Press release 2022-677
Aachen, April 27, 2022—The auto-repair and specialist retail chain ATU in recent months switched from its MPLS network to a high-performance SD-WAN solution from the German network infrastructure supplier LANCOM Systems. Germany’s market leader in car-related services can thus securely connect their 530 sites to the company headquarters in Weiden. Supporting ATU with the rollout were OMREX GmbH.
Driving the migration project was the need for more economical networking of the branches across Germany and Austria, that should also meet the increased requirements for availability, agility, and efficiency. The project was commissioned by Thomas Zimmermann, head of IT infrastructure at ATU.
At the stores, highly integrated SD-WAN gateways ensure maximum resilience by combining wired access with 4G communications, which switch dynamically to 4G backup if necessary. Operating the 530 gateways is highly automated by software-defined networking (SDN) from a central instance, the LANCOM Management Cloud, which simultaneously manages the local LAN and Wi-Fi infrastructures. The data center at the company headquarters in Weiden operates multi-Gigabit SD-WAN gateways as the VPN-tunnel endpoints.
Numerous applications at the branches are mapped over the new network, including access to central applications in Weiden, connection to the ERP system, the integration of Wi-Fi-enabled devices at the workshops such as wheel alignment machines and engine testers, and the visitor Wi-Fi.
ATU meets the high compliance requirements for data protection and security as the cloud-based network management is performed by a European provider from a German data center.
"When it came to choosing the solution provider, a lot fell into place: The focus on SD-WAN offers us considerable savings potential and the VPN tunnel technology makes the new network highly secure. At the same time, LANCOM products stand for quality and security made in Germany," explains Jürgen Brakert, IT service manager at ATU.
"We are very pleased that yet another renowned customer is using a high-performance SD-WAN solution from Germany. ATU is showing not only that it uses the latest technology, but that they make no compromises in terms of data protection and compliance," says Thomas Ehrlich, Vice President Channel Germany at LANCOM Systems.
About ATU:
ATU was founded in 1985 and today is the market leader for car-related services in Germany. With its headquarters in Weiden in the Upper Palatinate, the company operates around 550 branches in Germany and Austria. Some 10,000 employees generate annual sales of around EUR 1 billion. ATU has been part of the European market leader Mobivia since 2016. With 19 brands, over 2,000 workshops and more than 22,000 employees, the group of companies has unique know-how in car-related services.
The ATU business model combines master workshops with specialist stores for car parts and accessories. By offering advice that is brand-independent, ATU offers product solutions that are individually tailored to customer needs. ATU‘s master workshops are equipped with the latest technology to offer wide-ranging maintenance and repair services. The company maintains its high quality of service through regular training courses at the ATU Academy and through external audits.
About LANCOM Systems:
LANCOM Systems GmbH is a leading European manufacturer of network and security solutions for business and the public sector. The portfolio includes hardware (WAN, LAN, WLAN, firewalls), virtual network components, and cloud-based software-defined networking (SDN).
Software and hardware development as well as manufacturing take place mainly in Germany, as does the hosting of the network management. There is a strong focus on trustworthiness and security. The company is committed to products that are free from backdoors and is a holder of the trust mark “IT Security Made in Germany” as initiated by the German Ministry of Economics.
LANCOM was founded in 2002 and has its headquarters in Würselen near Aachen, Germany. Customers include SMEs, government agencies, institutions, and major corporations from all over the world. Since summer 2018, the company has been an independent subsidiary of the Munich-based technology group Rohde & Schwarz.
Press contact ATU:
Markus Meißner
Press Officer
+49-961-306-5480
markus.meissner@de.atu.eu
Press contact LANCOM Systems:
Caroline Rixen
Media Relations
+49-2405-49936-398
caroline.rixen@lancom.de