Owncloud
SUCCESS STORY
“DEUTSCHE BAHN AG”
The DB Systel GmbH replaces public cloud services with ownCloud, enabling secure file exchange with mobile access to personal and shared drives within the Deutsche Bahn AG.
On both a national and international level,the
DB Systel GmbH is the internal information and communication technology partner of the Deutschen Bahn AG.They support one of the largest transportation and logistics companies in the world,with modern and efficient information and communications technology.DB Systel made
a secure private cloud service within Deutsche Bahn available with the functionality and usability of public cloud providers.
This service needed to protect their information and prove compliant with the existing and future security guidelines of the organization. The solution also needed to limit the threat of potential non-compliant external services outside of IT’s governance and control.To find a fitting solution, different providers were compared in a cost-benefit analysis.ownCloud outscored the competition in the fields of security, usability, and integration into the existing IT infrastructure.
“Security guidelines are getting stricter while use of the cloud is becoming increasingly pervasive.ownCloud combines these aspects with a secure and, at the same time,flexible solution.Users demand mobile access and often don’t think about the risks of public cloud services.Security awareness has to be created among the employees while IT systems are put in place to support them.”
Bobby Eichholz, DB Systel GmbH, Product Manager Infrastructure & Workplace, ICT Products & Standard Services (I.LVS 21)
Security
The company’s guidelines around data security and protection demanded availability,confidentiality,and integrity.At the same time,the exchange of company data should meet the requirements of current IT security.This is ensured in the data center of DB Systel with the use of ownCloud.
Integration into existing IT Infrastructure instead of an additional storage silo
As well as the security capabilities,the integration into existing infrastructure was an essential factor in the selection process.Deutsche Bahn runs a heterogeneous IT landscape consisting of current technologies. The goal was to make a supplemental storage service available in addition to the already available personal and shared drives – and to integrate them completely.ownCloud stood out as it offers on-premises cloud storage as well as the central gateway to existing and future files.This allows users to access files on the go with their notebook,smartphone or tablet—regardless of where they are stored.
Flexible and secure file access with scaling potential for mobile employees of Deutsche Bahn
Deutsche Bahn has very heterogeneous user groups.From service staff and train drivers to traveling executives of all business departments,everybody needs access to their files,both online and offline,and the ability to share them with others easily and securely.
To allow the secure access and sharing of files from different locations and across multiple mobile devices,ownCloud was implemented under the name DB Box.
To coincide with corporate design, the desktop clients and mobile apps were branded with ownBrander.DB Box is available to some 96,000 users of the Deutsche Bahn organization.
ownCloud runs in a self-hosted system.The technical management oversees the servers while the functional management has a consulting role.The provision of the accounts happens through the internal ordering portal of DB Systel.DB Box accounts are provisioned with quota-assigned storage space and can be accessed through the web interface.The synchronization tool and the workflow client are rolled out automatically.
Mobile Apps are also provided through the ordering portal and mobile devices are tested to determine if an app is already used.
Outlook
After a successful project launch,the next step will be internal distribution throughout Europe.DB Systel is looking at opportunities to use ownCloud in areas with “thinner” connections in eastern European countries. ownCloud’s Federated Cloud Sharing is also being evaluated for this use case. Furthermore, SharePoint integration and the topic of metadata are also being discussed.
About the DB Systel GmbH
DB Systel GmbH is the internal information and communication technology partner of the Deutsche Bahn AG. They support Deutsche Bahn with modern and efficient information and communications technology.With some 3,400 employees,the DB Systel GmbH,headquartered in Frankfurt am Main,is one of the leading providers of ICT solutions in Germany.The subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn covers the full lifecycle of IT and TC solutions,starting from the professional analysis and strategic planning and development to operation and optimization.
About ownCloud
Organizations that must share confidential data internally and externally rely on the on-premises enterprise file sync and share platform from ownCloud.Only ownCloud gives IT the visibility and control required to manage sensitive data,preserve business processes and integrate with existing compliant infrastructures while offering users the modern collaboration experience they demand.This is made possible through open, modular architecture,extreme extensibility and unique federated cloud sharing capabilities from ownCloud. Company headquarters are located in Lexington,MA with European headquarters in Nuremberg,Germany.
ownCloud is the choice of thousands of organizations across the globe as they look to share files securely, enable access to unstructured data through a single plane–all while maintaining control of sensitive data. Their stories highlight the flexible and secure ways that ownCloud is deployed. We are proud to call them our customers.