OCI Global Unlocks Major Savings and Secures Legacy Data by Retiring SAP Systems

LONDON, UK – January 13, 2026 – OCI Global, a leading European producer of hydrogen products and fertilizers, has successfully completed a major IT initiative to decommission its legacy SAP systems, a move that secures critical historical data while delivering substantial operational cost savings. In partnership with data management specialist Proceed Group, the company utilized the Proceed Cella Cloud platform to navigate the complex aftermath of a multi-stage ERP transformation and significant corporate divestments.

The project addresses a challenge familiar to many large enterprises: what to do with outdated but essential systems after migrating to modern platforms. For OCI, historical data from its former SAP ECC and SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition systems needed to be retained for legal, tax, and audit compliance. By moving this data to a dedicated cloud repository, the company was able to confidently switch off its costly legacy infrastructure.

The High Cost of Holding On

OCI's journey reflects the intricate reality of modern enterprise IT. The company had evolved from a landscape of multiple SAP ECC systems to SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition in 2021, before ultimately transitioning its corporate functions to the SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition. While these moves were aimed at simplifying operations and enabling faster decision-making, they created a digital footprint of retired systems containing invaluable business data.

This challenge was magnified by a period of intense strategic realignment. Since 2022, OCI has engaged in a series of major divestments, returning over $7 billion to shareholders and generating approximately $11.6 billion in gross cash proceeds from sales of major assets, including its stake in Fertiglobe and the Iowa Fertilizer Company. These transactions, while financially successful, added layers of complexity to data governance, as historical information related to the divested entities had to be securely preserved for long-term regulatory and business purposes.

Keeping the old SAP systems running merely for data access would have meant incurring significant and unnecessary costs, including software licensing fees, hardware maintenance, and specialized support. As the 2027 end-of-support deadline for SAP's legacy ECC 6.0 suite approaches, the cost of maintaining such systems is only set to increase, making proactive decommissioning a critical financial and operational priority for forward-thinking organizations.

A Cloud-Native Answer to a Legacy Problem

Faced with this complex data retention challenge, OCI sought a solution that was both cost-effective and compliant. The answer came via a recommendation from SAP Netherlands: Proceed Cella Cloud, an all-in-one Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform designed specifically for system decommissioning.

Proceed Group worked with OCI to architect a structured decommissioning program. The project involved extracting all legacy data from the S/4HANA production system and specific company code data from the older ECC systems. This extracted information was then migrated into the secure Proceed Cella Cloud environment.

This approach aligns with SAP's broader strategy of encouraging customers to maintain a "clean core" in their modern S/4HANA systems. By offloading historical data to a specialized, external platform, companies can avoid cluttering their live ERP environment, ensuring it remains agile and efficient. The recommendation from SAP itself underscores the trust and validation that specialized third-party solutions have earned within the complex SAP ecosystem.

Ian Derbyshire, Group IT PMO Director at OCI, praised the execution of the project. "The project was delivered with precision and supported by a highly professional, well led team focused on delivery excellence and strong project controls," he stated. "The savings achieved were significant, which made the decision to use Proceed Cella Cloud an easy one."

Navigating the Compliance and Accessibility Maze

For a global company operating in the highly regulated chemical industry, data is not just a business asset; it is a legal necessity. OCI is subject to a web of regulations, including Europe's GDPR and REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals), alongside stringent tax and accounting laws in multiple jurisdictions that mandate data retention for periods of five to ten years or more.

Simply storing data is not enough; it must be accessible, integral, and auditable. The Proceed Cella Cloud implementation directly addressed these needs. Five-year retention rules were automatically applied to the migrated data, ensuring it is kept for the required duration and disposed of defensibly at the end of its lifecycle. The platform also includes options for applying legal holds, a critical feature for preserving specific data sets indefinitely during litigation or investigations.

Beyond simple storage, the solution provided OCI with robust reporting capabilities. Alongside standard reports, custom reports were created to allow teams across different geographies and business lines to easily query and retrieve historical information. This ensures that even though the original systems are retired, the data remains a live, accessible asset for audits, tax filings, and ongoing business analysis, effectively bridging the gap between past and present operations.

Robert Reuben, Managing Director at Proceed Group, summarized the project's value. "OCI needed to keep long term access to the data that still matters, without carrying the cost and operational overhead of legacy systems," he explained. "Proceed Cella Cloud provided a structured route to migrate the required data, establish retention controls, and support day to day access through reporting, so OCI could retire the legacy platforms with confidence."