The solution

Successful conversion despite pandemic

The pilot project started in February 2020 and began with the conversion from an MPLS network to GTT’s SD-WAN technology. An initial challenge at this point was the impact to business of the global pandemic, which made business operations around the world difficult for countless companies. For example, lockdowns in various countries prevented on-site installations in some buildings.

“Nobody had expected this situation; it hit us abruptly. Nevertheless, with the help of GTT’s agile project management, we moved forward step-by-step,” says Heilbrunner. “The reporting and also the organization were impeccable at all times. For example, there was a weekly call to coordinate the current status of all the project-related elements.”

GTT’s agile project management also enabled the implementation of individualized solutions for Endress+Hauser, despite the more difficult conditions caused by the pandemic.

The last sites were successfully converted in November 2020. “The results exceeded our expectations, and we are extremely satisfied with the superior performance capabilities of the new solution,” summarizes Heilbrunner.

Low latency and maximum availability

A major advantage of GTT’s SD-WAN technology for Endress+Hauser is the peering between providers. This supports the group of companies, particularly in its intensive use of Microsoft 365, significantly reducing the distance between the company and the Microsoft backbone and enabling low latency. “We need to be able to rely on the high availability of our data at all times in order to maintain operations,” Heilbrunner says. “The speed of our new network has improved tremendously with the help of GTT’s SD-WAN overlay for corresponding data transfers. We notice this in our day-to-day business, and we’ve already received positive feedback on it internally.”

Endress+Hauser also appreciates the parallel connectivity that is possible with the SD-WAN overlay. This allows the group to use the most efficient line to get the requested resources as quickly as possible. In addition, the workload for Endress+Hauser’s IT department has been reduced by having the service fully managed by GTT. Endress+Hauser received everything from a single partner. “During the pilot project, we were able to experience the benefits of an intelligent SD-WAN overlay in practice,” says Heilbrunner. “It was an exciting learning process for us. For example, we experienced that the SD-WAN technology we use is effective with as few as two internet lines in use. Throughout the project, the GTT experts provided us with excellent advice.”

“The speed of our new network has improved tremendously with the help of GTT’s SD-WAN overlay for corresponding data transfers.”

Jan Heilbrunner – Department Head of Networks and Security, Endress+Hauser

The connected future

Building on the positive experience gained from the pilot project, Endress+Hauser is now starting to scale the SD-WAN solution and expand it for other locations. The cooperation with GTT will be continued primarily in Asian and Russian regions. “GTT is a global player with a lot of expertise and reliable local partners — especially in Asia. We can fully trust them with our conversion for the sites there,” adds Heilbrunner. “We are confident that this phase will also lead to a successful improvement of our infrastructure supporting our business objectives and relieve the burden on our internal IT operations at the affected sites.”

The new project started at the beginning of July. With the help of this expansion, Endress+Hauser plans to further reduce and simplify the complexity of its infrastructure. “The requirements for modern networks are continuously increasing and changing. With the GTT solution, Endress+Hauser can respond flexibly to these changes and now has a comprehensive range of options — regional circuits, MPLS and SD-WAN,” summarizes Mark de Haan, senior vice president, GTT DACH & Benelux. “In the increasingly diverse IT landscapes with hybrid and multi-clouds, IT experts at Endress+Hauser already have enough tasks to handle. With our SD-WAN technology, we support the management of these complex structures and are also happy to advise on further development. We are proud that Endress+Hauser has entrusted us with this pilot project and look forward to further successful collaboration.”