Ottobock: Gaining stability, speed, and flexibility with an event-driven architecture
Helping data flow smoothly and reliably
At Ottobock, software systems must communicate efficiently across a global IT landscape. With SAP Integration Suite, the medical technology company can integrate systems in days, not weeks, and transfer data in seconds. And SAP Integration Suite, advanced event mesh provides real-time data and agility that help keep the company, and its customers, on the move.
| Industry | Region | Company Size |
| Life sciences and healthcare | Duderstadt, Germany | ~9,300 employees |
automation of a critical part of the employee-offboarding process.
seconds to transfer employee-offboarding data, down from a day.
days to connect three local ERP systems to CRM software.
Head of System and Data Integration, Ottobock SE & Co. KGaA
Helping software systems communicate with an event-driven approach
For more than a century, Ottobock SE & Co. KGaA has been helping people maintain or regain their freedom of movement. Considered the world market leader in prosthetics, it launched the C-Leg, the first microprocessor-controlled lower-limb prosthesis, nearly 30 years ago. Other life-changing innovations include a self-learning prosthetic hand that makes everyday tasks easier and a waterproof joint suited to swimming, cycling, and jogging. Now present in 45 locations worldwide, Ottobock is embracing data-based development and AI while codeveloping new fields such as neurorehabilitation and quantum sensor technology.
Josef Herwig, the company’s head of system and data integration, understands better than most how shaping the future in this way requires a well-integrated IT landscape. To that end, he and his team wanted to build an event-driven architecture (EDA) that would let systems and applications communicate smoothly through real-time events to increase speed, reliability, and agility.
The existing integration approach, which often involved batch processing, led to infrequent data updates, workload peaks, and manual work. Herwig elaborates, “When a batch is not processed completely, for example, communication breaks down. And we have to monitor this process, taking time away from other tasks.”
For instance, data on employees leaving the company was exported by spreadsheet once a day from HR systems for batch processing. This delayed user deactivation in the Microsoft Active Directory, creating a potential security risk. Meanwhile, manual changes could result in bulk interface failures and incident tickets. Herwig explains, “If we needed to lock an account urgently, this created problems when the batch arrived at night. The processing couldn’t touch this locked account, meaning the whole batch was canceled and you had to rework things the next day. That was a big issue, especially because it should be only a very short time between requesting a user deactivation and actually locking them out.”
With the right integration technology, Ottobock could make integrations such as this more efficient and standardize and improve business processes across the company.
Head of System and Data Integration, Ottobock SE & Co. KGaA
Combining integration technologies within a flexible framework
Ottobock’s landscape already included a range of SAP software, such as SAP SuccessFactors, SAP Concur, and SAP Ariba solutions. As the company also used SAP Integration Suite, part of SAP Business Technology Platform, adopting SAP Integration Suite, advanced event mesh was the logical next step. According to Herwig, “It made sense to use SAP software for eventing across ERP and core systems because we already knew how to develop and operate these solutions, which would make implementation easier.”
Of particular importance to Herwig were the maturity of SAP software, with its constant upgrades and improvements, and the guidance it receives from SAP. “We really value the support SAP offers. We’re not alone anymore because we can contact SAP experts for help when we need it. Working in this way allows us to combine the expertise of SAP and our consulting partners to better understand the technology.”
Ottobock took part in a rapid programming workshop at SAP in which it built sample scenarios in a test environment together with SAP experts. After this workshop, Herwig’s team was confident that it was ready to use advanced event mesh.
The company augmented its EDA with other capabilities of SAP Integration Suite. Herwig describes the Cloud Integration capability as the “glue” that helps bring data together after an event. Cloud Integration connects cloud, on-premises, and third-party applications, enabling smooth data flows and process automation.
The API Management capability within SAP Integration Suite is another key part of the landscape. Herwig explains: “We used to connect systems directly to their own APIs, but we wanted to increase security, transparency, and control. Our plan is to establish API Management as a proxy for all global APIs used within the company for everything from ERP to managing customer relationships and product data. This will give developers a central access point for documentation, test examples, and APIs of relevance to them.”
Head of System and Data Integration, Ottobock SE & Co. KGaA
Accelerating processes within a scalable, reliable architecture
With SAP Integration Suite, advanced event mesh, Ottobock has built a scalable EDA that enables smooth, stable, and fast integrations across multiple SAP software and third-party systems in near-real time. In addition, it can send data throughout the day and queue integrations when a system is not available. Herwig says, “When you’re a global company, you can’t just shut down a system at midnight for batch processing. But if a system does need to shut down for a while, the queue will start again once it becomes available, so you know the data will be sent.”
Ottobock’s first use case, for employee-offboarding data, clearly illustrates the benefits of the new event-driven approach. Now, an event is produced in SAP SuccessFactors solutions, routed through advanced event mesh, and transformed using Cloud Integration. Herwig says, “Once the event is triggered, the information is processed in seconds and the Active Directory is updated immediately for that account, locking the user. This approach is fast, immediate, and stable. It enhances security because everything happens in seconds, not a day. And it eliminates manual work.”
Another use case involving integrating ERP systems with the company’s third-party customer relationship management (CRM) software showcases the scalability of EDA. After successfully integrating the Brazilian ERP system with the CRM software, Ottobock needed to quickly integrate the ERP systems in Colombia, Mexico, and Chile with the CRM software too. Having already established a process for Brazil, it was able to connect the three ERP systems in a matter of days, rather than weeks.
Ottobock is also testing a use case involving checks that the service team must conduct on online orders. When these checks are done, an event is triggered that informs the customer that they can go to the web shop, open the quotation, and convert it to an order. Customers are happier because they can order more quickly and easily, and Ottobock benefits from a speedier process that improves cash flow.
Another application being tested uses EDA to speed up the processing of e-learning certificates that technicians need before ordering particular products. Previously, this process relied on nightly batch processing, meaning it could take a day to unlock a customer in the ERP system after they receive their certification. Now, once certification is granted, the ERP system is unlocked in seconds so that customers can order immediately in their channel of choice.
The new integration framework also means Herwig’s team has a better experience. He explains: “Nobody is interested in doing the same thing all day for years on end. The varied elements of our integration framework enrich our team’s work, and people can see that what they do has real impact.”
Head of System and Data Integration, Ottobock SE & Co. KGaA
Looking forward to an event-driven future
Now, Ottobock is building on these initial use cases to extend its use of advanced event mesh. Herwig says, “Once you have this foundation in place, it’s very easy. Integrating software becomes as simple as connecting building blocks. And we’re expecting many more use cases to follow.”
For instance, Herwig and the sales team are considering how they can use events to automatically send out customer communications, such as when new products are launched.
Although it’s early days for advanced event mesh at Ottobock, Herwig is optimistic about the future of EDA at the company. “EDA will always be our first option. Our greatest barrier at the moment is old target systems that cannot produce events. However, in 10 years or so, this won’t be an issue. To me, this state-of-the-art integration technology is a must. The future for me is definitely event driven.”