Case Study: Karlsruhe Municipal Hospital

ITIL-based IT Service Management and Digital Process Automation with EcholoN

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Logo des Städtischen Klinikums Karlsruhe mit farbigen grafischen Elementen und Schriftzug auf hellem Hintergrund

The Initial Situation

The Karlsruhe Municipal Hospital is the largest hospital in the Middle Upper Rhine region. As a tertiary care hospital, it is a key healthcare provider. With over 4,500 employees and more than 240,000 patient contacts annually, IT is a critical factor in the hospital’s success.  

Before the introduction of EcholoN, approximately 95% of IT service was handled via email and telephone. There was a lack of transparency, traceability, and structured process management. Media discontinuities hindered communication, and often processes could not be located or were not consistently processed. ITIL-based processes were practically nonexistent.

For a hospital of this size, this situation was unsustainable. The goal was therefore to establish a central platform that would standardize and automate processes and ensure reliable documentation.

Conclusion:

In 2017, the Karlsruhe Municipal Hospital implemented the ITIL-compliant ITSM platform EcholoN and had it up and running within four to six weeks. Since then, EcholoN has been used not only in IT but also in other areas such as billing and radiology.

Today, around 90 employees work with EcholoN on a regular basis; approximately 1,000 end users utilize the system through service processes. The ticket volume stands at around 45,000 cases per year and is rising steadily: from 36,326 tickets in 2023 to 43,438 tickets in 2024 and up to approximately 50,500 tickets in 2025.

Through automation, knowledge management, and process templates , the IT department’s workload has been noticeably reduced. Today, EcholoN is the IT department’s central control and reporting system and a key component of the hospital’s digital transformation.

About the Karlsruhe Municipal Hospital

The Karlsruhe Municipal Hospital is the largest hospital in the Middle Upper Rhine region. As a tertiary care hospital and teaching hospital for the University of Freiburg, it offers a comprehensive range of medical services. With over 4,500 employees, the hospital treats more than 61,000 inpatients and approximately 186,000 outpatients annually.

“EcholoN has enabled us to significantly streamline our processes through templates and automation. One highlight is the onboarding process for new employees, which now runs fully automatically and without errors.”

D. Schwarz
IT-Administrator, Städtisches Klinikum Karlsruhe
Logo des Städtischen Klinikums Karlsruhe mit farbigen grafischen Elementen und Schriftzug auf hellem Hintergrund

Goals and Challenges

  • Implementation of an ITIL-based ITSM platform as an alternative to Matrix42 / CTMS
  • Standardization and automation of processes
  • Centralized consolidation of all information in a single system
  • Reducing the burden on IT through structured workflows and templates
  • Improving service quality and traceability
  • Creating a scalable foundation for increasing ticket volumes and additional processes

Solution Approach with EcholoN

EcholoN was introduced in 2017 as a new, centralized ITSM platform. The decisive factors behind this decision were its compelling price-performance ratio, ITIL compliance, and the successful proof of concept. Implementation through to the productive go-live took only four to six weeks. From the very beginning, EcholoN was not used exclusively in IT. Even at launch, departments such as billing and radiology were already integrated.

Today, the hospital uses EcholoN for, among other things:

  • Incident Management
  • Service Requests
  • Knowledge Management
  • Onboarding and Offboarding Processes

Change Management has not yet been implemented. Monitoring events were integrated for a time but are now handled by the external data center service provider. Automation is particularly relevant in the onboarding process: Human Resources, 1st-level support, and other internal departments are systematically integrated and automatically notified. Process templates and integrated instructions reduce training requirements and speed up recurring tasks.

The hospital makes extensive use of the EcholoN Data Workflow System (DWS) for integrations and automation. Among other things, it is used for:

  • System integrations
  • Internal monitoring
  • Automated task creation
  • VIP flagging
  • Transformation of individual correspondence into structured processes

EcholoN is also connected to central systems such as SAP, Active Directory, and Exchange, as well as other systems including license management, printer monitoring, fleet management, Empirum, OMS, and VMware vCenter.

Key Measures

Icon eines Monitors mit Schraubenschlüssel als Symbol für Systemwartung, IT-Service und technische Unterstützung

Implementation of EcholoN as the central ITSM platform (2017)

Icon mit zwei ineinandergreifenden Zahnrädern und Pfeilen als Symbol für automatisierte Abläufe, Prozessoptimierung und kontinuierliche Workflows

Productive go-live within 4 to 6 weeks

Integration of additional hospital departments right from the start (including radiology and billing)

Icon mit zwei ineinandergreifenden Zahnrädern und Pfeilen als Symbol für automatisierte Abläufe, Prozessoptimierung und kontinuierliche Workflows

Setting up incident, request, and knowledge processes

Introduction to Automated Onboarding and Offboarding Processes

Icon einer Benutzeroberfläche mit Checkliste und Lupe als Symbol für Analyse, Prüfung von Prozessen und strukturierte Aufgabenverwaltung

Introduction of a central knowledge base to reduce follow-up inquiries

Icon eines Zertifikats mit Siegel als Symbol für Qualitätssicherung, Compliance und geprüfte Standards

Use of process templates and standardized instructions

Icon einer Cloud mit Pfeilen nach oben und unten als Symbol für Datenaustausch, Synchronisation und Cloud-basierte Prozesse

Integration of Core Systems (SAP, AD, Exchange, etc.)

Icon mit zwei ineinandergreifenden Zahnrädern und Pfeilen als Symbol für automatisierte Abläufe, Prozessoptimierung und kontinuierliche Workflows

Use of the Data Workflow System (DWS) for Automation and Process Control

Icon einer Benutzeroberfläche mit Checkliste und Lupe als Symbol für Analyse, Prüfung von Prozessen und strukturierte Aufgabenverwaltung

Development of a central reporting and management system for IT services

Results and Added Value

  • Significant reduction in IT workload through automation. Automated processes and structured workflows reduce manual effort and free up capacity.
  • Rising ticket volumes are manageable.The number of tickets rose from 36,326 (2023) to 43,438 (2024) and approximately 50,500 (2025). EcholoN offers the scalability to handle this growth operationally.
  • Improved documentation and error prevention. Comprehensive process documentation reduces errors and makes workflows traceable.
  • Efficient onboarding process. Onboarding runs much more smoothly today. Previously, Excel lists had to be reconciled monthly; today, updates can be made on a daily basis.
  • Resource savings through automated monitoring. Automated printer monitoring and monitoring processes have resulted in significant resource savings.
  • Centralized knowledge platform instead of silos. The knowledge base enables quick access to information and improves the transition between 1st and 2nd level support.
  • EcholoN as a central management tool. EcholoN is now the central reporting and management system for IT and is essential for transparency and prioritization.

Key Metrics and Scope of Use

  • Implementation: 2017
  • Go-Live: 4–6 weeks
  • Regular users (IT): approx. 90 employees
  • End users at the hospital: approx. 1,000 employees
  • Ticket volume: approx. 45,000 tickets/year
  • Ticket trends:
    • 2023: 36,326 tickets
    • 2024: 43,438 tickets
    • 2025: approx. 50,500 tickets

Implementation and Support

The implementation was successful despite complex requirements. Key factors included EcholoN’s high level of customization and the support provided by automation and templates.  

Support is described as reliable . Regular updates and new versions also contribute continuously to improved performance and efficiency. EcholoN runs stably and reliably in daily operations.

About EcholoN

EcholoN is mITsolutions’ modular enterprise service management platform. With ITIL-based processes, workflow automation, a service portal, reporting functions, a knowledge base, and the EcholoN Data Workflow System (DWS), EcholoN helps organizations manage service processes centrally, scalably, and transparently—even in complex environments such as hospitals and public institutions.

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