"Control room hat trick": KfW development bank demands the highest security standards

Measures to protect the climate and the environment, support for developing and emerging countries, funds for private builders – the list of financing and support services is long. Disruptions or even failures in IT operations can have incalculable consequences. It is therefore indispensable that the responsible teams can count on reliable and highly available technical components.

Convinced by products, cooperation and professionalism

When project manager Dirk Künstler was entrusted with the plans for a control center modernization, he quickly became enthusiastic about the idea: “We noticed that our very rudimentarily equipped control station was no longer up to date.” Some research and a two-day workshop in the control room simulator convinced the KfW responsibles: “The products, the cooperation, the professionalism – that was already very impressive. The JST service portfolio immediately aroused our interest!”

Upgrade for Command Center, SOC and Crisis Room

The interaction of all components – hardware, software and furniture -, the possibility of technically integrating other rooms and visualizing control center content there, access options across locations – the many plus points of the JST solution had yet another consequence. The decision was made not only to re-equip the planned Command Center, but also the Security Operations Center (SOC) at the Frankfurt headquarters of the development bank.

Monitoring and protection of critical IT infrastructure

While Dirk Künstler describes the work in the Command Center as follows: “This is where the heart of IT operations beats. The operating states of critical IT infrastructure and important applications are monitored around the clock,” the focus in the SOC is on a different area: there, protection against cybercrime is at the top of the priority list. “We are responsible for fending off influences such as hacker attacks,” reports Kristin Weber from the SOC team, “we monitor all security-relevant events in our IT infrastructure and observe whether there are any anomalies anywhere, whether something unexpected is happening.”

Here, highest security requirements are fulfilled

Thanks to the new Jungmann technology, potential faults are proactively detected in both control stations by means of the PixelDetection^® monitoring software. Audio-visual alarm options fulfill the highest security requirements. Ergonomic furniture is complemented by innovative large-screen technology, which can be used flexibly due to the MultiConsoling^® control system. In addition, both installations benefit from the advantages of the JST myLogin^® software, which allows a secure and convenient solution of an automated log-in and log-out process via chip card.

In this way, KfW achieves a "technological hat trick"

The technological hat trick at KfW in Frankfurt is completed with another room that has been technically updated: the crisis and emergency room. Here, too, an upgrade to state of the art was implemented using large-screen technology, the MultiConsoling^® KVM solution and an additional AllMedia conference table.

“Very honest communication at all times"

Looking back, project manager Dirk Künstler can say: “The cooperation with the JST team was excellent. Everything was just right. There was very honest communication at all times. No matter what, they always reacted immediately and we found solutions together. I’m really very enthusiastic about how it all worked out.”