Hartl Group, ITecon, Abakus IT Service GmbH and Trikom Network Services are to pool their strengths in the future as Synaforce. The upshot: the new brand offers customers particularly sustainable, innovative data center capacities and a portfolio of flanking managed services.
Sustainability in the spirit of environmentally friendly activities is one of hot topics currently on the agendas of a growing number of companies. This is especially true of Synaforce, a fusion of Hartl Group, ITecon GmbH and ITcon Financial IT Services, Abakus IT Service GmbH and Trikom Network Services, set to take place on XY, with the aim of pooling their activities as providers of sustainable managed services. The path was paved by Afinum Neunte Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, which in May 2022 acquired the majority shareholding in Hartl Group GmbH.
From energy gobblers to green data centers
Due to increasing volumes of data, the IT industry accounts for the majority of carbon emissions across Germany. At the end of 2020, eco Association experts estimated that by 2030 data centers would account for four to five per cent of the EU’s total electricity consumption. The industry recognized this early on and began to adopt countermeasures in the shape of green IT. Smart grids, for instance, on which the energy transition will hinge, because renewable energies sometimes deliver too much, and sometimes too little electricity and require smart controlling. Digitalization and automation are playing an increasing part in saving the environment and resources.
Data centers tend to be giant electricity gobblers whose cooling systems have a huge impact on the environment. But a lot has happened, and not just since the major hyperscalers Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud announced their aim to become largely climate neutral by 2025 or 2030. Building and equipping data centers to become much more climate friendly and reducing their impact tops the agendas promoting greater climate friendliness.
Based in Hofkirchen, Lower Bavaria, Hartl Group set an example in 2016 by opening a data center at its headquarters, which is powered exclusively by its own solar energy. With a PUE (power usage effectiveness) score of 1.1 it outstrips all other data centers in Bavaria and according to Datacenter Insider it even outmatches Google by 0.1 per cent. As certified by TÜV Rheinland, its facilities comply with DIN EN 50600 CAT. III. Indeed, in terms of energy efficiency, the server and other hardware installed at Hofkirchen even surpass Category III requirements.
Sustainability rules at synaforce
ITecon’s MRZ-Mainz modular data center is also TÜV-certified to DIN EN 50600 and like the Bavarian Hartl Group achieves a small carbon footprint. These two companies alone, which under the aegis of Hartl and the investor Afinum are now joining forces with Abakus and Trikom to become Synaforce, therefore already lead the way in the cost-efficient, environmentally friendly provision of computing capacities.
This emphasis on sustainability is also reflected in Synaforce’s strategy and mission. The company’s declared goal is to make history with sustainable high-end data center solutions and managed services and take customers and partners on the journey with them.
The 360-degree solution portfolio includes consulting services, managed services, data center hosting, cloud solutions (hybrid, private, and public cloud) software solutions with an emphasis on ERP and SAP and much more besides.
Sustainability is a major USP of Synaforce. Its KPIs will be clearly posted via a sustainability dashboard for B2B customers and their customers to see, thus enabling the company to stand out from competitors. Because in the medium term, companies will only survive and be able to retain qualified staff if they satisfy the ESG (environment, social, governance) criteria that are so important to Gen Zers. As transparency matters in this respect, Synaforce’s sustainability dashboard will provide its customers with a key support.
The goal is deepen competencies and pool strenghts
As software solutions providers, ITecon and its subsidiary ITecon Financial IT-Services bring significant know-how and a large customer base from the sectors of finance, banking, insurance, energy and healthcare. So far, ITecon has primarily focused its data center computing capacity including cloud solutions and managed services on customers in the finance industry. However, along with the other Synaforce companies, it considers itself well-equipped as an IT provider to support the growing bio-tech hub in Mainz with its 100 new companies and research institutes. It is, after all, based just 4 km from the new hub. Incidentally, the company is already exclusively powered by green electricity and drives environmentally friendly electric and hybrid vehicles. Like Hartl, it also has its own solar-powered swimming pool. Although not a must, the company wants to offer attractive conditions in order to win and retain employees.
Hartl Group, which heads the new company, has made a name for itself in high-end services far beyond the borders of Bavaria and Germany, and during the pandemic helped many of its customers to quickly set up remote workplaces. Hartl’s focus target audience, which Synaforce shares, are Germany’s small and medium-sized enterprises.
Abakus IT Service GmbH from Waldburg near Ravensburg, is specialized in risk checks and managed security and brings its products and experience in this area to Synaforce. As its name suggests, Trikom Network Services is a network expert and among other, it offers in-depth analyses prior to the planning and implementation of solutions.
All of the companies joining together as Synaforce in April 2023 want to continue extending their respective strengths and competencies, while at the same time pooling them to create a strong nationwide task force for the provision of greener data centers, managed services, modern networks, and security.
