According to surveys, three out of four companies are already using services from the cloud, and the number is rising (source: Bitkom). In particular, it allows many businesses to keep up with rapidly changing hardware and software requirements. Companies expect a great deal from cloud solutions, including in engineering. One question they may ask is whether previous on-premise solutions are also cloud-compatible? Solution provider EPLAN set up its first cloud products and services years ago. Its range is being expanded in the cloud: EPLAN offers customers of the EPLAN Platform a standardised and free implementation solution for deploying the EPLAN Platform in the Microsoft Azure Cloud. The prerequisite here is that these customers have already established or are setting up their company’s own cloud infrastructure in Microsoft Azure. Moreover, EPLAN offers professional advice on implementation. The customer retains control over the operation of the cloud infrastructure and the EPLAN software. Customers benefit from an installation package that has been tested and pre-configured to run, and deployed with state-of-the-art technology.
Available globally in the Microsoft Azure Marketplace
The solution is provided worldwide via the Microsoft Azure Marketplace and follows proven quality standards. Alongside verification by solution provider EPLAN, the applications have also been validated by Microsoft. Due to Microsoft Azure’s worldwide availability, global companies in particular can now put their engineering into the cloud and make cross-location work easier. Deployed in the customer’s own cloud environment, responsibility for operation and maintenance of the EPLAN software and related infrastructure lies with the customer.
Implementation solution makes it easy to get started
The motivation for a complete switch to the cloud is similar: Companies are choosing to move their existing and local IT landscapes to the cloud. This means that overall IT management costs can be greatly reduced or outsourced to external cloud service providers. But there is also a challenge in every changeover: Companies often need intensive support, for example, in specifying the cloud infrastructure, integration with other systems, or location-independent database access. EPLAN has developed a sophisticated solution, which helps to implement EPLAN solutions in Microsoft’s company-specific Azure Cloud. Moreover, EPLAN’s consultants offer set-up assistance via a variety of consulting services.
In the real world: impressive right from the start
SCHULZ Systemtechnik, based in Visbek, Lower Saxony, Germany, is one of the first customers to use EPLAN in the cloud. Phil Krümpelmann, Head of Organisation and IT, is convinced by this, a ground-breaking step: “My colleagues in electrical engineering were thrilled, because this greatly simplifies collaboration within the design team. “After starting with EPLAN Electric P8, we have aimed to integrate other EPLAN systems into the cloud that had been previously running on-premises,” he explained. “We expect cloud technology will give us far greater flexibility in our working processes and lead to an overall increase in efficiency, above all when integrating new systems into the IT infrastructure. And this is happening ever more in this age of digital transformation.”
