VIVERE Group picks Rimini Street to support SAP ECC

VIVERE Group has selected Rimini Street to support its SAP ECC environment, a move the Indonesian interiors and furnishings company expects will free internal IT resources for digital transformation work.

The decision followed a review of options for its SAP roadmap as ECC support deadlines approached and a possible migration to S/4HANA was considered. Operating across interior contracting, furniture manufacturing and furnishing, the group concluded that investment would be better directed towards process improvement and broader business change than a full upgrade.

PT Gema Graham Sarana, VIVERE Group's core company, was founded in 1984 and has been listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange since 2002. Its SAP ECC 6 system runs on IBM Db2 and supports project-based work, manufacturing and distribution.

VIVERE sought advice from Gartner on possible roadmap options and also considered peer recommendations before deciding. It chose third-party support to maintain continuity in its existing environment while creating budget room and giving its internal technology team capacity for other priorities.

The move reflects a wider debate among SAP users nearing the end of mainstream support for older ERP systems. Many businesses are weighing the cost and disruption of migrating to S/4HANA against extending the life of established systems while modernising other parts of their operations.

For VIVERE, avoiding disruption was the priority in a business where enterprise software supports several operating models at once. Its SAP platform underpins project delivery, factory processes and distribution, making stability a central concern.

"Our core philosophy is to keep people, quality and business continuity at the center of our technology decisions," said Sutrisno Yao, Head of IT, VIVERE Group.

"Technology should be a practical enabler that supports reliable operations, improves processes and strengthens the business without creating unnecessary disruption," Yao said.

The arrangement with Rimini Street is also expected to give VIVERE's IT team more time for internal improvements, including stronger integration between systems, more consistent processes and support for a broader digital transformation programme.

"Rimini Street gives us confidence that our SAP environment is well supported, while giving our internal team more room to focus on improvements that help the business move forward," Yao said.

Support choice

Rimini Street provides third-party support for enterprise software from vendors including SAP, Oracle and VMware. Companies using such services typically remain on their existing software releases for longer while buying support and maintenance outside the original vendor ecosystem.

The model has gained traction among IT leaders looking to control operating costs and avoid large transformation projects tied to fixed vendor timelines. It has also proved controversial in parts of the software industry, where major vendors have pushed customers towards newer cloud-based platforms and subscription models.

In VIVERE's case, the move was framed as a practical step to protect operations and redirect attention to higher-value work. The group wants to spend less time dealing with day-to-day SAP support issues and more time on projects that improve the business.

"Our initial goal was clear: protect business continuity, strengthen SAP support and free up our internal team to focus on higher-value priorities," Yao said.

"Rimini Street helps my team spend less time firefighting SAP and more time supporting process improvements and higher-value business needs," Yao said.

Market pressure

The decision comes amid a more volatile operating environment, with manufacturers and project-led businesses under pressure to control spending while improving efficiency. For companies with long-established ERP estates, that can mean extending the life of core systems while prioritising selected upgrades elsewhere.

Rimini Street argued this was a factor in VIVERE's choice, saying clients increasingly want to free both capital and staff time from routine support work. It positioned its support offering as a way for customers to keep key systems running while pursuing technology change at their own pace.

"In today's highly competitive, volatile market, lowering the cost to operate and freeing up capital and talent is no longer a choice," said Nancy Lyskawa, EVP and Chief Client Officer, Rimini Street.

"Forward-thinking companies such as VIVERE Group are choosing Rimini Street to not only create capacity for innovation, but to deliver it," Lyskawa said.