Daimler Truck consolidates their DevOps toolchain to cut app portfolio by 40%
Michael Vormittag, Head of SAP Delivery, Architecture, Analytics & CTO Office, Daimler Truck and Marko Klemetti, CTO of Eficode gave a talk at the Enterprise Tech Leadership Summit Europe in April 2024 about the DevOps transformation at Daimler Truck. Here are highlights from their talk.
When Daimler Truck split from Mercedes-Benz in 2022, they didn't just become the world's largest independent truck manufacturer - they got a fresh start.
While separating the truck factories from car plants was straightforward enough, the real challenge lay in the digital realm. All their central IT systems and development tools had stayed with Mercedes-Benz, leaving Daimler Truck with a choice: rebuild everything from scratch or keep running on old infrastructure.
They chose to seize this moment as an opportunity, using it to completely rethink how their development teams work in an age where they're not just building traditional trucks anymore, but leading the charge into electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles.
"Everything we do and what we're going to talk about is actually quite different, because all the central functions stayed with the old company. So we are currently in a kind of interesting and unique opportunity to build all of that stuff anew."
Michael Vormittag, Head of CTO Office, Daimler Truck
The Challenge: Transforming development while managing daily operations
When you're running a global operation with dozens of development teams across multiple countries, you can't just press pause to implement new systems.
Yet, that is exactly what happened, as is normally the case when organizations such as Daimler Truck and Mercedes-Benz go their separate ways: And as in all organizations of this size, the development landscape had grown gradually more complex. Different departments ran their own toolchains – some cloud-based, others on-premise – and many were customized to specific needs.
"We had a variety of toolchains, with teams running dozens of different installations of the same tool. We used the Daimler Truck transformation as one of the opportunities to centralize the toolchain."
Michael Vormittag, Head of CTO Office, Daimler Truck
With teams having dozens of different installations of the same tool, each requiring separate maintenance and updates, the challenges went beyond inefficiency. They were becoming a genuine obstacle to innovation.
Daimler Truck’s target was to reduce their application portfolio by 40% while keeping their development teams productive and their projects on track, all while maintaining the strict security and compliance standards expected of a global vehicle manufacturer.
The Solution: Building a unified developer platform
The old way of working meant some teams ran their own versions of tools – in some places up to 50 separate installations of the same software. T3 cleaned this up by giving everyone access to one central set of tools.
When building T3, Daimler thought ahead about AI tools they might want to add later. They created what they call a “light-touch governance” approach – enough rules to keep things secure and properly managed, but not so many that it slows teams down.
"We want to build a foundation for whoever, no matter in which part of the organization, is actually leveraging the right thing at a cost-efficient and manageable scale."
Michael Vormittag, Head of CTO Office, Daimler Truck
Instead of maintaining multiple versions of the same tools, T3 provides a consolidated set of core development tools that can serve any team in the organization, regardless of their specific needs.
Working with Eficode, Daimler Truck designed this approach to be more than just tool consolidation. It was about building a foundation for future innovation.
The platform was designed to be clear and foundational. But it also had to be dynamic enough to incorporate emerging technologies, particularly AI-driven development tools. To ensure responsible innovation, Daimler Truck also implemented what they call a "minimal viable governance" framework for AI. This way, they could strike a balance between control and agility in a way that allows teams to innovate while maintaining necessary oversight.
"I call it minimal viable governance because I know that big companies like ours, if you talk about governance, tend to build very strong safety nets. And that's a risk - we want to be fast, especially if you talk about DevOps."
Michael Vormittag, Head of CTO Office, Daimler Truck
The Result: A leaner, more Agile development environment
The transformation has already shown impressive results. Starting from a massive organization with 300,000 employees that split into two companies, Daimler Truck (with 100,000 employees across 45 production sites) is on track to exceed their ambitious goal of reducing their application portfolio by 40%.
They achieved this milestone even before completing their full separation from Mercedes-Benz, eliminating dozens of redundant tool installations – in some areas going from dozens of separate instances of the same tool down to a single, centrally managed installation.
But the impact goes beyond just numbers – the company has created a more sustainable and manageable development environment that can evolve with their needs. In their push toward innovation, they've already put 10 zero-emission vehicles into production, supported by their new streamlined development infrastructure.
The unified toolchain approach has eliminated the risks associated with maintaining multiple disconnected systems. Meanwhile, the new AI governance framework positions Daimler Truck to integrate AI-driven development tools responsibly.
With this transformation, Daimler Truck has set the foundation for the company's next chapter, where they can focus on innovation in zero-emission vehicles and other future technologies with a more efficient, consolidated development infrastructure.
Watch the full talk
