Sera Neon joined the Heriot-Watt programme to provide post-implementation remedial services and managed support. Our work progressed from rapid incident response to stabilisation and then to continuous improvement, using a blend of functional, technical and operational interventions.

Key actions and approach

• Mobilised SWARM/Hit Squad teams to identify blockages and resolve showstoppers, addressing priority one issues immediately.

• Introduced a clear severity scoring matrix (1 = critical to 4 = low) with formally defined severity definitions tied to business impact; engaged the wider user community in reviewing and correctly categorising risks, issues and testing defects.

• Worked with programme and project managers (and the SI where appropriate) to prioritise missing or unserviceable functionality, distinguishing between configuration/data errors, incomplete solution designs and unserviceable builds.

• Where fixes were configuration or data related, identified, tested and implemented remediation; where design was incomplete, produced options and worked with HWU to select and implement the preferred design; where builds were unserviceable, defined remediation tasks and delivered the required rework.

• Delivered development work including reports, integrations and a Hyperion/EPM prototype, and created standardised, reusable components (for example an auto-receipting tool rolled out across campuses).

• Established a 24/7 Support Room and a consistent ticketing and logging procedure so all requests followed the same process, with tickets managed within defined SLAs and regularly reviewed.

• Aligned support teams to local campus time zones (UK, UAE, Malaysia) while operating a single standard operating model from our India centre, enabling virtual floor-walking support and ticket resolution across the full geography.

• Provided flexible resourcing from a pool of consultants (initially a team of ten), able to flex up or down according to demand, and combined 1st-line support with access to 2nd-line specialists as required.

• Transitioned from time-and-materials delivery to a fully costed managed services proposal covering Foundation (remediation, integration and automation) and Realisation (continued development, reporting, integrations and risk mitigation via SWOT analysis).

Sera Neon executed a structured, four-phase engagement — Foundation, Remediation, Stabilisation, and Continuous Improvement — to systematically identify, resolve, and optimise NEP’s Oracle EPM environment.

Foundation Phase

• Conducted a rapid assessment to identify critical performance bottlenecks and inefficiencies.

• Performed a detailed review of functional processes, technical configurations, and data integrity.

• Identified nine key enhancement areas to drive system optimisation and improve user experience.

Remediation Phase

• Prioritised and implemented six critical enhancements to stabilise the environment.

• Streamlined 180 business rules down to 30 active, optimised rules — significantly reducing complexity and improving performance.

• Executed a structured remediation plan to refine configurations, reporting structures, and integrations.

• Migrated data and metadata integrations from a third-party tool to native EPM capabilities, improving performance, reducing dependencies, and enhancing data consistency.

Stabilisation Phase

• Provided post-remediation support to ensure smooth operations and sustainable improvements.

• Delivered knowledge transfer sessions and best practice training to internal teams, empowering them to manage and adapt the system independently.

• Initiated the migration of NEP’s Pay Model from Excel to EPM, improving data accuracy and streamlining financial processes.

Continuous Improvement (Ongoing)

• Established a framework for periodic analysis and ongoing system optimisation.

• Conducted regular performance reviews to maintain scalability, stability, and alignment with NEP’s evolving business requirements.

• Continued to deliver enhancements, ensuring Oracle EPM remains a strategic enabler of operational excellence.

Sera Neon delivered a comprehensive Oracle Fusion Strategic Review and Transformation Roadmap, covering process, data, integrations, automation, reporting, and architecture.

1. Deep-Dive Platform & Process Review

Sera Neon conducted a structured review across:

• Accounts Receivable & Debt Management
• Cash Management
• Integrations with third-party systems
• Regulatory and statutory submissions
• Reporting & analytics
• Automation & RPA opportunities
• Architecture, security, and approvals

This included:

• Review of configuration workbooks, FDDs, TDDs
• Review of production configuration
• Integration performance and failure analysis
• Process walk-throughs with business teams
• Identification of bottlenecks, risks, and inefficiencies

2. Functional & Operational Optimisation Design

Sera Neon produced detailed, prioritised recommendations to:

Simplify and standardise:

• Receivables, Cash Management, Debt Management
• Replace manual processes with standard Oracle functionality

Improve:

• Auto-application
• Dunning
• Refunds
• Statements
• Bank reconciliation
• Intercompany and interbank processes

Introduce:

• Proper data standards
• Validation rules
• Mandatory fields
• Controlled master data governance

3. Integration Architecture & Performance Remediation

Sera Neon conducted a detailed technical review of the organisation’s critical integrations between Oracle Fusion and multiple third-party systems. The review identified performance bottlenecks, fragile design patterns, and gaps in error handling, monitoring, and reconciliation. A clear remediation strategy was defined to simplify integration design, improve reliability, standardise logging and notifications, and introduce stronger operational controls—significantly reducing manual intervention, improving data consistency, and strengthening end-to-end process resilience.

4. Automation, Analytics & Future Architecture

Sera Neon assessed the client’s existing automation and reporting landscape and defined a pragmatic roadmap to modernise both. This included replacing fragile, UI-based automation with API-driven integration, identifying high-impact candidates for true process automation, and defining a scalable analytics and dashboard strategy. In parallel, Sera Neon reviewed the wider platform architecture, security model, and approvals framework to ensure the solution could support future growth, stronger governance, and a more data-driven operating model.

5. Delivery Roadmap

The engagement concluded with a fully prioritised, phased delivery roadmap covering immediate stabilisation actions, short-term optimisation initiatives, and longer-term strategic improvements. This provided the client with a clear, actionable plan to reduce operational risk, improve performance, and continuously evolve their Oracle Fusion platform in line with business and regulatory demands—while delivering tangible value at every stage of the journey.

Sera Neon was embedded into the programme as a strategic testing and assurance partner, working as an extension of the client’s delivery team alongside the systems integrator from pre-go-live through post-go-live phases. Sera Neon took ownership of the end-to-end testing strategy across the Oracle Cloud landscape, covering HCM (including payroll), finance, integrations, reporting, and data migration.

The team designed and governed the complete testing framework, spanning system testing, integration testing, regression testing, user acceptance testing, and operational acceptance testing. In parallel, Sera Neon provided independent assurance of all supplier deliverables, ensuring solution quality, process integrity, and operational readiness were never compromised.

Beyond test governance, Sera Neon led test planning, execution management, defect triage, and reporting, while also supporting the business directly during UAT and go-live through hands-on floor-walking and hypercare support. Leveraging its extensive utilities-sector test asset library, Sera Neon accelerated delivery, improved test coverage, and significantly reduced programme risk, while acting as a critical bridge between the business and the SI to ensure issues were resolved quickly, transparently, and with long-term quality in mind.