About Empirius: Company. Solutions. Clients.

Empirius has been around for nearly two decades. But how did it all start? How has the company and its automation solutions for SAP Basis and SAP infrastructures developed since then? And why do customer relationships play such an important role? In our three-part series of articles, we will give you an insight into our history and what makes Empirius what it is.

Part 1 of a three-part background series

Offering automated SAP Basis services since 2005

As is so often the case, it all started with an idea. In 2005, the idea was to provide intelligent automation software that would allow SAP users to create SAP system copies - without programming or scripting, virtually at the touch of a button and with just a few mouse clicks. The goal was to save time, use company resources more wisely and reduce costs. The idea is to let software take care of recurring manual tasks. The result was BlueCopy, a product solution for creating SAP system copies. In 2021, the SAP Basis Management solution EPOS was added.

Creating something of our own

But first things first. As we all know, an idea alone does not make a business. It takes people to turn ideas into reality. They have to take the plunge and accept or overcome challenges in order to establish a company in the long term. In September 2005, the present CEOs Marcus Bogenstätter and Hans Haselbeck did just that. CTO Bogenstätter explains the main reason for founding Empirius:

"After many years as a freelance consultant in the SAP environment, I wanted to create something of my own. We based our new software solution for creating SAP system copies on several collections of scripts for creating SAP system copies from previous SAP customer projects, also experience from performing complete SAP implementations or migrations played a part in it."

Meeting point FI-TS

CEO Haselbeck says: “The idea of starting and growing a company with our own product was really exciting. We were optimistic that there would be a demand for automation software for the creation of copies of SAP systems." Back then, he was an independent sales expert for various IT solutions, including non-SAP solutions.

The two knew each other from FI-TS. FI-TS was founded in 1994 as a result of the merger of the computer centres of the Bavarian savings banks and the Bayerische Landesbank as a wholly owned subsidiary of Finanz Informatik. Bogenstätter worked as a freelance consultant for FI-TS, while Haselbeck worked in SAP managed services sales.

In the beginning, persuasion

"The first five years were a lot of hard work. We had to convince people that an automation tool for the copying of SAP systems was the way to go. From 2008 onwards, our BlueCopy solution started to generate a surge in demand and we experienced above-average growth," remembers CEO Haselbeck.

CTO Bogenstätter adds: "The first thing we had to learn was how to translate the different SAP clients' requirements into a SAP system copy software solution that would meet their needs. Working closely with our customers took us a long way. And that still holds true today."
Today, Empirius still maintains this kind of unconditional customer focus. You could say: Customer experience has always been part of Empirius' DNA. In a way, this is also expressed in the company's name. It is derived from empiricism and empirical - especially with regard to "relying on experience”.

Many renowned clients

The product portfolio was expanded in 2008. Namely BlueClone, a solution for creating or generating SAP sandboxes.
Between 2010 and 2020, Empirius grew continuously and the number of employees increased accordingly: in development, support, sales or marketing. In addition, more and more companies started to use BlueCopy, the leading software for SAP system copies, both national and internationally. Furthermore, more and more SAP customers took advantage of Empirius' SAP Basis consulting services.

Today, BlueCopy is being used by well over 100 SAP customers worldwide, including well-known and prominent companies from various industries. These include Stihl, a German manufacturer of chainsaws and other handheld equipment, for example, as well as SAP-managed service providers such as NTT Data Business Solution.

EPOS: another step on the road to success

In 2021, after about two years of development, the new automation solution for SAP Basis/Infrastructure Management called EPOS was released. EPOS (Empirius Planning and Operations Suite) automates a wide range of recurring tasks and activities in SAP Basis Management.

(Red Hat's) Ansible served as a kind of model; according to Wikipedia, Ansible is "...an open source automation tool for the orchestration and general configuration and administration of computers. It combines software distribution, ad-hoc command execution and configuration management...".
Empirius sees EPOS as "an automation tool for the orchestration and general configuration and administration of SAP systems. It combines software distribution, ad-hoc command execution and configuration management". EPOS originally ran internally under the name 'BlueSible'.

Info Apps & Maintenance Apps

Info Apps & Maintenance Apps
The task of creating copies of the SAP system is one of the many "Maintenance Apps" available in EPOS. The solution also includes the ability to query or monitor important system statuses of an SAP system environment or components (DBs, servers, SAP applications, network connections) using "Info Apps", thus providing the opportunity to optimise SAP system components in a targeted manner, for example SAP databases (Any DBs and SAP HANA).

As Marcus Bogenstätter explains, "the functional potential of EPOS is still a long way from being exhausted. EPOS is constantly evolving to meet the needs of clients. Hans Haselbeck says: "The market has been extremely receptive to EPOS. EPOS will enable us to continue to grow as a company”.

Keeping an eye on SAP changes

Where does Empirius go from here? The objectives for the next three years are clear. On the one hand, to continue to drive the development and deployment of EPOS and also BlueCopy. On the other hand, to gradually increase the turnover (currently in the single-digit millions) and the number of employees (currently at around 20).

Providing additional solutions for SAP naturally raises the following questions: What is SAP up to? Which technological changes are imminent? Which path do SAP customers prefer? and how can Empirius best support clients with regard to SAP Basis/SAP Infrastructure?

Bogenstätter and Haselbeck agree: "SAP is pushing cloud computing. On the other hand, about half of all SAP customers still rely on on-premises systems or prefer hybrid SAP operating concepts, according to the SAP user association DSAG. We will adapt to whatever comes our way."

Read more about the products and solutions in the next instalment of our three-part background series "About Empirius". Part three will be about our customers, their experiences and their stories.