Even shorter construction times thanks to redundant networking.

In 1954, brothers Heinrich and Rudolf Eberhard founded Gebrüder Eberhard, an excavation and bulldozer operation. In 1987, as part of a generational transition, the company was renamed Eberhard Bau AG. Today, the company is a leader in civil engineering, contaminated site remediation, building materials production, and construction recycling, and operates under the motto “for shorter construction times.”

To live up to this promise, highly available and redundant data connections are of great importance. In order to ensure site connectivity in the future, the existing network had to be redesigned or replaced with a new solution. This presented a major challenge for Olivier Roth, Head of IT. Due to increasing security requirements regarding incoming and outgoing data from employees and partner companies, the entire network of the construction company, spread across multiple locations, had to be divided into several subnetworks. “In the end, we decided against adapting the existing solution due to its unsatisfactory scalability, lack of future viability, and high maintenance costs,” explains Olivier Roth. The management of Eberhard Bau AG therefore chose to evaluate a new, flexible, and more cost-effective alternative.

Nine potential providers were invited to respond to the requirements catalog. Among the strictly evaluated criteria were the integration of monitored parameters into the company’s own monitoring system and the implementation of redundant lines to ensure uninterrupted operations in the event of a disruption. “Additional decision factors included the development of a Service Level Agreement (SLA) to ensure routine maintenance outside operating hours,” Roth recalls. The evaluation phase for selecting and defining the new, future-proof solution lasted six months. “Cyberlink’s proposal impressed us with its completeness, precision, and price advantages. We were convinced we had found a partner that lives the same values as we do: agility, innovation, and customer focus.”

Uninterrupted operations between locations as a “must-have” criterion.

Stable data connections between the main locations in Kloten and Oberglatt, as well as eight additional branches and affiliated companies, high data throughput even under full load, and uninterrupted operations in the event of a disruption were top priorities for Olivier Roth and his team. These criteria were met with Cyberlink’s highly available “Business Internet Ethernet” solution. After the decision was made, Cyberlink assumed overall responsibility and created a detailed project schedule.

“To ensure maximum transparency and clearly defined responsibilities, the involved team — consisting of employees from Eberhard Bau AG, Cyberlink, and external consultants — received intensive training prior to the transition,” explains Roth. This also fostered personal contact within the team — another key element of any successful collaboration. During the training sessions, the parties clearly defined the division of tasks and responsibilities for implementing the solution. The first implementation phase then took place outside operating hours and under significant time pressure. “At this stage, it had to be ensured that our employees would have full availability and access to services when they started work,” Roth notes. The transition was carefully documented so that the experience and insights gained could be incorporated into the subsequent subprojects for the remaining site connections. “The migration of all locations took four months and was completed without problems or incidents thanks to precise planning and training,” Roth adds.

Well prepared for the future – investments in research & development secured.

Since then, Eberhard Bau AG has benefited from redundantly designed business internet connections with high data throughput between all locations. In the event of disruptions or maintenance work outside operating hours, a rapid response and intervention by Cyberlink specialists are ensured through the defined SLA. The redundant business internet solution is scalable and reliably leverages the existing infrastructure and network components such as routers and switches. No additional investment in expanding the solution is therefore required.

“Compared to the previous solution, the cost savings enable a return on investment (ROI) within just three years and allow us to focus on investing in the development of new process technologies and machinery-level innovations. This strengthens our competitive advantages and further extends our lead over competitors,” Roth concludes.