Diagnosed reliability
 Sycor in action for SONIC HEALTHCARE 

ERP infrastructure hosting and operation from a single source: Sycor

The decision in favor of Sycor was made back in 2016 after ending the relationship with another data center operator. A classic pitch followed with several providers that were weighed against each other.  Sycor was an excellent fit thanks to verifiable, in-depth Microsoft AX expertise and its data center services. What proved to be decisive, however, was that the decision-makers at Sonic Healthcare were quickly convinced that Sycor is simply the right partner on a personal and technical level. “Consistently solution and service-oriented, but with communication as equals – that is how we imagine our partners. The contract offered by Sycor was also tailored to us. Looking back, I am pleased to say that all defined milestones were reached on schedule as well,” says Michael Höppner, one of two Project Leads ERP at Sonic Healthcare. Operationally, a permanent Sycor team has been handling the hosting of the Sonic Healthcare ERP system Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2 since assuming responsibility for hosting and operations. Two key business areas are covered by the system. 

“One thing that we value a great deal about the partnership with Sycor is that our personal contacts have an authentic empathy for the supported technology, Microsoft AX in this case. When we get in touch with them, we are looking for a solution to concrete challenges. We have to rely on our contacts to fully engage with the issue, and to immediately focus entirely on working on that solution. This is a matter of course at Sycor and consistently convincing for us. That is why we are looking forward to a data center relocation, which is currently planned by Sycor, with confidence and optimism. The ongoing improvement of IT security is essential. In view of these dynamics, utilizing more services instead of deploying more servers is appropriate and makes sense.”

Analytically on point

With increasing data volumes and rising complexity, the demand for more and more precise analyses and reports at Sonic Healthcare kept on growing.

User queries from Materials Management and Accounting needed to be consistently answered more quickly and reliably. New questions are always being asked as well and reliable answers need to be supplied by the system.  To reliably guarantee this over the long term, Sonic Healthcare again chose to partner with Sycor for the Sycor Cube solution based on SQL, building on the existing foundation of trust. The Cube was created by the Sycor BI team. Just like the hosting of the ERP infrastructure, this project focuses on the concrete stakeholders. “We would not have come together without permanent, central contacts and the certainty of open cooperation regarding fundamental issues. In this context, we collaboratively accomplish what is now called data science. Our company submits technical questions that are understood better and better by the assigned Sycor specialist and subsequently worded in technical terms, so the Cube can produce the corresponding answers,” says Höppner.

The future still holds numerous challenges. For instance, Sonic Healthcare as a supplier with system relevance is subject to the critical infrastructure requirements that have to be met by the system and services.

At the ERP level, the company is currently happy with the stable Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2. D365 as Microsoft’s current flagship is being considered in the long term.

“Sonic Healthcare is basically an organization without an explicitly designated CIO. We act quickly and based on demand in our core IT areas. When urgency is required or opportunities arise, we can make decisions very quickly in direct coordination with company management. Sycor has always been responsive to this Sonic-specific agility.”