When it comes to enterprise resource planning, having disconnected systems is a recipe for inefficiency. For large organisations especially, seamlessly integrating existing tools with resource planning software can be the difference between streamlined operations and constant data headaches.
We spoke with Farhad Pezeshgi, who led the integration of SAP with Retain's resource planning system at Capgemini — a solution that ultimately managed data for 350,000 employees. His insights reveal practical approaches to tackling complex integration challenges that apply to organisations of all sizes.
PROJECT AT A GLANCE:
- 350,000 employees managed across 30+ countries
- 9,000+ resource managers using the system daily
- 10,000-15,000 resource requests processed every day
- Multiple business units spanning IT consulting, strategic consulting, and BPO
- Geographic coverage from US West Coast to Australia and New Zealand
- 20-year partnership between Capgemini and Retain
How Retain made it possible:
- Flexible architecture adapted to regional requirements
- Powerful modules
- Configurable skills taxonomy supporting different regional needs
- Dedicated support team embedded with Capgemini
- Custom development capabilities to address unique challenges
The business case for SAP integration
For many organisations, enterprise systems like SAP handle everything from HR records to financial transactions. However, specialised resource planning tools like Retain offer capabilities that SAP alone can't provide. The challenge lies in making these systems work together seamlessly.
For Capgemini, integrating SAP with their resource planning system was driven by two primary needs:
"The first and most important reason to integrate with SAP was that employee data was managed in SAP, and it was essential to our tool to have this information," Farhad explains. "Without this integration, we would have been forced to maintain duplicate records across systems, creating significant data management challenges."
"The second reason was that the staffing tool would drive the hiring and sub-contracting of resources. Consequently, there was a need to automate this interface and avoid double entry in the systems, which is always a source of error in any integrated system."
This integration created a bi-directional flow of information. SAP provided the authoritative employee data needed for resource planning, while Retain initiated processes back in SAP when additional resources were required. This circular workflow eliminated manual handoffs between systems that typically introduce delays and errors.
These drivers highlight a fundamental truth: integration is about solving real business problems—specifically, ensuring data accuracy, eliminating redundant work, and creating more efficient processes that support better decision-making.
How to build a practical integration strategy
When faced with multiple potential integration points between complex systems like SAP and resource planning tools, it's easy to get overwhelmed. The temptation to build a comprehensive, all-encompassing integration framework can be strong—but often leads to delayed timelines, budget overruns, and frustrated stakeholders.
Farhad's team avoided this common pitfall by taking a business-value-first approach to integration. They carefully analysed which data flows would deliver the most immediate benefits and structured their implementation roadmap in line with that:
1. HR system integration first: "Since resource data was the most important element in resource management, the first integration point was the HR system information. There was significant attention to only retrieving data pertinent for staffing purposes and aligning with GDPR rules on data processing."
2. Recruitment module second: This enabled the resource planning system to directly initiate recruitment requests when needed resources weren't available internally. By automating this workflow, they reduced the time from identifying a resource gap to starting the recruitment process.
3. Vendor management system last: "We integrated with Field Glass (SAP vendor management system) due to its roll-out occurring later than the recruitment module." This final integration completed the resource acquisition loop, allowing the system to tap into external resources when needed.
This phased approach allowed the team to:
▪️ Demonstrate business value early with the most critical integration points
▪️ Learn from each phase before moving to the next
▪️ Adjust their approach based on real-world performance data
▪️ Build stakeholder confidence through incremental successes
▪️ Spread the change management impact across multiple smaller rollouts
"Each integration phase taught us something valuable about data volumes, synchronisation patterns, and performance considerations," Farhad notes. "By the time we reached the Field Glass integration, we had a much clearer understanding of how to optimise the technical approach for our specific needs."
Critical data flows between systems
One of the most crucial steps in any integration project is determining exactly what data needs to move between systems—and equally important, what doesn't. This decision directly impacts performance, compliance, complexity, and, ultimately, the success of the integration.
"We had to be very disciplined about identifying the essential data flows," Farhad explains. "Every additional data element increases complexity and potential privacy concerns, so we constantly asked ourselves: is this information truly necessary for resource planning decisions?"
For effective integration, identifying these essential data flows is crucial. At Capgemini, these included:
- Inbound data (from SAP to resource planning):
- Basic employee information (first name, last name, email, …)
- Limited location data (city and zip code only)
- Sub-contractor information and their current projects (lightweight information since they were not our employees)
- Employee availability status
- Current assignment information
- Outbound data (from resource planning to SAP):
- Job descriptions for recruitment
- Job descriptions for sub-contracting
- Reference data
- Resource allocation plans
- Skills requirements for new hires and sub-contractors
- Bidirectional data:
- Recruitment status updates
- Sub-contracting status
- Sub-contractor assignment to projects
- Project staffing changes
- Resource utilisation metrics
Notice the careful limitation of personal data—only information necessary for resource planning was shared, in compliance with privacy regulations. This data minimisation approach also improved performance and reduced complexity.
"We deliberately excluded data like full home addresses, age, gender, salary information, and other personal details," Farhad notes. "Not only was this aligned with GDPR principles, but it also meant less data to transfer, store, and maintain."
The bidirectional nature of certain data flows created particular challenges, as both systems needed to maintain consistent states. To address this, the team implemented clear rules about which system was authoritative for which data elements, and built validation checks to catch inconsistencies.
"When systems share data, you need to establish clear ownership rules," Farhad advises. "For each data element, we explicitly defined which system was the 'source of truth' and how conflicts would be resolved."
Organisations planning their own integrations should begin by mapping these essential data flows, with careful consideration of regulatory requirements, performance impacts, and business needs. Starting with the minimum necessary data set and expanding only as required proves far more effective than attempting to integrate everything at once.
Managing employee data at scale
Handling employee data at scale was one of the most significant challenges in the integration project, with hundreds of thousands of records that needed to be kept accurate, timely, and compliant with privacy regulations.
"By the end of 2023, we were managing data for 350,000 employees updated daily," notes Farhad. "This wasn't just a matter of volume, but also complexity—different countries had different HR systems, different privacy requirements, and different data structures."
To handle this scale and complexity, the team developed a sophisticated approach to data management:
"The data for employees was extracted once every day from different HR systems, one system per country, and then consolidated into a data hub," Farhad explains. "The majority of the HR systems were SAP, but in some cases we had other systems outside of SAP."
Privacy considerations were key in this design. Farhad's team established clear principles that guided their approach:
"We only used data necessary to the staffing process and avoided all data that could be seen as discriminatory in employee selection. A typical example would be age or gender," says Farhad. "The rules within the company required each system that needed employee-related data to define their data needs and justify the process they performed on the data to be allowed access."
This privacy-by-design approach included several key elements:
- Data minimisation: Only collecting what was absolutely necessary for resource planning
- Purpose limitation: Clear justification for every data element used
- Access controls: Strict governance of which systems could access which data
- Data flow control: Preventing sensitive data from flowing through intermediate systems
"In case any system required employee-related data from Retain, we also requested them to provide proof of the need for processing data," Farhad notes. "The other rule we applied was that Retain would only provide data that is mastered in the application. This meant we never provided employee information coming from HR to other systems—they had to request it directly from the HR teams."
This last point highlights an important point in enterprise integration: avoiding data daisy-chains where information passes through multiple systems, potentially creating confusion about the authoritative source and increasing compliance risks.
For organisations working on similar integrations, these experiences show the importance of treating data governance as a first-class concern, not an afterthought. Establishing clear data ownership, minimisation principles, and access controls from the beginning creates a foundation for both compliance and scalability.
"As volumes grow, you'll be tempted to cut corners on data governance," Farhad cautions. "But that's exactly when you need these principles the most. Without them, you'll quickly lose control of who has access to what data and why."
Resource scheduling integration
When it comes to resource planning and scheduling integration, a business-first perspective guided their integration decisions across several key areas:
Project data management
For project data, they established a one-way flow from finance systems to the resource planning environment:
"Project data was provided to Retain from our finance systems so that we could use them to assign people," explains Farhad. "This data was provided by the finance system into our staging database, from which we loaded it into Retain."
This approach ensured that resource planning decisions were based on financially approved projects, maintaining alignment between resource allocation and budgetary constraints. By using the finance system as the authoritative source for project data, they avoided potential conflicts between systems.
Managing resource conflicts
For resource booking conflicts—a common challenge in any planning system—they implemented a governance-based solution rather than a purely technical one:
"We created specific resource ownership rules within the system that would only allow resource managers in charge of a resource to do the allocation of the resources, and it was their responsibility to do arbitration on the booking of the resources," Farhad notes.
This approach recognised that resource conflicts often require human judgment and negotiation, not just algorithmic resolution. By clearly establishing ownership and accountability, they ensured that conflicts were resolved by the people with the right context and authority.
Capacity planning across systems
Integrating capacity planning across systems presented another challenge. Capacity data needed to flow from resource planning into financial systems for forecasting, while actual utilisation data needed to flow back to inform future capacity decisions and provide feedback on the accuracy of forecasts.
"We established clear definitions of capacity metrics that would work across both systems," Farhad recalls. "Without this alignment, you end up with financial plans based on one definition of capacity and resource plans based on another."
Key lessons for successful SAP integration
After successfully integrating SAP with resource planning across an organisation of 350,000 employees, Farhad's experience offers invaluable insights for organisations of any size. These hard-won lessons can help others navigate the complexities of enterprise integration more effectively.
#1. Focus on business value, not technical trends
One of the most important insights from Farhad's experience is the need to align integration decisions with actual business outcomes.
"Do not use an ETL or an integration platform just because that is what everyone says is the modern way of doing things," Farhad cautions. "Look at what you are achieving and consider the volumes and performances you need."
This approach sometimes meant choosing simpler technical solutions that delivered better performance. "In many instances, we just went with brute force data extraction and then data integration using SQL scripts into our database," Farhad explains. "This required working with Retain to understand how their database works, but the benefit was that we could load up to 1,000 times more data in the same period compared to the use of a standard API through an integration platform."
#2. Consider performance requirements from the start
Performance considerations should be part of integration planning from day one, not addressed as an afterthought when problems arise.
"The biggest challenge for us was the volume of data that could potentially move between the systems at specific peak times and its impact on database performance," Farhad notes. "As time went by, we moved from bulk updates to delta updates based on time stamps."
This evolution highlights the importance of monitoring and optimising integration performance continuously:
"Look seriously at ETL tools, and if you are planning to use APIs, make sure they perform to the level that you need. Understanding your data volumes and processing requirements before choosing your integration approach is critical."
#3. Evolve your approach as volume grows
Integration strategies that work well for smaller datasets may struggle under the weight of enterprise-scale data volumes. Being prepared to evolve your approach is essential.
"As the volume of data increased, we went from integrating the full data to only managing the delta," Farhad explains. "The full data integration is a lot easier since you don't need to keep track of changes, but the delta approach becomes necessary as volumes grow."
This shift required additional infrastructure: "In our case, we used the staging database to keep track of modifications and do delta extractions. This added complexity, but became essential for maintaining performance at scale."
#4. Invest in proper testing environments
Perhaps one of the most valuable insights concerns testing strategy. Farhad's team found that properly simulating production conditions was essential for successful integration.
"We had full duplicates of our production systems, which allowed us to test the system at size rather than trying to find means of extrapolating the result from a smaller system," Farhad notes. "This is costly, but it's the only real means of testing both performance results and ensuring that it reflects what happens in production."
While expensive, this approach delivered significant returns: "It was a big battle to get the budget to achieve this, but we got our return on investment tenfold since we had a guarantee that it would run the same in production and would not require rework to fit the different configuration."
#5. Build clear data governance
Integration projects require clear rules about data ownership, privacy, and system authority.
"For each data element, we explicitly defined which system was the 'source of truth' and how conflicts would be resolved," Farhad explains. "When multiple systems handle the same information, you need absolutely clear governance about which system owns which data."
This governance extended to privacy considerations as well: "Each system had to define their data needs and justify the processes they performed on the data to be allowed access. This discipline was essential for maintaining compliance and data integrity."
#6. Plan for monitoring and maintenance
Integration is not a "set it and forget it" process. Ongoing monitoring and maintenance are essential components of success.
"One of the tools we used was Dynatrace to monitor the end-to-end performance of our network, ScienceLogic to monitor all of our infrastructure," Farhad notes. "And ServiceNow to keep track of all our activities and assistance."
These monitoring capabilities allowed the team to identify potential issues before they impacted users and to continuously optimise performance.
#7. Balance technical elegance with practical needs
Throughout the integration process, Farhad's team balanced idealised technical approaches with practical business needs.
"In integration projects, there's often a tension between technical elegance and practical effectiveness," Farhad observes. "We found that sometimes the technically 'correct' solution wasn't the right one for our specific context and requirements."
This pragmatic perspective guided decision-making throughout the project and contributed significantly to its ultimate success.
The benefits of successful integration: how Retain transformed resource management
The integration of SAP with Retain's resource planning solution delivered benefits that went far beyond technical efficiency. This strategic partnership between systems created measurable business value across multiple dimensions of Capgemini's operations.
"Retain's ability to seamlessly connect with our SAP ecosystem was a game-changer," Farhad explains. "The platform's flexible architecture and Retain's willingness to work closely with us on integration requirements meant we could create connections that truly supported our business processes rather than forcing us to adapt to software limitations."
Quantifiable operational improvements
The integration delivered immediate and tangible benefits to daily operations:
"A clear increase in the quality of data from one system to the other since you avoid double entry in a manual way," notes Farhad. "Automation also reduced the delay in processing some of the information. Retain's ability to consume and standardise data from multiple SAP modules created a single source of truth for resource planning that simply wasn't possible before."
These improvements had meaningful impact on operations:
✅ Reduced delays in data processing: By eliminating manual transfers between systems, information flowed more efficiently.
✅ Better turnaround times on staffing and recruitment: Integration streamlined the process from identifying resource needs to fulfilment.
✅ More coherent information across systems: With consistent data flowing between SAP and Retain, teams worked from the same information.
✅ Increased system usage: As integration made data sharing easier, adoption and engagement with the systems improved.
The role of Retain
Retain's approach to integration was instrumental in achieving these benefits. The platform's flexible architecture and the company's collaborative approach helped Capgemini create connections that supported their specific business needs.
"One of the most important aspects of our relationship was having a dedicated team that worked with us and understood what we had built and how we used the application," Farhad emphasises. The partnership became so integrated that at one point, a Retain team member spent several months on-site with the Capgemini team in India to better understand their needs.
For organisations considering similar integrations, this experience demonstrates the importance of selecting a resource planning solution that not only provides powerful capabilities but also offers the flexibility and support needed for effective integration with existing enterprise systems.
Finding the right balance for your organisation
Farhad's experience demonstrates that while technical sophistication has its place, the focus should always be on business outcomes: data quality, process efficiency, and user experience.
For organisations considering similar integrations, the key is to start with clear business objectives, focus on essential data flows, and choose integration methods based on performance needs rather than trends. With the right approach, even the most complex systems can work together effectively.
Ready to improve your resource planning with better SAP integration? Learn more about how Retain can help simplify your integration challenges by scheduling a demo today.
