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Discover Germany | Special Theme | CeBIT 2016
does this also work for data centres? What is the advantage? The same as with every other application. Just imagine operating a data centre and what this includes: applications for customer use have to be managed; employees are using the same servers and systems to, for example, coordinate the various steps in a supply chain. The more data there is, the bigger the data centre – so in the end it can consist of a couple of hundred servers connected to each other. When there is a security risk or a data breach or a bug infiltrating the software, this has to be combated. If this has to be done by hand, the IT department will need at least a week to address the issue.This is why companies frequently rely more and more on automated solutions – and should rely on that. The right tool can manage, monitor and update a system and therefore save time and money. Because systems have become so complex, most developers cannot achieve solutions on their own while keeping costs and time in mind. So the overall trend is towards collaborative development. This is why open source solutions in data centres are the least expensive and most flexible basis for developing or adjusting the needed monitoring and managing tools. This is
where ATIX comes into play. As a consultancy specialised in developing individual data centre solutions, ATIX will either design new data centres according to clients’ needs or optimise existing data centres using open source programmes.“Open source is not only a practical solution but also a philosophy, we believe in open standards in computing – something that currently is becoming mainstream,” says ATIX board member Bergrath. The origins of ATIX are slightly reminiscent of Apple’s beginnings in a garage. In 1995 the later ATIX founders established their first small-scale business in one of their parents’cellars to finance their studies. While developing and implementing complex computer networks for medium-sized businesses, they were already focusing on what ATIX does now: using Linux and open source software for data centres. What started as a side project soon turned into a serious business. Since 2005 the founders have been working under the name ATIX, but only in 2007 registered as an AG, a stock corporation. Since then the company has constantly grown, today employing 40 people.“We have been well-known in the German speaking DACH region for quite a while, but only in the last two years ex-
panded internationally to the UK and US markets,” says Bergrath. ATIX is a hidden champion and only one of three companies in the European market working in the field of open source-based data centres. ATIX is currently recruiting.“We are looking for people who think differently,” board member Bergrath explains.Therefore, ATIX does not look for a certain group of professionals, but for those with an affinity to open source software and Linux-based data centres. “Many of us really ‘live’ the open source idea,” Jan Bergrath says. “I think about 90 per cent of my colleagues work on open source projects during their spare time – because they love it.”And that is the kind of people ATIX is currently looking for to expand its business. The Linux and open source specialists ATIX will be at the CeBIT in Hannover 14-18 March; hall 3, stand E29. www.atix.de
Portrait: Jan R. Bergrath Below: Consulting, engineering, support.
Issue 36 | March 2016 | 65