Cologne, 04 February 2010 - Schleicher Electronic is outsourcing its SAP environment to the Pironet NDH Datacenter. Following its carve-out from the parent group, the medium-sized specialist for control systems was faced with the options of either developing its own ERP resources or outsourcing its operations. The Berlin-based company's business application is operated by Pironet NDH at its high-security datacenter and is provided via a secure corporate network. To tailor the SAP environment to the requirements of Schleicher Electronic, Pironet NDH cooperated with Steeb Anwendungssysteme GmbH. The SAP subsidiary was responsible for license management, data migration as well as the integration of the applications.

System separation in record time
Separation of the SAP ERP system from the parent group IT network proved a challenge for the service provider's team. "All accounting and business data were extracted within two months while operations were ongoing," reports Karsten Roesener, Consultancy Manager at Steeb.

Individual ERP environment
"As a result of the carve-out we had the opportunity of carrying out a greenfield configuration for our IT environment. Without having to take existing systems into consideration, we could therefore implement a flexible sourcing strategy," explains Ralf Hohmann, Managing Director of Schleicher Electronic. The decisive factor in outsourcing the SAP system was the close cooperation between the specialists in operations and integration. "Our requirement for outsourcing was the ability for SAP system adjustment even when being operated externally. The solution now accurately maps our processes, and at an overall lower cost than before," says Hohmann.
New supply models for outsourcing solutions in small and medium-sized companies
For Felix Hoeger, executive board member of the Pironet NDH group, the cooperation between the system integrator and the outsourcing service provider has been exemplary – especially for complex projects: “Reacting to individual customer requirements as well as comprehensive service level commitments covering the complete IT landscape of our clients play a significant role especially in the SMB sector. Thanks to our integration partner network and our longstanding experience in operating business-critical systems we are able to respond to complex requirements even in an outsourcing model. Due to our complete focus on application operation, we are an ideal partner for system integrators and ISVs that want to extend their portfolio by new IT delivery models like IT as a service or cloud computing.”


About Schleicher Electronic With 120 Employees, Schleicher Electronic GmbH & Co. KG develops and manufactures high-efficiency control systems offering unique performance ranges. Alongside this focal element of the range of products, networking and visualization components round off the portfolio. The Berlin-based company builds on decades of experience in safety and control engineering. Using tailored application engineering, Schleicher also implements individual solutions in close cooperation with users – everything from a single automation component to a customized overall concept. For more information, visit www.schleicher-electronic.com.

About Steeb Anwendungssysteme Steeb Anwendungssysteme GmbH is a leading provider of SAP-solutions for Germany's midsize market. Founded in 1974, the company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SAP since 1991. Steeb offers business software, consulting and services that enable midsize companies in all industries to become more successful. With more than 1.000 customers, Steeb generated sales of 68.2 million EURO in the fiscal year 2008. 220 employees work in 6 locations. For more information, visit www.steeb.de.

Pironet NDH Datacenter is a leading ICT outsourcing vendor for German small- and medium sized businesses (SMBs) and offers a full range of services for the efficient and secure operation of business applications and ICT infrastructures. Core services include holistic solutions and flexible cost/use billing models for the provision of IT resources according to modern on-demand concepts like Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) or Cloud Computing.

The centralization and outsourcing of, for example, business applications from SAP and Microsoft, as well as the use of a network infrastructure also provided by Pironet NDH allows SMBs to significantly reduce their investment and operational expenses for the management of information and communication and concentrate on their core business tasks.

Customers include numerous SMBs as well as international corporations.

Press contact:
Pironet NDH
Thomas Sprenger
Press Office
Von-der-Wettern-Straße 27
51149 Cologne, Germany
Tel.: +49.2203.93530-1324
Fax: +49.2203.93530-99
E-Mail:

Manfred Haner
Steeb Anwendungssysteme GmbH
Corporate Communication
Heilbronner Straße 4
74232 Abstatt, Germany
Tel.: +49.7062.673-134
Fax: +49.7062.673-164
E-Mail: manfred.haner@sap.com
Internet: http://www.steeb.de