Banque Nationale du Canada – SAP Innovation Awards 2025
National Bank of Canada struggled with its legacy SAP systems, facing integration, scalability, and sustainability issues. By migrating to SAP Integration Suite and leveraging event-driven architecture, the bank reduced B2B partner integration time from two months to one week, saved $350,000 annually, upskilled developers, and reduced reliance on paper-based processes, supporting its net-zero goals. - 5409 Download the DocumentPUBLIC
Entry Pitch Deck
National Bank of Canada
Sai Krishna Kalivarapu
Banking
BNC’s Journey to a More Agile and Connected
Bank
Entry Pitch Deck
National Bank of Canada
Sai Krishna Kalivarapu
Banking
BNC’s Journey to a More Agile and Connected
Bank
COMPANY NAME:
HEADQUARTERS:
INDUSTRY:
WEBSITE:
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES:
Company information
2
National Bank of Canada
Montreal, Canada
Banking
https://www.nbc.ca/
32,000
Founded in 1859, National Bank of Canada (BNC) is a leading financial
institution serving individuals, businesses, and institutions across Canada.
Committed to sustainability, BNC aims to reduce operational greenhouse
gas emissions by 25% by 2025 and has set interim targets for carbon-
intensive sectors. As a founding signatory of the Principles for
Responsible Banking, BNC integrates environmental, social, and
governance (ESG) principles into its strategy.
PUBLIC
HEADQUARTERS:
INDUSTRY:
WEBSITE:
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES:
Company information
2
National Bank of Canada
Montreal, Canada
Banking
https://www.nbc.ca/
32,000
Founded in 1859, National Bank of Canada (BNC) is a leading financial
institution serving individuals, businesses, and institutions across Canada.
Committed to sustainability, BNC aims to reduce operational greenhouse
gas emissions by 25% by 2025 and has set interim targets for carbon-
intensive sectors. As a founding signatory of the Principles for
Responsible Banking, BNC integrates environmental, social, and
governance (ESG) principles into its strategy.
PUBLIC
CHALLENGE: SOLUTION: OUTCOME:
A More Agile and Connected Bank
3
Faster partner product integrations
(from 2 months to 1 week)
Annual cost savings
(by retiring legacy infrastructure)
Legacy and underutilized interfaces
decommissioned
75%
National Bank of Canada
$350 K 50+
National Bank of Canada (BNC) faced integration,
scalability, and sustainability challenges with its legacy
SAP Process Integration/SAP Process Orchestration
system. Managing 450+ interfaces, the bank struggled
with complex point-to-point integrations and lengthy
partner integrations; further, they were looking to
reduce costs of the overall infrastructure. Employee
upskilling was a critical part of the project, as BNC’s
development team needed to transition from Java-
based SAP Process Integration to JavaScript and
Apache Groovy in the SAP Integration Suite. Lastly,
paper-based processes contradicted BNC’s ESG and
net-zero commitments, so they looked for a digital-
first, cloud-based approach.
Migrate from legacy system to SAP Integration Suite,
leveraging event-driven architecture, API-led integration,
and automation tools:
• Enable real-time business processes at scale with an
event-driven architecture, using Kafka and AMQP
adapters for data processing and OAuth 2.0 for secure
API authentication
• Utilize Cloud Integration and API Management to
ensure seamless connectivity between cloud and on-
premise systems
• Develop Deploy/Undeploy and Code Search tools to
enhance developer and project efficiency
Leveraging SAP Integration Suite and an event-driven
architecture led to several key outcomes:
• Faster B2B partner product integrations, reducing
onboarding time from two months to one week
• $350 K in annual savings by retiring legacy systems
and streamlining operations
• Quick developer upskilling to modern tools like
Groovy scripting
• Reduced reliance on manual and paper-based
processes, supporting the bank’s net-zero goals
.
PUBLIC
A More Agile and Connected Bank
3
Faster partner product integrations
(from 2 months to 1 week)
Annual cost savings
(by retiring legacy infrastructure)
Legacy and underutilized interfaces
decommissioned
75%
National Bank of Canada
$350 K 50+
National Bank of Canada (BNC) faced integration,
scalability, and sustainability challenges with its legacy
SAP Process Integration/SAP Process Orchestration
system. Managing 450+ interfaces, the bank struggled
with complex point-to-point integrations and lengthy
partner integrations; further, they were looking to
reduce costs of the overall infrastructure. Employee
upskilling was a critical part of the project, as BNC’s
development team needed to transition from Java-
based SAP Process Integration to JavaScript and
Apache Groovy in the SAP Integration Suite. Lastly,
paper-based processes contradicted BNC’s ESG and
net-zero commitments, so they looked for a digital-
first, cloud-based approach.
Migrate from legacy system to SAP Integration Suite,
leveraging event-driven architecture, API-led integration,
and automation tools:
• Enable real-time business processes at scale with an
event-driven architecture, using Kafka and AMQP
adapters for data processing and OAuth 2.0 for secure
API authentication
• Utilize Cloud Integration and API Management to
ensure seamless connectivity between cloud and on-
premise systems
• Develop Deploy/Undeploy and Code Search tools to
enhance developer and project efficiency
Leveraging SAP Integration Suite and an event-driven
architecture led to several key outcomes:
• Faster B2B partner product integrations, reducing
onboarding time from two months to one week
• $350 K in annual savings by retiring legacy systems
and streamlining operations
• Quick developer upskilling to modern tools like
Groovy scripting
• Reduced reliance on manual and paper-based
processes, supporting the bank’s net-zero goals
.
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4
We chose SAP Integration Suite
because of its flexibility. When we
started looking into it, it was easy to
develop. It's a no-code, low-code
solution.
Sai Krishna Kalivarapu
SAP BTP Integration Architect and Development Manager
PUBLIC
We chose SAP Integration Suite
because of its flexibility. When we
started looking into it, it was easy to
develop. It's a no-code, low-code
solution.
Sai Krishna Kalivarapu
SAP BTP Integration Architect and Development Manager
PUBLIC
GLOBAL CHALLENGES
Challenges
BUSINESS CHALLENGES
PUBLIC 5
BNC's mission is to have a positive impact on people’s lives, and a
sustainable future is a part of that. In support of our climate
ambitions BNC has three priorities:
1. Achieve net-zero by 2050: Reduce greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions from our financing and operations activities
2. Support our clients: Actively support and advise our clients in
their transition to a low-carbon economy and support the
development of the renewable energy sector
3. Exercise our leadership influence: Engage with our clients
and collaborate with our peers, banking organizations, and the
public sector
• Complex Integration landscape: BNC managed a vast
network of SAP and non-SAP systems, including 450+ process
integration/process orchestration (PI/PO) interfaces and
integration flows in its legacy on-premise solution.
• Dependence on legacy systems: Reliance on outdated
integration platforms hindered BNC's agility, making it
challenging to respond swiftly to market changes and
technological advancements. An event-driven architecture was
needed to handle high-volume events in real time.
• Operational inefficiencies: Manual, paper-based processes
resulted in increased operational costs and reduced
productivity.
• Upskilling: Developers accustomed to Java tools needed to
upskill to adapt to modern technologies, requiring investment in
training and employee buy-in.
Challenges
BUSINESS CHALLENGES
PUBLIC 5
BNC's mission is to have a positive impact on people’s lives, and a
sustainable future is a part of that. In support of our climate
ambitions BNC has three priorities:
1. Achieve net-zero by 2050: Reduce greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions from our financing and operations activities
2. Support our clients: Actively support and advise our clients in
their transition to a low-carbon economy and support the
development of the renewable energy sector
3. Exercise our leadership influence: Engage with our clients
and collaborate with our peers, banking organizations, and the
public sector
• Complex Integration landscape: BNC managed a vast
network of SAP and non-SAP systems, including 450+ process
integration/process orchestration (PI/PO) interfaces and
integration flows in its legacy on-premise solution.
• Dependence on legacy systems: Reliance on outdated
integration platforms hindered BNC's agility, making it
challenging to respond swiftly to market changes and
technological advancements. An event-driven architecture was
needed to handle high-volume events in real time.
• Operational inefficiencies: Manual, paper-based processes
resulted in increased operational costs and reduced
productivity.
• Upskilling: Developers accustomed to Java tools needed to
upskill to adapt to modern technologies, requiring investment in
training and employee buy-in.
PROJECT OBJECTIVES WHY SAP
Objectives
6
BNC chose SAP Integration Suite for its robust cloud integration
capabilities and flexible no-code/low-code environment,
accelerating integration delivery and innovation.
SAP Integration Suite’s capabilities— Event Mesh, Advanced Event
Mesh, Cloud Integration, and API Management—enable BNC to
build a modern event-driven architecture that handles high-volume
transactions, scales seamlessly, and processes data in real time.
Prebuilt integration content allows for faster deployment.
SAP Integration Suite also provides enterprise-grade security,
OAuth 2.0 authentication, and scalable cloud management,
ensuring strong data protection and compliance.
This new architecture streamlines operations while advancing
BNC’s sustainability, efficiency, and digital transformation goals.
The key objectives were the following:
• Migrate 450+ interfaces from SAP Process Integration/SAP
Process Orchestration to SAP Integration Suite, adopting an
event-driven architecture to enable real-time, scalable SAP and
non-SAP connectivity and greater agility for future digital
initiatives.
• Adopt SAP best practices, using prebuilt integration content for
rapid deployment, appropriate connectors for each system, and
a phased rollout to minimize risk and prove value.
• Align with BNC’s sustainability, efficiency, and innovation goals
by reducing paper-based processes, streamlining operations,
and leveraging event-driven integration to support faster,
automated decision-making.
PUBLIC
Objectives
6
BNC chose SAP Integration Suite for its robust cloud integration
capabilities and flexible no-code/low-code environment,
accelerating integration delivery and innovation.
SAP Integration Suite’s capabilities— Event Mesh, Advanced Event
Mesh, Cloud Integration, and API Management—enable BNC to
build a modern event-driven architecture that handles high-volume
transactions, scales seamlessly, and processes data in real time.
Prebuilt integration content allows for faster deployment.
SAP Integration Suite also provides enterprise-grade security,
OAuth 2.0 authentication, and scalable cloud management,
ensuring strong data protection and compliance.
This new architecture streamlines operations while advancing
BNC’s sustainability, efficiency, and digital transformation goals.
The key objectives were the following:
• Migrate 450+ interfaces from SAP Process Integration/SAP
Process Orchestration to SAP Integration Suite, adopting an
event-driven architecture to enable real-time, scalable SAP and
non-SAP connectivity and greater agility for future digital
initiatives.
• Adopt SAP best practices, using prebuilt integration content for
rapid deployment, appropriate connectors for each system, and
a phased rollout to minimize risk and prove value.
• Align with BNC’s sustainability, efficiency, and innovation goals
by reducing paper-based processes, streamlining operations,
and leveraging event-driven integration to support faster,
automated decision-making.
PUBLIC