New hosting model: shifting up a gear
MTS MarkenTechnikService is an international branded goods company with around 700 employees at seven locations worldwide. With its headquarters in Germany and subsidiaries in Switzerland, Austria, Poland and Hong Kong, MTS has a strong international network of manufacturers and suppliers. The company offers a fully integrated business model that covers the entire value chain - from product development to presentation at the point of sale.
Hosting: New requirements
With a range of over 20,000 items in the areas of car accessories, bicycles, electrical installations and workwear, MTS MarkenTechnikService serves both the B2B and B2C markets. The customer base ranges from large retail chains to specialist dealers and end consumers.
"In addition to SAP, we use an individually developed warehouse management system and Microsoft solutions, some of which are operated on-premises and some in the cloud. We deliberately opted for external hosting for SAP," explains Alban Osterlow, Head of IT at the MTS Group, referring to the company's complex IT landscape. The change of hosting service provider became necessary after the previous provider announced its withdrawal from the business area. "Although we were not fundamentally dissatisfied, there were occasional points of criticism, such as support problems with upgrades or patches," says Alban Osterlow. Against this background, a change on the company's own initiative would not have been compelling.
In the selection process for a new hosting partner, SK Services was a provider with experience in flexible SAP operating models and a clear customer focus. Decisive criteria were professional expertise, responsiveness and the willingness to respond to individual requirements - aspects that were increasingly lacking in the previous set-up.
The challenge of integration
Despite detailed transition planning and management by SK Services, the transfer of the systems to the new, ISO 27001-certified data centers and the creation of geo-redundancy in accordance with the current BSI standards were not without their hurdles. "Before the actual move, we had numerous problems, but these were caused by the previous hosting provider," reports Alban Osterlow. "Tests showed missing files and incomplete data transfers. However, the experts at SK Services identified these errors and rectified them as far as possible."
The transition initially encountered technical hurdles, for example with data transfer. However, thanks to a hardware solution provided at short notice, the system was moved smoothly - just one week after Whitsun 2024. "When it became clear that data transfer via the line was not possible, SK Services sent a NAS device directly to the old provider at short notice. This pragmatic solution helped us a lot," says Osterlow. Despite the tight schedule, the project was completed efficiently and with minimal personnel input on the customer side. At the final handover, the pragmatic approach and professional project management were particularly emphasized.
"If we ever have to move out of the data center in Karlsruhe again - which of course we hope not, as well as things are going now - we are sure that another move will go much more smoothly," adds Alban Osterlow. The operation is now characterized by high stability and a significant increase in performance. During the transition to the new data center, SK Services' tried-and-tested downtime minimization process was used.
Performance boost
This meant that the interruption for users was reduced to a minimum. Alban Osterlow explains: "With the exception of one very brief service interruption, access to our data and applications was guaranteed throughout. The noticeable improvement in performance is particularly impressive: in some areas, the SAP system works up to twice as fast as before. Long-running jobs that used to take one to two hours are now completed in half the time."
This increase in efficiency did not go unnoticed in the specialist departments either. "It is extremely unusual for users to actively approach IT to praise the speed of the systems," says the IT specialist.
"But that's exactly what happened. Colleagues have asked us what we have changed because the system has become significantly faster." One reason for this noticeable improvement is the thorough preparation by SK Services. "The systems were analyzed in detail in advance, including the applications that run in parallel with merchandise management. SK Services then adjusted the hardware capacities and made further optimizations during operation, for example by resetting system parameters," explains Osterlow. These measures have paid off directly in a stable and high-performance operating environment - much to the delight of IT and the specialist departments.
Close monitoring
A key advantage of the collaboration was the close monitoring that extends deep into the applications. "SK Services often identifies irregularities before we find out about them ourselves. This means that problems are resolved before they affect the users," explains Alban Osterlow.
Gürkan Kondu and Stefan Schrott, both Managing Directors of SK Services, emphasize: "Our approach is to identify problems at an early stage and communicate them proactively. This not only ensures satisfied customers, but also strengthens the reputation of the internal IT departments." This philosophy is also reflected in the regular internal audits, which ensure that the agreed service levels are actually adhered to.
The added value of this collaboration is particularly evident in the high level of operational reliability, which is essential for the smooth running of daily work processes. Reliable system availability around the clock ensures punctual delivery times and stable work processes. In this context, close and efficient communication with SK Services is crucial. Thanks to short response times and a partnership-based exchange via short service channels, potential faults can be quickly identified, communicated and rectified. For example, alerts that occur in monitoring are reported immediately and SK Services responds promptly to restore the processes.
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