Know-how must be protected

When it comes to storing and sending data, too many companies still act negligently: On the way to a board or management meeting, a few key company figures have to be quickly compiled or a contract with a key customer has to be edited again. The relevant files are sent to all participants. Often the easiest way is to upload them to Dropbox and send the link, possibly with an obvious subject line so that everyone knows what it's about. In the worst case, "everyone" also means uninvited readers.

Immense economic damage

Cloud services such as Dropbox, Wetransfer.com and similar are convenient, often even free of charge and easy to use, but they are not suitable for the communication of sensitive data. It is precisely these platforms that are often the target of hacker attacks with the aim of gaining access to potentially valuable company information. A study by the German digital association BITKOM comes to a dramatic conclusion: every second German company has already been affected by industrial espionage, data theft or sabotage. For every third company with more than 500 employees, the R & D area was the primary target of attack (30 percent). BITKOM estimates the economic damage at around 51 billion euros per year.

There are no corresponding figures for Switzerland. However, there is some evidence to suggest that Swiss companies are by no means less immune to attacks. Indeed, despite a number of documented cases of data theft at banks, a certain nonchalance still seems to prevail in many places when it comes to the security of information. And in many cases, it is not just a matter of address data, but of the actual intellectual property of companies. IT security experts repeatedly point out that cybercriminals abuse small supplier companies with comparably low protection for their attacks on large corporations.

Companies rely on cloud computing

Cloud computing is - as mentioned at the beginning - becoming more and more widespread. Accordingly, the demands on a "secure" cloud are increasing. In the meantime, some service providers have specialized in offering document management systems where the data sovereignty lies solely with the company. "Companies can no longer afford any missteps in terms of security. The competition is fierce, and if you don't protect your knowledge sufficiently, you'll be out of business very quickly. These are the words of Hansjörg Gruber. He is responsible for the strategic planning and operational implementation of the Fabasoft Cloud for business-to-business collaboration at the Austrian company Fabasoft.

Especially in connection with this digitalized communication, certainly two thirds of the companies believe in cloud computing. The SMEs are challenged: they must now definitely take steps to digitize processes, if they are not already doing so. And in the eyes of Hansjörg Gruber, one thing is important: "Security. Especially in sales, it must be about keeping the company's knowledge safe. For this, specially protected areas are necessary within the cloud." In other words: instead of a "public cloud", a "private cloud". Fabasoft's product is called Fabasoft Private Cloud and, according to the company, is a seamlessly integrated hardware and software solution for secure cooperation with customers, business partners and colleagues - and it is platform-independent. It offers the option of storing data directly in the company's own data center rather than in a third-party public cloud.

Data in the "high security wing

"Ultimately, it is a virtual representation of the company in the cloud," explains Hansjörg Gruber. Business processes can be mapped via a workflow tool. Apart from that, the product - consisting of a pair of servers and the monitoring software developed by Fabasoft - can be used immediately according to the Plug & Play principle. "So no separate IT project is required for this," Gruber continues. And for those who want to protect their data in the cloud even better, Fabasoft offers the "Secomo" product. This has end-to-end encryption, so SSL gaps are no longer possible. The Secomo appliance also meets the requirements of the FIPS 140-2 Level 4 certification for physical security and offers many options for secure authentication. "Secomo is nothing more than a safe to which only the company has a key," Gruber draws a comparison. In combination with the Fabasoft Private Cloud, all data is thus stored "on premise" and protected from unauthorized access.

Example Hunkeler AG: "Anytime and anywhere".

One company that relies on Fabasoft's cloud solution is, for example, Hunkeler AG in Wikon (Canton Lucerne, Switzerland). Since June 2012, the company has been using the Fabasoft Cloud to

Especially in sales, it must be a matter of keeping the company knowledge safe.

Provision of multimedia sales documents. Area sales managers of the specialist for digital and web finishing solutions thus have secure access to documents, images and videos directly on their smartphones and tablets, anytime and anywhere. The Fabasoft Cloud convinced Hunkeler AG because it is easy to use despite its powerful functionalities. Thanks to the reliable and individually adjustable synchronization function (for example, only necessary documents in German), access "anytime and anywhere" to all documents is also secured offline. This also avoids costly roaming charges abroad, for example. The so-called team rooms with the sales documents were online within a few hours with the Fabasoft Cloud. Every sales representative now has all sales documents in his Fabasoft Cloud App and can access all current sales documents from anywhere.

Plus point "Made in Europe

The Munich-based company The Mobility House is also convinced by the Fabasoft Cloud. In its dynamic market environment, the young company specializing in electromobility needed a cloud solution that was easily expandable, efficient, secure and constantly available. The company has been working with cloud solutions since its inception - first with Dropbox, then with Box. "We were looking for a better cloud solution with a simple user experience, with servers located in the EU economic area," says Managing Director Stefan Ritter, explaining the reasoning behind the switch. He was looking for a provider with data, access, legal and supply security as well as certified minimum quality standards - a cloud service with a European flavour. "Made in Europe" is another point to which Hansjörg Gruber from Fabasoft likes to refer. With the claim "Store Locally. Share Globally", the Fabasoft Cloud guarantees that the cloud, that the data is stored securely in Europe and at the same time enables borderless collaboration with business partners worldwide - without the risk of know-how unintentionally leaving the company.