The cloud has come of age. Various estimates calculate its share of the Swiss ICT market at one third by 2020. Swisscom has committed to cloud services as a key growth area in its strategy and offers numerous cloud solutions – alongside its own migration to the cloud. Over 280 companies now use Dynamic Computing Services to source their infrastructure from the cloud at the click of a button. Around 8,000 programmers use the application cloud development environment and the myCloud multimedia storage now caters for some 200,000 private users. Since May 2017, Swisscom has also been providing its network from the cloud with Enterprise Connect. Urs Lehner, Head of Enterprise Customers: "The cloud, coupled with our network, forms the basis for accelerating digitisation in the Swiss economy. Our extended portfolio means we can supply the cloud for all company requirements and secure our own growth."
The journey to the cloud has been a learning process. Halfway through construction Swisscom took an architectural change of direction. Instead of handling all the construction on our own, Swisscom opted for existing standard technologies from third parties and our entry to market was delayed. “Despite the architectural changes, we stuck to our vision,” explains Marcel Walker, responsible for cloud initiatives at Swisscom Enterprise since 2016. The aim was to deliver secure and extensive, integratable services from the cloud in close proximity to the customer, providing added value with managed and professional services that we have developed ourselves.
The Enterprise Service Cloud is an integrated cloud that covers everything from infrastructure via platform services to Managed Services and outsourcing. It is aimed at companies that want to incorporate the cloud into their IT landscape and that value data storage and Swiss jurisdiction. The cloud runs in tier IV-certified Swisscom data centres. Customers benefit from the local expertise of the cloud architects and Swisscom is continually extending the services. From 2018 there will also be industry-specific services, for the banking or health sector for instance, with tighter compliance guidelines. Consultants use professional services such as "Journey to the Cloud" to support companies on site, whether it's for new implementation, migration or integration into hybrid environments.
Ever shorter decision-making processes require companies to make their SAP landscape more flexible. S/4HANA with its in-memory technology is the key to preparing data for decisions in real time. The global cloud providers and SAP itself support SAP from the cloud, but primarily for testing, development or for new greenfield ventures. Swisscom is now using Enterprise Cloud for SAP Solutions to provide an audit-ready solution for running existing SAP landscapes in the cloud. As a result, companies of all sizes can access traditional SAP or virtual SAP HANA servers, adapt them dynamically or fire up test systems for new processes within minutes. As the largest SAP provider in Switzerland, Swisscom uses the expertise of its 300 SAP consultants and its 80 full outsourcing customers to offer flexible infrastructure and dedicated SAP operations for Switzerland.
Swisscom is enhancing its own Cloud services with global Public Clouds from Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure, enabling it to meet the requirements of customers who want to benefit from the wealth of services offered by global providers. This offering is aimed at companies who are looking to join these Public Clouds with the help of an established local partner. Swisscom will offer significantly more than simple reselling. It is positioning itself as a Managed Service provider for Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure on site.
By launching its own cloud solutions and expanding globally in the future, Swisscom aims to meet all its customers’ cloud requirements and fulfil its role as a trustworthy companion in the digital world. ISG market researchers confirm this position: “Swisscom sets the tone in terms of cloud strategy and guarantees both innovation and stability. In terms of competitiveness (....), Swisscom will be peerless in 2017.” (“ISG Provider Lens – Switzerland 2017 Cloud Transformation/Operation Service & XaaS»)
The Enterprise Service Cloud includes virtual CPU and RAM, storage, databases, network components, firewall and loaded balancer – always with Basis security, round-the-clock operability and at least 99.5 per cent service availability. From the very beginning there are also essential service elements including a comprehensive service catalogue, a self-service portal, API functions as well as audit, log and metering.
In the SAP-certified cloud, virtual instances can be managed at the click of a button using a self-service portal. Instead of having fixed sizes, traditional systems can be configured and managed for CPU, RAM and GB – an innovation on the market for SAP-certified infrastructure services. These services can be billed according to requirements. Managed Services such as backup and monitoring ensuring efficient operations.
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