Dole Improves Performance, Gains Platform of Innovation with SAP Migration to AWS

Dole Packaged Foods, LLC (Dole) improved system performance and gained a platform for innovation with the help of AWS Premier Consulting Partner Syntax. Syntax referenced the AWS Well-Architected Framework to create an SAP ERP design across multiple availability zones (AZs) for cost-effective security and resiliency. With the move to AWS, Dole achieved its targeted monthly spend, without compromising quality of service.

Dole Packaged Foods, LLC (Dole) is an established provider of packaged, shelf-stable fruit, frozen fruit, dried fruit and juices to a global market. The company’s primary operations encompass growing, sourcing, distributing, and marketing fruit and healthy snacks. Since 2009, Dole has run its SAP environment in the Syntax private cloud, relying on Syntax to support and secure Dole’s mission-critical SAP applications. Looking to take the next step in digital transformation, Dole set out to identify and evaluate public cloud options to best meet its needs.

As Dole continues to evolve its SAP environment, there is an on-going corporate goal to bundle and supersede older technologies that require more infrastructure with newer technologies that need less infrastructure. Dole recognized that the versatility of public cloud will allow that to happen with both speed and elasticity.

Cost optimization, without compromising quality of service, was a primary consideration for Dole. Building on the strong rapport already in place, Syntax worked with Dole’s Head of Digital Technologies-Worldwide Packaged Foods, Gabe Dellevigne, and Bill Farrell, Director of SAP Technology and Governance, to identify the best path forward for public cloud adoption.

Syntax worked with Dole to evaluate public cloud options, comparing different ways to optimize cost vs. performance and feature set. Together, Dole and Syntax identified AWS as the optimal public cloud provider for Dole’s workloads, with Syntax securing the right pricing structure to meet Dole’s cost objectives. Given the broad range of AWS services available and the various SAP systems that could integrate with AWS services, the Syntax team recognized AWS as the preferred platform for overall innovation.

Choosing Syntax for its SAP on AWS migration, Dole leveraged a decade of trust in Syntax’s experienced SAP Basis team, providing a seamless transition from private to public cloud. Syntax’s deep roots, designation as an AWS Premier Consulting Partner and AWS SAP and Migration Competency Partner, and its proven performance and availability architecture made for a solid pairing.

The added visibility and transparency through Syntax Intelligent Autonomous Platform Services for AWS and Syntax CxHub were recognized as a value add, empowering Dole with a real-time view of its cloud environment. This mission-critical business application platform combines Syntax ERP expertise with the power and scale of AWS to deliver next-generation reliability, compliance, security, performance and cost optimization. Dole also valued the expediency and flexibility that Syntax demonstrated in moving forward.

The source systems were on virtual machines in the Syntax private cloud: SAP HANA for several instances running on IBM Power Systems, Cisco networking, HPE Blades, and 3PAR storage. Dole also had Windows SQL Server for its non-SAP systems, and one SAP system on Windows SQL Server. The migration of Dole’s SAP applications to AWS encompassed S/4HANA, Business Warehouse (BW), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Process Orchestration (PO), Solution Manager, Unified Demand Forecast (UDF), and BusinessObjects (BO).

Using AWS best practices and AWS Well-Architected Framework as a reference, Syntax created an ERP design across multiple availability zones (AZs), with workloads split between two zones for cost-effective security and resiliency. For the S/4HANA system, Syntax configured high availability at both the application level and the SAP HANA level. With AWS partner SUSE and the SAP Certified Marketplace images provided, setting up HANA clustering and application tier clustering was very straight forward. Having the active/passive cluster in two availability zones allows Dole to achieve its recovery time objective (RTO) and recovery point objective (RPO) for production workloads.

For this homogeneous migration from private to public cloud, Syntax used HANA replication, as well as AWS CloudEndure, to facilitate the migration. Through cross-region replication, Syntax replicated the entire environment to an alternate region, protecting against catastrophic failure. Syntax utilized AWS Snowball, a data migration and edge computing device, for the initial seeding of the data, ahead of establishing a Direct Connect circuit to continue replication. Multiple Direct Connects and multiple IPSec VPN tunnels were fundamental to establishing complex network connectivity with high availability and redundancy.

Modernizing Dole’s backup strategy, Syntax removed the complexities and licensing expense of a legacy backup application tool, replacing with AWS-provided techniques, tools, and AWS Lambda-based automation. Syntax used AWS Backint Agent for SAP HANA to efficiently and cost-effectively backup HANA databases. Syntax also leveraged:

• Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) for compute
• Amazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS)
• Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) for backups and replication to the disaster recovery region
• Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (Amazon VPC) for some of the networking components
• AWS Directory Service for Windows domain controllers
• Amazon Elastic File System (Amazon EFS)
• Amazon Simple Email Service (Amazon SES)
  

Syntax in collaboration with AWS delivered a timely SAP on AWS solution that met Dole Packaged Foods’ objectives for a cost-optimized, secure, flexible, versatile, and transparent public cloud solution. Syntax CxHub gives Dole full visibility into its SAP on AWS environment.

Dole achieved its targeted monthly spend, without compromising quality of service, and saw improvements in system performance post migration. Moving to AWS improved the speed of standing up a system that had previously been decommissioned, accomplishing in days what would have taken weeks or months to accomplish before.

Dole values the enhanced versatility of using the cloud as an isolated testing environment without negative commercial impact or disturbance. Looking ahead, Dole is most enthusiastic about the long-term innovation that will come from having chosen AWS and Syntax for the move to public cloud.