A decade of stable SAP operations.

Klinikum Nürnberg – A decade of stable SAP operations.

Klinikum Nürnberg is one of the largest municipal hospitals in Germany, with more than 2,000 beds across two sites (Campus Nord and Campus Süd), 8,400 employees and a wide range of specialist medical services. To meet the demands of such a large and critical infrastructure, Bechtle has been supporting SAP Basis operations for over ten years—reliably, systematically and in close coordination with the hospital’s IT teams. As part of its Managed Services, Bechtle keeps systems up to date, manages technical components and ensures that operations scale smoothly as requirements grow. The collaboration is clearly structured, available around the clock and backed by deep expertise—ensuring SAP on‑prem operations are reliably shared across a wider, experienced team.

Project details.

Services

Managed Services

Industry

Pharmaceutical / Healthcare
Public sector

Manufacturer

Company size

> 1,500 employees

Challenge.

Klinikum Nürnberg deliberately runs its SAP systems in its own data centre—ensuring full control of its data, maximum oversight and close alignment with clinical processes. However, keeping the required expertise up to date demands significant staffing resources. More specialist knowledge with fewer available specialists? Instead of maintaining extensive SAP expertise in-house at all times, the hospital looked for a different approach—Managed Services. Klinikum Nürnberg needed a partner capable of taking over SAP Basis operations—with clearly defined roles, transparent processes and continuous round‑the‑clock monitoring. A partner able to meet the regulatory requirements of a clinical environment and also in a position to help develop the SAP landscape, ensuring that future steps—including the move to S/4HANA—are planned early and executed cleanly.

Our SAP systems have been running smoothly for ten years because the collaboration is so well established. Bechtle feels like part of our own team—with short communication paths, clear responsibilities and quick responses. Whether technical updates, security notifications or support during our move to a new Hospital Information System (HIS), everything has been handled consistently and reliably. What we value in particular is that Bechtle not only operates the environment, but also provides guidance when new technologies emerge or when we need a forward‑looking perspective. This trust has developed over many years and will continue to support us through the steps ahead, including the transition to SAP S/4HANA.

Thorsten Engmann, Head of Infrastructure Management, Klinikum Nürnberg

Solution.

Bechtle has been responsible for the hospital’s SAP Basis operations for more than ten years, supporting them with a structured, coordinated and continuously refined approach. As part of this, Bechtle established an end‑to‑end system management approach that includes a ticketing system, Service Desk, regular reporting, and both operating and emergency manuals. Daily monitoring with Bechtle Icinga, checks of databases, OS and SAP components, backup jobs, system copies, transport requests and the review of security notes ensure smooth system operation. In parallel, Bechtle manages the Oracle databases and Java systems—including those running Adobe Document Services—applies patches, optimises performance and handles incidents up to 3rd‑level support. Updates are planned jointly with the hospital so that clinical workflows are not disrupted—an essential requirement in a healthcare environment. Bechtle also supported the transition from SAP’s previous Hospital Information System to a new solution and, with future S/4HANA transformations in mind, conducts data‑migration assessments and advises on creating an S/4HANA‑ready infrastructure. Today, Bechtle looks after eleven SAP systems of various sizes, keeps them up to date and serves as a trusted technical partner for operations, further development and the next transformation steps.

Business benefits.

Reduced burden on internal staff – Highly specialised SAP tasks are fully outsourced, relieving the in-house team.
In-depth expertise – Direct access to specialists and best practices from numerous SAP projects available when needed.
Active further development – Close coordination on migrations, new technologies and preparations for SAP S/4HANA.
24/7 availability – Bechtle monitors operations, intervenes proactively and keeps systems up and running at all times.
Proactive security – Early assessment and implementation of security notes, patches and mitigation measures.
Scalable SAP operations – Ensuring long‑term, future‑proof support that adapts to new requirements.