A1 Digital & IKARUS – a successful partnership right from the start

A1 Digital was founded in 2017 as a subsidiary of the Telekom Austria Group based in Vienna and is thus part of América Móvil, one of the world’s largest mobile operators. The overarching goal of A1 Digital, as a modern and agile company, is to support companies in their business areas to remain future-proof and successful, especially in times of challenging processes of digitalisation. In addition to the countries of the Telekom Austria Group in Central and Eastern Europe, A1 Digital also offers services and products in Germany. The focus is on industry-specific applications in the area of IoT (Internet of Things), cloud-based ICT solutions, Network as a Service and the special field of cyber security.

“In our search for a suitable partner for the essential topic of cyber security, we quickly came across IKARUS Security Software. The already proven cooperation with A1 turned out to be the ideal basis for the desired security platform,” Thomas Snor, Director Security at A1 Digital, describes the first steps.

In more than 20 years of cooperation with the A1 Group, around 100,000 private customers and freelancers have come to know and appreciate the IKARUS anti.virus software as excellent virus protection. Company and customer data in particular, but also private data, are now among the most valuable assets and are the focus of data thieves. Reliable malware protection that is always up to date and detects both known and new types of malware is therefore indispensable.

Successive expansion of the cloud portfolio with IKARUS cloud.security services

A1 Digital focuses exclusively on the business-to-business segment and primarily serves small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Depending on the product, A1 Digital also serves customers in the enterprise segment with large branch networks and high demands on IT security.

As a first step, A1 Digital has added the basic anti-virus software IKARUS anti.virus to its portfolio to protect corporate data. Excellent detection rates and continuous updates enable the defence against even new types of malware. The software also works quickly and unobtrusively in the background without interfering with the ongoing work of employees.

In the subsequent implementation steps, IKARUS mail.security and IKARUS mobile.management were also launched for A1 Digital. Nowadays, it is impossible to imagine working without mobile devices – companies and employees must be able to trust that their devices are protected in the best possible way when they are on the move or in the home office. IKARUS mobile.management offers optimal conditions for this as a cloud service. The solution protects smartphones and tablets from cyber threats and enables active management of inventory and data.

Thomas Snor, Director Security at A1 Digital: “A reliable security platform that continuously evolves and adapts to new threats is an integral part of any business. To this end, we use the entire cloud security portfolio of IKARUS, which is very well received by our customers with perfectly coordinated solutions. The bestseller is IKARUS mobile.management, not least because of the pandemic situation, which also fits perfectly into the existing overall portfolio for a mobile operator.”

Austria distribution via A1, Germany via own headquarters

IKARUS products are distributed under the company’s own brand via A1, which serves the Austrian market in a reselling and support function. The products are sold via telesales, classically via the website in an online platform – the A1 Marketplace – and via partners (resellers). Direct sales, from small accounts to corporate accounts, account for the largest share. A1 employs over 1,000 direct sales staff, who IKARUS actively supports from the pre-sales phase onwards. In Germany, A1 Digital is directly responsible for sales with its headquarters in Munich and sales representatives in various regions. This is to ensure regional proximity to the customer even in times of pandemics with a high proportion of remote sales.

Success factors for the partnership

The cooperation between A1 or A1 Digital and IKARUS brings a number of advantages over other security software providers. The headquarters and infrastructure of both companies are located in Vienna. The regional proximity shows through long-standing personal contacts, which are highly appreciated by both sides, especially in emergencies. In addition, all data is located in Austria and development takes place on site in Vienna.

Right from the beginning of the cooperation, IKARUS flexibly adapted to its partner A1 Digital and developed a connector for the platform connection with a great deal of internal effort.

Thomas Snor, Director Security at A1 Digital, explains the decision for IKARUS as follows: “What particularly impressed us about IKARUS is that the company develops the software itself. In addition, the cooperation builds on a transparent and flexible business model. Last but not least, the regional proximity is another plus point.”

For many customers, a well-functioning 3rd level support is crucial during operations. IKARUS operates this from the company headquarters in Vienna with its own team of specialists who communicate with customers at eye level. The A1 team and joint customers are supported throughout the entire customer lifecycle.

Christian Fritz, COO, IKARUS Security Software: “We offer a complete package from presales support to the test phase (POC), quotation, onboarding of all customers, maintenance in regular operation and follow-up orders.”

Proven cooperation with A1 Digital since 2017

The working atmosphere between A1 Digital and IKARUS is characterised by open communication, good use of resources and regular exchange. When necessary, specialists from departments such as support, operations and product management join in to ensure smooth processes. In the operational business, there is an exchange between the IKARUS 3rd level and A1 Digital 2nd level support for all products. In total, more than 10,000 joint customers have been served since 2017, including numerous renowned companies and organisations from the public sector.

Latest topic: Incident Response

With A1 Digital Incident Response, contractual partners receive immediate help to contain and eliminate security breaches in an emergency. Within a maximum of four hours after notification, IKARUS initiates targeted measures for investigation, threat hunting and system clean-up. The service agreement also guarantees immediate access to the expertise and cyber threat intelligence of the international IR specialist Mandiant, if required.

“After very positive customer feedback and great demand in the Austrian market, we have launched the service in Germany in September 2022 as well,” says Marija Angelova-Galevska, Security Business Development at A1 Digital: “We are pleased that customers choose to take their cyber security to a new level with our incident response solution. In the course of the service onboarding, we also assess the customers’ existing security measures according to the A1 Digital Enterprise Security Architecture model and develop valuable input for the further development of the security architecture.”

Thus, the customers benefit twice from the concentrated expertise and optimal cooperation of the companies.