World-Renowned Skincare R&D Enabled with Total Network Automation

The Customer

Founded in 1983, Sebapharma GmbH & Co. KG is the sales company for Sebamat GmbH, Herzpunkt Pharma GmbH, and Maurer Pharma GmbH. With the renowned brand sebamed, Sebapharma GmbH & Co. KG has had many years of success as a competent, innovative, and performance-oriented company. Today the company has over 200 employees, makes more than 100 different products, and has sales in over 80 countries.

Sebamed—the World’s First “Soap Without Soap”

In 1952, Dr. Heinz Maurer worked at the University Clinic Bonn in Germany, helping patients suffering from acute eczema. Seeing how detrimental soap products were for patients sparked a search for a better alternative. Dr. Maurer created the first-ever soap-free cleansing bar in 1967, called Sebamed, the first “soap without soap”—and with this he pioneered the medicinal skincare market in which Sebamed, stylized now as sebamed, remains a market leader to this day.

Other copycat companies quickly followed suit, but their products were no match for sebamed. Quality prevailed then, and today it still does—sebamed today is a leading brand in medicinal skincare, and consistently holds a third of the market share in the field.

An Easy Upgrade Choice

Sebapharma has its headquarters in Bad Salzig, a small town in Boppard on the west bank of the Rhine. The complex houses the corporate head office, research and development teams, and quality assurance for all products.

The company was already a satisfied Allied Telesis customer. “Our previous network used SwitchBlade x908 modular core switches and stacked 8000S Series access switches, and it had run very smoothly over the years. But as we added new applications and more data to the network, we could see it was time for an upgrade,” says Helmut Stein, Head of IT at Sebapharma GmbH & Co. KG. Sebapharma needed a next-generation network solution that would converge video surveillance data, inventory control, building automation and other business applications, as well as provide seamless online connectivity to their contract manufacturers, distributors, business partners and customers.

Today’s cutting-edge networks use automation to add intelligence and security, and support efficient business operation. Coupled with simplified management, automation reduces risk and cost. Sebapharma was ready for a change—and Allied Telesis was the obvious choice thanks to their Total Autonomous Networking (TAN) solutions, as well as the proven success and dependability of Sebapharma’s previous Allied Telesis network.

Allied Telesis Automation Solutions: Integrated and Intuitive

For their new network, Sebapharma chose a multi-tier design featuring Allied Telesis technology from core to edge. Advanced switches provide high performance and connectivity for all endpoints, including Power over Ethernet (PoE) switches to connect and power the video surveillance cameras around the complex.

Automated and simplified administration is enabled with Allied Telesis Autonomous Management Framework™ (AMF), where centralized management, and automated backup, recovery, upgrade, and provisioning all reduce the complexity and cost of the wired network. Vista Manager EX is the core of Allied Telesis TAN, providing single-pane-of-glass visibility, powerful monitoring with actionable reporting, and complete control of all AMF wired, wireless, and third-party devices on the network.

“The new fully integrated Allied Telesis TAN solution lets us make network changes intuitively and rapidly, yet without risk,“ says Helmut Stein. TAN solutions from Allied Telesis are designed to give IT staff the help they need, without raising costs through the need for more resources or specialized skills. This frees Sebapharma’s IT department to concentrate on new initiatives and technology projects that add real benefit to the business.

Enabling Smooth Research and Development

Sebapharma now enjoys high-performing and always-on access to online resources and digital information. As Helmut Stein says, “All our applications run seamlessly together now. Resource planning and building management systems, contractor and partner engagement tools, and all our other business applications are integrated in the new Allied Telesis solution.” Security monitoring data from surveillance cameras around the complex is also converged on the network, ensuring a safe working environment and protecting invaluable intellectual property.

The powerful automation and visibility provided by AMF and Vista Manager have reduced the burden of IT administration and ensured a fast and smooth online experience for all staff, so Sebapharma can now harness the latest technologies to support their ongoing mission to develop ground-breaking new products.

Sebapharma has future plans to extend its network solution with Allied Telesis wireless technologies. Allied Telesis looks forward to supporting this world-leading company, both now and into the future. “We would like to build on the competence and expertise of our partner Allied Telesis in wireless networks as well. In our experience, solutions from a single source are more sustainable in the long term than a mixture of components from different manufacturers,” says Helmut Stein.