, FNM Group knows that it can rely on Innext and Google to provide the right solution.
“Our main priority is to shut down our on-premises infrastructure and take advantage of the benefits of the cloud,” says Augusto. “Google Cloud and SAP HANA and SAP S/4HANA will help us reduce our maintenance costs and improve our flexibility. I think we will spend less time continually upgrading our infrastructure and more time improving our productivity.”
Tell us your challenge. We're here to help.
Contact us
About FNM Group
FNM Group is the main private, integrated group in transportation and mobility in the North of Italy.
About Innext
Innext, one of Italy’s select Google Cloud partners, helps companies turn objectives into tangible actions, and change into a competitive advantage.