The Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) is the central maritime authority in Germany and is responsible for shipping, marine protection, offshore, marine surveying and data as well as maritime departmental research.
In total, almost 1000 employees work in over 100 different professions at the Hamburg and Rostock sites and on five survey, wreck search and research vessels. The BSH supports shipping, promotes sustainable use of the sea and protects the marine environment and thus the climate - for future generations.
The BSH is a higher federal authority within the portfolio of the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport Affairs (BMDV) and a critical infrastructure company (KRITIS).
Various internal work processes run via the BSH data center. If the IT were to fail, these could no longer be processed. The BSH is also responsible for data relating to water levels. An IT failure could potentially cost human lives if this data is not collected and communicated at all or only incompletely.
The authority has been voluntarily certifying its data center with the "Blue Angel" ecolabel since 2015 and is a pioneer for government agencies when it comes to the sustainability of IT infrastructures. The "Blue Angel" must be recertified every year in order to meet the latest developments and quality standards. The BSH data center was renovated and modernized in 2010 following an economic stimulus package.
After a public tender was issued to find a consultant for the recertification, the mandate and the consultancy contract went to the Data Center Group and was taken over by the "Blue Angel" Dr. Dieter Thiel (Senior Consultant at DCG). The first recertification with the help of DCG took place in 2019 and the latest will take place in 2023.
Future projects are already being planned: Due to new award criteria for the environmental label by the Federal Environment Agency, the data center will be recertified at the end of 2023 and the Data Center Group will again be on hand as a consultant.
You can find more information on the new award criteria here: datacenter-group.com/en/news-stories/article/new-award-criteria-after-merger-for-the-blauer-engel-for-data-center-operation/
"We would like to have our data center certified according to the 'Blue Angel' criteria in the future as well. We are proud to carry this award in terms of sustainability. Just as we aim to make the use of the sea sustainable, we also want to operate an energy-sustainable data center,"
emphasizes Stefan Pohl, Responsible of BSH.
Watch the BSH image film here:
