The client is a large UK-based utilities and infrastructure services group, employing over 6,000 people and operating across 20+ business units. The organisation delivers critical national infrastructure services across multiple sectors and runs highly complex HR, finance, and operational processes at scale.
To modernise its enterprise systems landscape, the organisation embarked on a multi-year Oracle Cloud (Fusion) transformation programme, covering HCM, Finance, Integrations, Reporting, and Data Migration. Given the scale and criticality of the programme, delivery assurance, quality, and operational readiness were essential to success.
The Challenge
The client was undertaking a large, business-critical Oracle Cloud implementation with a systems integrator delivering the core solution. Due to the size and complexity of the organisation, the programme carried significant risk across:
- HCM and Payroll processes
- Core Finance operations
- Integrations with multiple enterprise systems
- Data migration from legacy platforms
- Reporting and operational readiness
The client needed:
- An independent assurance layer to validate SI deliverables
- A robust, enterprise-grade testing strategy across all workstreams
- Strong governance, defect management, and quality control
- Support during UAT and go-live readiness
- A partner who could operate as an extension of the internal programme team
Any failure in quality or readiness would have resulted in serious business disruption across thousands of users.
What did Sera Neon do?
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.
The Results
- Delivered a fully governed, enterprise-grade testing framework across HCM, Finance, Integrations and Data
- Significantly reduced go-live risk across critical business processes
- Enabled successful UAT and operational readiness for thousands of users
- Accelerated delivery using reusable utilities-sector test assets
- Protected the organisation from high-impact operational and payroll risk
- Provided independent quality assurance of all SI deliverables
- Improved defect detection, prioritisation, and resolution speed
- Established a sustainable test management and assurance capability
- Improved collaboration and governance between business, SI, and programme teams
- Created a repeatable assurance model for future Oracle Cloud phases and rollouts
