03/18/2015

QSC selected as IT service provider for Süwag Energie AG

• QSC to take over operation of entire IT infrastructure
• Relocation of operations to QSC data centre in Frankfurt
• Contractual term of 72 months agreed

Cologne, 18 March 2015. The Frankfurt-based energy service provider Süwag Energie AG has agreed an IT outsourcing services contract with QSC AG. The contract has a volume of around € 40 million and a 72-month term.

Within this project, Süwag Energie AG will relocate its entire IT infrastructure to a data centre of QSC AG in Frankfurt and then gradually transfer responsibility for its IT services to QSC. QSC and Süwag aim to forge a long-term strategic partnership and have therefore agreed a contractual term of six years.

The project’s overriding aim is to sustainably reduce IT costs while maintaining consistently high IT service quality and ensuring compliance with the utmost security standards. The collaboration will be based on jointly agreed service level agreements setting out all the facts required to measure IT service quality in line with market standards.

Alongside RWE, a total of 16 towns, local authorities and municipal associations on the Rhine, Main, Lahn and Neckar rivers hold interests in Süwag. In its energy generation and distribution businesses, the company cooperates with 360 municipal partners and supplies electricity, natural gas and energy-related services to around 800,000 customers. Hydropower, wind, biogas and solar power are the key pillars of its proprietary electricity generation.

The energy industry faces the major challenge of having to react to changes flexibly and at short notice. These changes, which largely result from regulatory and legal requirements, are difficult for companies to plan and nevertheless binding.

QSC AG has successfully operated in the energy industry for years now. Its sector-specific IT and process expertise covering the entire IT value chain mean that it is superbly positioned to address the dynamic requirements involved. With this new partnership with Süwag, QSC is further expanding its market presence as an ICT service provider to the energy industry and is now also serving distribution grid operators.

“In QSC, we have found a partner we can trust when it comes to IT and industry expertise, flexibility and working together on an equal footing”, commented Dr. Holger Himmel, member of the Management Board at Süwag Energie AG, with regard to the successful contract agreement.

“We are familiar with the specific needs of the energy industry”, remarked Henning Reinecke, Management Board member at QSC AG, in respect of the signing of the agreement. “Our wealth of experience, high security standards and innovative strength will enable us to accompany Süwag towards a successful future.”

QSC AG already has energy companies, such as the transmission grid operator Amprion and the transmission system operators Nowega, Gascade and Gasuni, among its customers.

QSC: ICT for medium-sized enterprises
QSC AG is a one-stop ICT service provider for medium-sized enterprises in Germany. Its customers benefit from a full range of products and services in the fields of Telecommunications, Consulting, Outsourcing and Cloud. QSC draws on internally developed platforms to integrate both traditional IT applications and Cloud services on behalf of its customers. This enables companies to select a secure, customised approach to the Cloud and the Internet of Things. QSC’s proprietary infrastructure, comprising TÜV and ISO-certified data centres in Germany and its own nationwide voice data network, offers maximum end-to-end security for all applications. Products and services are marketed both directly and via partners. QSC has around 1,700 employees and is listed in the TecDAX.

Süwag Energie AG
Süwag Energie AG is a stock cooperation with municipal participation. The area supplied by Süwag and its subsidiaries covers almost 5,200 square kilometres and is spread across four federal states: Hesse, Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Bavaria. These companies have multiregional structures and numerous locations close to their customers – in line with their motto “Power on My Doorstep”. The companies have around 1,700 employees and 100 trainees.

“Making energy greener and more municipal” – that is the strategy adopted by Süwag Energie AG and its subsidiaries when it comes to shaping the future energy supply. That involves green grids, green products and green generation. The group of companies will be investing an additional € 100 million to expand its green and decentralised generation plants – with a preference for biomass, wind, solar and hydropower – and green grids. And all that exclusively in its supply area, where Süwag and its subsidiaries already generate around 135 million kWh of green electricity exclusively from regenerative and decentralised energy generation plants.

Further information is available from:

QSC AG
Arne Thull
Head of Investor Relations
Mathias-Brüggen-Str. 55
50829 Cologne, Germany
Tel.: +49 221 669-8724
E-mail: invest@qsc.de