Digital transformation for cities: KOBIL relies on Claranet as a secure cloud partner

We need a partner who can ensure the stable, efficient and legally compliant operation of our Smart City app in the long term."

Jan Wunderlich
Head of Project Management & Consulting, KOBIL

The challenge

The provider of digital identity, secure platform technologies and SuperApp solutions wanted to have its innovative 'KOBIL myCity' solution operated by an external service provider on AWS.

The app digitises all municipal administrative services, social life and regional and national commercial offers on a user-friendly platform. Local authorities benefit from a flexible rental model that enables them to use the app without having to invest in their own IT. The cloud-agnostic architecture ensures high scalability and allows additional services to be integrated quickly.

The new partner should not only have the technological excellence, but also the necessary understanding of regulatory requirements and the special needs of a smart city solution.

The solution

KOBIL opted for Claranet as a managed service provider - primarily due to its convincing security and compliance concept: Claranet fulfils national and international standards for information security and data protection and is regularly audited externally.

The most important certifications and tests include ISO/IEC 27001 for the information security management system, ISO/IEC 27017 for information security in the cloud, ISO/IEC 27018 for data protection in the cloud, SOC 2 Type II report in accordance with ISAE 3402 based on the AICPA Trust Services Criteria and the BSI C5 criteria catalogue, particularly relevant for use in the public sector.

These certifications are regularly reviewed by external auditors and go beyond the minimum legal requirements. They guarantee that Claranet fulfils the highest requirements for data protection, reliability and compliance - a key aspect for the CityApp, which processes sensitive citizen data. As a long-standing AWS Premier Partner, Claranet also has in-depth experience in the design, migration and operation of complex AWS infrastructures. "We also had good experience with Claranet in France when we jointly hosted a banking solution for the French market," adds Jan Wunderlich. "That showed us that Claranet is the right partner - with the necessary expertise and certifications to meet the highest security standards."

Another plus point for KOBIL: geographical proximity. "Claranet is based in Frankfurt - that made communication much easier right from the start," says Wunderlich. Three joint workshops were held at the start of the project. The first was used to get to know each other and coordinate pricing and operating models.

After that, things quickly became more in-depth. "We were particularly impressed by how specifically Claranet asked the right questions - this immediately showed that they understood our technical setup," Wunderlich continues. "Our solution is sophisticated and not off the shelf. It was all the more impressive how
quickly the Claranet team got to grips with it - focussed, competent and without detours. The feedback from our team was also consistently positive: clear access, open communication and the feeling of 'this fits' right from the start."

Claranet took over the complete operation of the CityApp on a Kubernetes-based container platform in the AWS cloud. The solution is highly available, flexibly scalable and is supported around the clock by experienced cloud teams.

The scope of services includes

• Setting up and operating the platform,
• proactive monitoring,
• Incident management,
• automatic scaling,
• regular updates.

The result

With Claranet as the infrastructure operator, KOBIL benefits from a highly secure, scalable and future-proof platform for the CityApp. Claranet takes over the complete management of the cloud environment - from provisioning and continuous system monitoring to proactive detection and defence against potential security risks. Certified processes and permanent monitoring ensure the highest level of security for sensitive citizen data at all times.

A particular advantage lies in its flexible scalability: the container platform operated by Claranet can be expanded seamlessly and with minimal effort as the number of users increases or additional cities are connected - a key prerequisite for the long-term success of a dynamically growing smart city application.

At the same time, Claranet ensures that all relevant data protection and compliance requirements are met at all times. This allows KOBIL to focus entirely on the technological development of the app, while Claranet ensures secure and stable operation in the background. A regular, monthly exchange between the DevOps teams at KOBIL and Claranet ensures that everyone involved is always up to date. There is also a direct line to Claranet - even short-term requirements or queries are processed quickly, reliably and in a spirit of partnership.

The future

Following the successful launch in Worms, the CityApp will also be available in other municipalities in Germany and Europe in the future - regardless of their size. Thanks to the scalability of the solution, there is no limit to the number of users: in Istanbul, for example, over five million residents are already using the app.

At the same time, KOBIL is also continuously developing the technological foundation of the solution, as Jan Wunderlich explains: "We are currently revising individual components of our architecture to make the CityApp even more powerful and future-proof. Claranet has once again proven itself to be a reliable partner - and one with whom we intend to continue working in the long term. We particularly appreciate their openness to new ideas and technologies. For example, when we brought a new, more powerful database type into play for our chat system - with which Claranet initially had no experience of its own - the reaction was: "Sounds exciting, let's tackle it together."

This willingness to explore new avenues with us is what makes Claranet so valuable to us."

Jan Wunderlich
Head of Project Management & Consulting, KOBIL