Snam: Unleashing the power of business data to fuel new energy models
Increasing transparency with finance data discovery
In tomorrow’s energy networks, natural gas will be used alongside clean sources such as green gas and hydrogen. With the SAP Datasphere and SAP Analytics Cloud solutions, energy infrastructure operator Snam S.p.A. is making data more accessible to its decision-makers, powering new business models that support this transition.
| Industry | Region | Company Size |
| Oil, gas, and energy | Milan, Italy | 3,610 employees |
IT Project Manager, Snam S.p.A.
Powering smart business decisions with comprehensive data access
Energy infrastructure operator Snam prides itself on being much more than an engineering company. Its mantra – “energy to inspire the world” – encapsulates a drive to become ever-more innovative and sustainable by augmenting traditional activities such as gas transportation and storage with operations spanning biomethane, hydrogen, and carbon capture.
As Snam explores new environmentally friendly technologies, it needs to quickly model novel business scenarios to support strategic planning. However, Snam’s IT landscape was not set up to enable extensive data discovery by business analysts. A reliance on IT to provide reports impeded access to the information needed to make sound business decisions; data simulation was not possible; and it was challenging to include data sources residing outside of the company’s data warehouse.
Snam, therefore, wanted to gain greater business autonomy by allowing diverse teams to independently query company databases and create reports and dashboards with limited IT intervention. It also wanted to improve the report development cycle and shorten the time taken to integrate data from not only SAP solutions but also third-party sources such as Microsoft Excel.
To achieve these goals, Snam decided to implement innovative, cloud-based, self-service analytics tools that could cater to the needs of business analysts and deliver up-to-date insights across the business.
IT Project Manager, Snam S.p.A.
Quickly implementing a new business data fabric in the cloud
Snam chose SAP Datasphere, part of SAP Business Technology Platform, to build a business data fabric that would support a unified platform for managing, analyzing, and using data.
A major advantage of SAP Datasphere is smooth integration with different sources of data, as explained by Davide Corciulo, IT project manager at the company. Corciulo says, “With SAP Datasphere, we have all these extra connectors that can manage data not just from SAP software but also from sources such as Microsoft. The solution facilitates a paradigm shift in which all these sources are integrated in the cloud, increasing data availability.”
Snam also knew SAP Datasphere would support a speedy implementation. As Corciulo notes, “The solution enables a really short project. It allows an agile approach in which, once the groundwork is laid, you can integrate reports in a matter of weeks.”
As outlined in the figure, Snam connected SAP Analytics Cloud with SAP Datasphere to support intuitive reporting and dashboards based on its new data lake. It integrated both solutions with the SAP ERP and SAP Business Warehouse applications and used the SAP BW/4HANA solution to aid a consolidated, consistent view of data across the company.
The energy infrastructure operator also established a new cross-functional team responsible for developing and publishing reports, the Design Authority.
Snam worked with the Cloud Success Services team and SAP ActiveAttention services on a pilot project that brought together finance and procurement data to create reports and KPIs for financial administrators and controllers. Corciulo says, “We put together about 15 custom tables in SAP Datasphere that combined information from across the supply chain, procurement, and finance and controlling, covering areas from purchase orders to payment processes.”
After two earlier phases involving developing a proof of concept and integrating systems to connect data sources, the implementation project took only around three months.
IT Project Manager, Snam S.p.A.
Enhancing business autonomy and agility with one source of truth
Snam now benefits from new insights and KPIs thanks to better data modeling, connectivity, virtualization, and access enabled by SAP Datasphere and SAP Analytics Cloud.
Finance and procurement teams can rapidly create ad hoc reports using self-services. Both they and senior management have access to real-time business analytics and scenario modeling for improved financial decision-making. Aided by Snam’s Design Authority team, collaboration has improved between business users and the IT department, with users also more aware of data-management and data-driven capabilities. IT teams, for their part, spend less time running reports and more on value-added tasks.
For Corciulo, independence from IT and increased speed of reporting are two of the most significant benefits. “Teams can get all the information they need across several tools to put together a report that is unique to them. And they can do this quickly and intuitively, creating reports in seconds. The dashboarding capabilities of SAP Analytics Cloud add real value for decision-makers.”
What’s more, by integrating data from SAP SuccessFactors and SAP Concur solutions in SAP Datasphere, Snam has expanded the use of its new platform to HR teams, allowing them to benefit from up-to-date insights too.
Another clear benefit is nimbler operation in the cloud. Corciulo says, “We could immediately taste the benefits of the cloud. It helps us reduce operating expenses such as hardware management and system services costs. We can delegate aspects such as cybersecurity and systems liability management, reducing risk. In addition, working in the cloud enables more scalable and agile solutions.”
Fueling decisions that inform the energy models of the future
Having established greater data transparency and accessibility across finance and procurement, Snam can now expand the use of its new business data fabric to other areas of the company.
As well as a new era of self-service reporting, Snam’s integrated data platform also provides the foundation for mobile access to reporting, which will further increase agility in decision-making.
Other planned initiatives involve migrating the SAP Business Warehouse application to SAP Datasphere and exploring the planning capabilities of SAP Analytics Cloud to take strategic planning to the next level.
As Snam spearheads the evolution of the energy sector with new sustainable solutions, its innovative data and analytics landscape will continue to underpin decisions that support its ambition to be “tomorrow’s energy company.”