schauinsland reisen - Safe data – safe trip

Tour operator schauinsland-reisen looks baoock on an exciting 100-year corporate history. It all started in 1918 with the founding of a transport company in Duisburg-Marxloh. Over the past 100 years, the company has developed into one of the largest air travel operators in Germany, first through bus and later through air travel. Today, around 1,000 employees belong to the group of companies in numerous travel agencies, hotels and the airline “Sundair“, founded in 2016. Since 2006, the headquarters of schauinsland-reisen have been at Duisburg‘s inner harbor, where about 420 employees work in modern office buildings. 

Today's managing director Gerald Kassner took over the responsibility for the company in 1997 and since then has achieved double-digit sales increases each year. It was not surprising that the premises at Duisburg‘s inner harbor had to be expanded already five years after moving. In the course of this reconstruction in 2011, a new solution for the IT was necessary. “We needed something more modern, which is also certified. Since we are always subject to new standards, we had to react accordingly “, says Michael Mrugowski (Team Manager Administration and Support at schauinsland-reisen). In the search of a competent service provider, Data Center Products was found and the specialist for data center planning and construction was commissioned with the realization of the new IT-environment. “Despite our own well-positioned IT-department, we also consult experts on a number of issues. From the initial consultation to the planning of the finished data center - a housing with physical separation of the UPS and fire extinguishing systems - everything was just right with Data Center Products. The data center was planned by Data Center Products according to our requirements. Regarding the choice of IT-infrastructures such as air conditioning, UPS, etc., we trusted their expertise. It all worked out very well “, says Michael Mrugowski.

"We told Data Center Products what we wanted to do, and the planning process started almost immediately."

The company has been growing steadily since 2011. In the meantime, a second new building was built and occupied in early 2018. This growth required further adjustments in the IT and a solution was sought for a backup scenario. In addition to the primary data center built in 2011, a smaller solution was installed which does not demand too much on-site, is flexible, cost-efficient and allows for spatial changes. “We were searching for an out-of-the-box solution. And because everything was just right with Data Center Products in 2010, it was actually quite clear who to refer to for the backup scenario. We told Data Center Products what we wanted to do and the planning process started almost immediately “, says Mrugowski.

In the end, schauinsland-reisen opted for a DC IT Safe as a 3-way linking system. This includes a 100 % redundant air conditioning, an automatic rack fire alarm and fire extinguishing system as well as the DC IT Monitoring solution for alarm and energy monitoring. The DC IT Safe has double-leaf doors and offers maximum IT-security on less than 2 m². Above all, it is modularly expandable. If the IT continued to grow, mini data centers could be expanded with little effort. Hence, it was so attractive to schauinsland-reisen. “IT is constantly changing. It is the foundation of our company. We have a lot of data, for example customer data and payment transactions. Security is a key aspect. Although digitalization makes things much easier for customers, it is becoming more and more complex for providers. That is why we are constantly striving to improve in order to meet the ever-new challenges. IT has become indispensable. Nothing works without it. And that is why we are happy to have found a secure backup solution that can grow smoothly over the years “, says Mrugowski.

 "IT has become indispensable. Nothing works without it. And that is why we are happy to have found a secure backup solution that can grow smoothly over the years. “, says Mrugowski.

Michael Mrugowski has been with the company for 15 years and has contributed to its growth. “When I started, I was one of less than 100 employees. In the last 15 years, a lot has happened, and the rapid growth is amazing. But I am looking forward to the future. We are a very IT-oriented company and implement many steps straight away. With our two data centers, we are now well prepared for the future. “

Picture: © Gabriele Maltinti / #347451202 / stock.adobe.com (Standard licence)