Overview
The specialist for software-driven data and document management was founded in 2000, based on the idea that software should be able to be developed just at the push of a button.
Branche
Software development
Employees
100+
Customers
150+
gridscale products in use
• Public Cloud
• Storage
• Managed Kubernetes
The goal
The four software packages offered by otris previously existed exclusively as traditional on-premises applications or in a customized private cloud environment. However, in view of the many advantages of cloud solutions, flexibly scalable and particularly cost-efficient alternatives from the public cloud are increasingly requested by customers. This is the demand that otris Software AG wants to be able to address by utilization of the gridscale technology.
Challenges
Since contract management primarily involves the processing and long-term archiving of legally relevant documents and confidential data, particularly strict compliance requirements must be met here – i.e. maximum access protection, fully DSGVO-compliant service provision as well as data storage in the German legal area. These criteria are without any alternative for otris Software AG due to the high security needs of its clientele.
The solution
With otris contract CLOUD from the gridscale public cloud, otris customers have a particularly secure and at the same time cost-efficient SaaS variant available since the beginning of 2019, which they can use to control all their contract management processes simply, effectively and securely. The infrastructure is designed in such a way that an agile development of the software by the otris experts is possible and additionally ensures that the company’s own IT team can easily monitor and adapt the application by themselves. New clients can be added as required and increasing access loads can be flexibly absorbed.
Key Results
Further development into a successful SaaS provider
Scaling without downtime or performance drops
100% DSGVO compliance and availability guarantee
Since the beginning of 2019, the company has also been offering its software otris contract as a software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution in a particularly secure public cloud environment. otris customers thus receive all the key functions of the product via a clear, standardized user interface and at the same time participate in all the cost and benefit advantages of efficient public cloud operation.
The new offering has enabled us to expand our existing software business very successfully. A growing number of clients are already using our public cloud contract management solution.
Dr. Frank Hofmann, Executive Board at otris
Initial situation and objective
otris software AG offers customers from a wide range of industries specialized software that enables them to digitally control and document important administrative processes. The service portfolio is aimed at medium-sized companies and large corporations throughout Europe. Typical users are specialists and managers from all administrative departments – often with compliance-relevant tasks.
The four software packages otris contract, otris corporate, otris compliance and otris privacy previously existed exclusively as on-premises applications or customer-specific private clouds. The main reason for this was primarily the purpose for which they were used: for legally relevant documents and confidential data, companies must adhere to strict compliance requirements that were previously easier to implement with locally or independently operated applications.
However, given the many benefits of cloud solutions, public cloud alternatives are also increasingly in demand for the management of sensitive and business-critical information.
With otris contract CLOUD from the gridscale Public Cloud, otris customers now have a powerful and at the same time cost-efficient SaaS variant available, which they can use to control all their contract management processes simply, effectively and securely.
Thanks to open interfaces and good documentation, the transfer was much easier than expected.
– Andreas Albuschat, productmanager
The goal: a secure public cloud without IT compliance problems
With respect to compliance with all data protection and security aspects, the list of requirements for selecting a suitable public cloud partner was particularly demanding. The focus here: DSGVO-compliant service provision and data storage in the German legal area. Due to the high security requirements, this criterion was without any alternative for the management of otris. Operation at one of the large, global hyperscalers was therefore out of the question. In addition, the cloud infrastructure had to be designed for high availability requirements and at the same time be easy to use, dynamic and flexible.
Realization
The cloud platform from gridscale successfully prevailed in the selection process of otris software AG. The clear user interface, intuitive usability and – thanks to an open API – easy integration were particularly convincing.
The migration of otris contract to gridscale technology took place successively: In close alignment with the existing on-premises software, a functionally identical private cloud version was initially implemented, which was supplemented at the beginning of 2019 by a SaaS alternative based on the gridscale public cloud.
The public cloud offering provides customers with the otris contract CLOUD software in a predefined standard version and includes all essential software functions that are core elements of professional contract management; operation and data storage take place in gridscale’s certified German high-security data center.
Cost efficiency and easy scalability
“Thanks to open interfaces and good documentation, the transfer was much easier than expected,” says Andreas Albuschat, responsible product manager at otris software AG, pleased with the smooth migration process. “The platform gave developers a great deal of leeway in designing their application, so that all important functions are now presented in a particularly clear manner.”
In addition, SaaS users benefit from high cost efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Public cloud customers of otris contract do not have to worry about setting up and maintaining the infrastructure or installing and managing the application. This significantly reduces IT operating costs.
In addition, the cloud solution offers many advantages in terms of IT security, as gridscale’s experienced IT teams continuously take care of the necessary import of current security patches. A key aspect, however, is also the easy scalability of the IT infrastructure in the cloud. otris can launch additional servers within minutes if required, so that an increased demand and access load can be served without performance drops and technical downtime. “So far, our system is running very efficiently and completely trouble-free,” says Andreas Albuschat.
Experiments with different server setups
The rapid provision of virtual servers at gridscale also gave otris the opportunity to test and compare different scenarios already during the development process. In this way, the IT team was able to evaluate which technical architecture was best suited for the desired public cloud application at an early stage according to the principle of “learning by doing”. The focus was on determining the optimal configuration. The virtual infrastructure of gridscale allows any advance simulation of setups with one or more servers, where access load and tasks are distributed differently.
Summary
“The new offering has enabled us to expand our existing software business very successfully. A growing number of clients are already using our public cloud contract management solution,” says Dr. Frank Hofmann from the otris board. The costs incurred for platform operation always remain transparent and are calculated exclusively on the basis of the actual use of the infrastructure. Billing otris customers is also completely straightforward. They simply pay a monthly fee for software use. Thanks to the simple configuration and scalability of the gridscale infrastructure, otris software AG is also well equipped for the future: New clients can be added as required and increasing workloads can be flexibly absorbed. Initial plans for further expansion of the platform have therefore already been outlined.
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