iGuzzini:
Building an integrated digital ecosystem with SAP, Google Cloud, and Google Workspace

About iGuzzini

iGuzzini designs and manufactures innovative lighting systems, illuminating some of the world's most acclaimed spaces.

Industries: Manufacturing
Location: Italy

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About Innext and Techedge

Based between Italy and China, Innext offers strategic consulting to help businesses achieve digital transformations and grow.

Techedge's mission is to help organizations evolve into digital companies through short iterative cycles of business-driven innovation.

iGuzzini implements SAP S/4HANA on Google Cloud to speed up its provisioning times, reduce costs, and improve its processes, creating an integrated ecosystem with Google Workspace.

Google Cloud results

  • Implements a more efficient ERP system with SAP 4/HANA, speeding up provisioning times by 20%
  • Creates a more collaborative and integrated work environment for its employees thanks to Google Workspace
  • Builds in scalability and robustness with Compute Engine, simplifying the disaster recovery plan

Expected capital and operational costs savings of 20%

Lighting not only radically transforms how a building or environment looks, it can determine how people inhabit a particular space and can even be a tool for social change. By focusing on technological innovation, research, and development, iGuzzini has built lighting solutions for some of the world's most inspiring buildings, including the Royal Academy of Arts in London and the Palais de Justice in Paris. The company was founded in 1959 with headquarters in Recanati, Italy and has subsidiaries all over the world, with a turnover of €240 million in 2017.

"We are looking for a cloud partner to develop a long-term partnership and support all aspects of our digital transformation. We want to put the customer experience at the center of our thinking, focus on technological solutions, and create bonds between people, both inside and outside the company."

Mario Carrelli, Information Technology Director, iGuzzini

"We reinvest six percent of our annual turnover in R&D," explains Mario Carrelli, Information Technology Director at iGuzzini. "We work in many different environments including airports, hospitals, and museums as well as commercial spaces, and our lighting schemes are built around the most innovative optic technology. For indoor schemes, for example, we focus on color rendering and consistency, creating human-centric lighting."

As well as investing in innovation for its product design, iGuzzini wanted to create a modern, efficient working environment within the company. It decided to replace its previous on-premises Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) infrastructure and move its system into the cloud. The partnership between SAP and Google, including Google Cloud, was the perfect fit.

"We are looking for a cloud partner to develop a long-term partnership and support all aspects of our digital transformation," says Mario. "We want to put the customer experience at the center of our thinking, focus on technological solutions, and create bonds between people, both inside and outside the company."

Implementing SAP on Google Cloud

Transforming a company's digital culture requires a 360-degree approach in order to address various interconnected challenges. iGuzzini wanted to replace its on-premises ERP system, but also transform the collaborative culture within the company and make its working practices more fluid and efficient. As part of this digital transformation, iGuzzini worked with business transformation partners Innext on a holistic digital transformation strategy. "Before, we couldn't scale our on-premises ERP infrastructure, so some servers were underused," says Mario. "There were times when two teams would come to a meeting with different numbers, because the system was not working as it should. We needed to address all our processes to improve integration and security."

"Another important factor in choosing Google Cloud is the data custodian model developed by SAP and Google, which helps ensure transparency for our data, offering access, visibility, and reporting. As a company working globally, that's a big help in terms of supporting compliance."

Mario Carrelli, Information Technology Director, iGuzzini

To do that, iGuzzini decided to migrate its ERP system to SAP S/4 HANA on Google Cloud, as well as implement SAP Manufacturing Intelligence Integration (MII). "We have recently invested in the latest generation of connected machinery, and when new products are created, the design files arrive directly to the networked machines," explains Mario. "With SAP S/4 HANA, production planning is communicated through an extended supply chain connected to other departments and suppliers. The aim is to maximize productivity and integrate with SAP's MII, as we will be able to access real-time information on machine status, product quality, order processing, and consumption."

"We implemented the SAP system with help from implementation partners Techedge, following the SAP Activate framework: Prepare, Explore, Realize, Deploy," Mario says. "The SAP system runs virtual machines on Compute Engine, and we also use a VPC Network to connect instances. Compute Engine offers easy scaling, so we no longer need to worry about underusing servers."

"Another important factor in choosing Google Cloud is the data custodian model developed by SAP and Google, which helps ensure transparency for our data, offering access visibility and reporting," says Mario. "As a company working globally, that's a big help in terms of supporting compliance."

Integrating across systems

iGuzzini is known for its excellent staff culture and has been named one of Italy's top employers for two years in a row. As well as migrating its ERP system to Google Cloud, iGuzzini has decided to switch from its previous productivity suite and email provider to Google Workspace for its 1,500 employees, to provide them with improved communication tools.

"Apart from the expected economic benefit, the biggest benefit from our partnership with Google is improved collaboration. SAP, Google Cloud, and Google Workspace working together create an integrated ecosystem that simplifies communication and enhances connectivity."

Mario Carrelli, Information Technology Director, iGuzzini

"We worked with business transformation partners Innext on a holistic digital transformation strategy. By migrating to Google Workspace at the same time as moving to SAP on Google Cloud, we will be bringing our production processes closer to our business operations," says Mario. "Google Workspace encourages a more collaborative work culture, as it is much easier to share files, both amongst colleagues and with customers. It also offers integrations with SAP, automatically transferring data into Sheets, for example, and saving time."

Provisioning faster, collaborating better

Having implemented the first phase of its test, development, and production environments, iGuzzini is already feeling the benefits of having chosen SAP on Google Cloud. "With our on-premises system, our disaster recovery plan was very complicated," says Mario. "Thanks to SAP on Google Cloud, it is much simpler and more reliable. We estimate that the speed of provisioning with the new system will be 20 percent faster, and the expected savings from the migration will be around 20 percent, in terms of capital expenditure and operating costs."

Now, following the migration to Google Cloud and the implementation of Google Workspace, iGuzzini is keen to develop new machine learning and IoT projects. "We have already created cutting-edge lighting schemes using IoT sensors, like for the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua," says Mario. "In July two years ago, we held our first LightHackers Hackathon. We felt inspired by this energy and we realized that innovation can only be achieved by acting on three components: Experience (business processes), solution (technology), and people. Now we are working to develop new IoT applications both for our products and for internal use. Google Cloud will definitely be a useful tool for those projects."

"We're also planning to start using Cloud Machine Learning Engine to further interpret and analyze the data generated through the new system. Possible applications could include helping to estimate production volumes."

"Apart from the expected economic benefit, the biggest benefit from our partnership with Google is improved collaboration," says Mario. "SAP, Google Cloud, and Google Workspace working together create an integrated ecosystem that simplifies communication and enhances connectivity."

Tell us your challenge. We're here to help.

Contact us

About iGuzzini

iGuzzini designs and manufactures innovative lighting systems, illuminating some of the world's most acclaimed spaces.

Industries: Manufacturing
Location: Italy

About Innext and Techedge

Based between Italy and China, Innext offers strategic consulting to help businesses achieve digital transformations and grow.

Techedge's mission is to help organizations evolve into digital companies through short iterative cycles of business-driven innovation.