Lufthansa Group levels up data archives for compliance and security
Key Takeaways
⇨ Lufthansa Group identified the need for a new data archiving solution that meets updated compliance requirements, emphasizing the importance of integrity and scalability in managing vast amounts of data.
⇨ The company chose KGS Software GmbH's SAP-certified archiving solution, tia, after a thorough evaluation process that highlighted its favorable price-performance ratio and ability to support both SAP and non-SAP data.
⇨ Implementing a subscription-based model on Microsoft Azure has provided Lufthansa with increased flexibility, scalability and cost savings, reflecting a growing trend among organizations to prioritize compliant data management solutions.
With most organizations drowning in data that they have accumulated over the years, archiving data in a legally compliant way while prioritizing integrity is key for businesses on the path to sustainable and ethical growth.
Lufthansa Group is one of the largest global aviation companies with about 97,000 employees. During one of its regular reviews of internal processes and structures to adapt to new requirements, the company determined that its existing archiving concept (OpenText) no longer met the changed requirements profile.
The main obstacle was that during data archiving, both SAP data and documents outside of SAP had to be reliably stored. This meant that the technical requirements for a platform to be implemented were both SAP certification and the ability to support additional formats. For licensing and economic purposes, the solution also needed to be scalable and easily accommodate Lufthansa’s numerous carve-in and carve-out activities.
Cementing the benefits of kgs’ solution
During its tender process, the Lufthansa Group learned about the work of software provider KGS Software GmbH (kgs) and its SAP-certified archiving solution, tia. This was followed by a proof of concept (PoC) to check whether the platform met the group’s requirements. Eventually, Lufthansa Group chose tia due to its price-performance ratio.
kgs then rolled out the platform as an archiving system for Lufthansa Group. As part of regular optimization, the company then undertook a multi-provider strategy for data centers, during which it reviewed tia and decided to expand its usage with a new contract so the kgs application can operate on Microsoft Azure across data centers in Amsterdam on a subscription basis.
Speaking of the benefits of this approach, Alexander Frick, director of operational procurement at Lufthansa, explained that “the subscription principle not only offers us a high degree of flexibility, but also attractive pricing and scalability, where we benefit from lower prices for larger purchase quantities.”
These developments emphasize the willingness of businesses to prevent the risk of losing valuable information, as well as avoiding severe penalties for non-compliance with legal requirements. Many more organizations are now embarking on similar projects of their own.
