Success Story

Wella: Consolidating SAP and Non-SAP Automation on a Single Platform

Wella, a leading global provider of beauty products, replaced BMC Control-M and Redwood Cronacle with Stonebranch UAC. By consolidating, Wella is able to automate SAP jobs, and non-sap jobs from a single SaaS-based solution.

DOWNLOAD NOW

Background

Wella is one of the world’s leading beauty companies, comprised of a family of iconic brands including Wella Professionals, O·P·I, ghd, Briogeo, Nioxin, Sebastian Professional, and Clairol. 

Wella was founded more than 140 years ago in Germany. The company was part of the Procter & Gamble brand family between 2003 to 2015, when it was sold to Coty. In 2020, American private equity firm KKR purchased a stake in Wella. 

Today, Wella is a multi-billion-dollar, stand-alone private entity. Based in Geneva, Switzerland, Wella employs more than 6,000 people across 100 countries. 

Challenges

Wella started its search for a new automation platform when the company changed ownership and due to the change, all of Wella’s data, processes, and IT operations — plus approximately 800 applications — needed to be carved out of Coty’s IT environment, then fully redeployed in a new, standalone setting. 

This immense lift-and-shift of technology had a silver lining: Wella’s IT Ops team had the opportunity to consolidate automation on a single service orchestration and automation platform (SOAP). 

“We spoke to a variety of IT automation providers, and it quickly became evident that no one could match what Stonebranch offered. Their ability to orchestrate in hybrid environments and capacity to convert existing jobs — not to mention overall affordability — are all unmatched in the market. We’ve never regretted our decision to consolidate Wella’s automation program on UAC.”

Head of Enterprise Architecture
Wella

 

The Search

After reviewing their current and projected needs, Wella established two foundational requirements for their go-forward automation solution: 

  • Automate SAP and non-SAP workloads in a hybrid IT environment.
  • Leverage a SaaS-based solution that could be installed within Microsoft Azure.

Their existing automation tools — BMC Control-M and Redwood Cronacle (SAP CSP/BPA) — couldn’t meet those needs. One was old technology that was no longer available for purchase. The other required a switch to a newer cloud-based solution, and even then, it had limited integration capabilities.

The Solution

After carefully considering six solutions from four providers, Wella ultimately selected the SaaS-based SOAP that best met their two foundational requirements and offered a smooth transition path: the Stonebranch Universal Automation Center (UAC). 

Deployed in Microsoft Azure, Wella’s event-based workload automation solution includes:

  • Universal Controller
  • Universal Agent
  • Universal Integration Platform

In addition, Stonebranch’s SAP-certified Universal Connector for SAP improves Wella’s control and visibility of end-to-end SAP processes. This feature-rich integration works directly within UAC to provide more power and flexibility than standard SAP interfaces allow.

“The transition to Stonebranch was relatively seamless. They were able to take our existing jobs in BMC and Redwood, put them through the Xpress Conversion Tool, then automatically transfer them straight into UAC. It was a really good experience all around.”

Head of Enterprise Architecture
Wella

The Results

Today, Wella automates approximately 9,000 tasks a day across SAP and non-SAP systems. By centralizing their automation and orchestration to Stonebranch UAC, they: 

  • Future-proof their orchestration program with the ability to integrate with new applications whenever needed. 
  • Orchestrate both cloud and on-prem applications from a single solution. 
  • Rest assured of Stonebranch’s commitment to infosec, with validated strategies for security information and event management (SIEM), incident and problem management, business continuity, and disaster recovery.
  • Massively simplify workflow design, using an intuitive graphic interface that offers flexibility and ease when connecting SAP and non-SAP tasks.
  • Enhance and extend workload automation and job scheduling capabilities between the UAC and SAP.

Start Your Automation Initiative Now

Schedule a Live Demo with a Stonebranch Solution Expert

Further Reading

Modernize Mainframe Applications: 6 Strategies to Get it Done

Modernize Mainframe Applications: 6 Strategies to Get it Done

Take a look at the benefits of mainframe modernization and explore six strategies to consider when you modernize your existing legacy mainframe applications.

Automation for Mainframe Modernization Solution Data Sheet

Automation for Mainframe Modernization

Overcome the automation challenge: schedule mainframe, distributed, and emulated mainframe jobs from one platform — even within the same workflow.

Self Service Automation: Best Practices for Organizational Efficiency

Self Service Automation: How to Empower Your Business

Self service automation can help break down organizational silos to boost employee efficiency. Check out these best practices to help your help desk reduce the…

Runbook Automation vs Workload Automation: Best Practices Header Image

Workload Automation vs Runbook Automation: Best Practices

Explore the differences between workload automation and runbook automation to help you decide which approach best fits your needs.