SAP® for public sector organisations in partnership with Telekom has a long history

With the launch of its new platform for SAP® solutions for the public sector, Telekom is setting new standards for flexibility and data security. A new approach to efficient and secure digitalisation. We spoke to Christian Schütze from the IT Competence Centre at Telekom Geschäftskunden GmbH about the following topics:

• Why Telekom is launching a platform for the public right now
• How the platform helps customers and how it can help tackle the skills shortage
• What sets Telekom’s approach to security apart

We spoke to Christian Schütze, the platform’s initiator from the IT Competence Centre at Deutsche Telekom Geschäftskunden GmbH, about this.

Christian Schütze: Yes, absolutely. On the one hand, we are currently seeing ever-increasing demands for flexibility as a result of digitalisation; at the same time, due to the tense international situation, the issue of security – particularly data security – is taking on great importance. And that is precisely what the platform will offer the public sector. High flexibility and BSI-certified security. We believe that the cloud can be the answer to many requirements, but it is not suitable for every application. As a long-standing partner to the public sector, we understand our customers’ needs very well and therefore offer the necessary solutions tailored to the specific requirements of public administration.

Schütze: Flexibility has many facets. Firstly, there is technical flexibility. This platform for the public sector is always state-of-the-art and is continuously being developed. Virtualisation enables peaks in workload on customer systems to be balanced out. Additional SAP® systems can be provisioned within a very short time to meet new requirements, without being dependent on long delivery times from hardware manufacturers.

The human factor is just as crucial when it comes to flexibility. The severe shortage of skilled IT staff is becoming a major obstacle to the necessary digitalisation. By taking on SAP® operational tasks for public sector organisations, we free up the client’s own resources for implementing digitalisation, allowing them to focus on this task. Flexibility therefore relates to both staff and technical scalability. But the approach goes even further. We also have the expertise to extend our support at the customer’s request and to assist SAP® users through a centre of excellence, drawing on our experience in the public sector. This approach delivers a high level of reliable and measurable quality to customers through appropriate Service Level Agreements (SLAs).

In summary, our platform enables significantly greater flexibility in terms of adapting to technological advances, technical scalability and the deployment of skilled staff.

Schütze: Whilst Telekom and its subsidiary T-Systems comply with all international ISO standards, it is particularly important for our customers that German requirements are taken into account. We therefore adhere to the requirements of the BSI’s ISO 27001 standard in accordance with IT-Grundschutz, and have the platform certified and continuously audited by the BSI. It goes without saying that the data remains in Germany, just as it is a given that operations are managed from Germany. Telekom has always stood for security and reliability; it is therefore only logical that we now offer this for our customers’ central, critical SAP® systems as well. We are the specialist when it comes to the needs of the public sector.

Schütze: Absolutely. Telekom aims to be a pioneer in this area and plans to achieve climate neutrality for its own emissions by 2025 at the latest. In addition to the company’s numerous sustainability programmes, such as #GreenMagenta and #GoodMagenta, the new platform already meets most of the requirements of the EU’s ‘Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact’ for climate neutrality by 2030. As a result, the platform is already helping to reduce its environmental impact and is continuously adapting to meet future sustainability requirements. Our data centre holds the globally recognised LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. This also benefits our customers and their climate targets.

Public Blog Editorial Team: Thank you very much for these fascinating insights, Christian.