Varian Medical Systems operates out of more than 62 locations worldwide and employs more than 10,000 essential workers who keep the fight against cancer at the forefront of their day-to-day work. In 2017, Varian set out to transform its business from being a global leader in radiation therapy to expanding to what it calls its “Cancer Operating Platform” by 2022.

The goal is to provide service to more than 6 million patients seeking life-saving treatment. Varian plans to do this by using key trends and innovations in radiation therapy, advancing new treatment options, and increasing access to care across the globe.

ASUG spoke to Nagarajan Nallaiah, SAP technology manager at Varian, who walked us through the initial conversion to SAP S/4HANA in 2017 and the most recent upgrade to the 1909 release. We discussed the business case, challenges faced during the upgrade, and lessons learned throughout the project. Nagarajan has been responsible for the SAP landscape at Varian and was tasked with planning and executing an upgrade from SAP S/4HANA 1709 to SAP S/4HANA 1909.

Sharon: Which release of SAP S/4HANA did you originally go live with in 2018? And why did you decide to adopt SAP S/4HANA?