Gemeinsame Kommunale Datenzentrale

What Gemeinsame Kommunale Datenzentrale does

Gemeinsame Kommunale Datenzentrale (GKD Recklinghausen) is a public-law Zweckverband — a municipal purpose association — providing IT services to nine member municipalities in the Kreis Recklinghausen region of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Founded on July 1, 1975, the organization operates from Castroper Str. 30 in Recklinghausen and serves as the central IT Dienstleister for Kreis Recklinghausen and the cities of Castrop-Rauxel, Datteln, Dorsten, Gladbeck, Haltern am See, Oer-Erkenschwick, Recklinghausen, and Waltrop. Its service portfolio spans the operation of a TÜV-TSI-certified data center (continuously re-certified since 2013 through 2025), a 24/7 Service Desk, IT consulting, municipality-specific Fachanwendungen, e-government and digitalization services, school IT support, IT security, training, and inter-municipal networking. In-house products include the WebAdmin single-sign-on platform and the more!rubin council meeting solution.

The organization is led by Verbandsvorsteher Rajko Kravanja (Mayor of Castrop-Rauxel, in role since 2020) and commercially by Karl Chat as kaufmännischer Geschäftsführer, with long-serving Geschäftsführer Sören Kuhn departing on June 29, 2026. GKD is a member of the federal municipal IT association VITAKO (since 2005) and the KDN network (since 2014), and maintains academic partnerships with Westfälische Hochschule and apprenticeship pipelines through IHK Nord Westfalen.

GKD's revenue model is a hybrid of recurring managed-services subscriptions and membership contributions from its nine Zweckverband members, supplemented by project-based professional services and consulting. Under Kuhn's tenure, revenue has more than tripled and workforce has doubled, supporting the "GKD 2030" strategic roadmap launched in 2025. As a public-law entity, GKD is not a recipient of venture or private-equity capital and is structurally bound to its founding member municipalities.

Name

Gemeinsame Kommunale Datenzentrale

Legal name

Gemeinsame Kommunale Datenzentrale Recklinghausen

Website

https://gkd-re.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1975

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

GKD Recklinghausen is a public-law municipal IT Zweckverband serving nine municipalities in the Kreis Recklinghausen region of North Rhine-Westphalia, operating a TÜV-certified data center, 24/7 Service Desk, e-government platforms, and proprietary tools like WebAdmin SSO and more!rubin council software.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Government IT Services

NAICS

Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support (921)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Government Digital Service & eGovernment (Service Delivery, IDs, Portals) (BPAIAAAE)

Keywords

• Municipal IT services
• Data center operations
• E-government solutions
• Public sector IT
• Electronic records management

Headquarters

HQ city

Recklinghausen

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. IT Services für Mitgliedskommunen: Core service revenue from providing comprehensive IT services to member municipalities including infrastructure, software operations, consulting, and support.
2. Mitgliedsbeiträge und Verbandsfinanzierung: Financing through Zweckverband membership contributions from Kreis Recklinghausen and eight cities as public-law entity.
3. Digitalisierungsprojekte: Project-based revenue from implementing digitalization strategies and e-government solutions for member administrations.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

GKD Recklinghausen is a public-law Zweckverband that provides comprehensive IT services to municipalities in the Kreis Recklinghausen region. Its offerings span TÜV-certified data center hosting, managed operation of municipal specialist applications (finance, HR, resident registration), e-government and digitalization consulting (including electronic records/E-Akte), IT security and disaster recovery, school IT support, networking, and training for municipal staff.

Product overview

GKD Recklinghausen operates as a municipal IT service provider offering a comprehensive portfolio of integrated services for public administrations in the Recklinghausen district. The offering consists of core infrastructure and service products including TÜV-certified data center operations, customer service desk support, IT consulting, and specialized municipal applications (Fachanwendungen) covering financial management, personnel, and resident administration. Digitalization services support e-government initiatives including electronic document management (E-Akte), internet/intranet development, and online services. Additional services include school IT support, network and information security, training, and high-availability networking infrastructure. The portfolio is delivered through platforms including WebAdmin (web-based administration with SSO via OpenID Connect) and more!rubin (session/council meeting service), all hosted and operated from the certified data center.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Datacenter / Rechenzentrum TÜV-certified data center operation providing server hosting, network infrastructure, data storage, failover security, and redundancy for municipal clients.
• Kundenbetreuung / Service Desk
• Consulting / Beratung
• Fachanwendungen (kommunale Fachverfahren)
• Digitalisierung / E-Government
• Schulsupport
• IT-Sicherheit (Netzwerk- und Informationssicherheit)
• Fortbildung (Training)
• Vernetzung (Network Infrastructure)
• WebAdmin
• more!rubin

Quantifiable outcome

• Workforce doubled and revenue more than tripled under departing Managing Director
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• KDN (Dachverband kommunaler IT-Dienstleister)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2014Member of KDN since 2014. KDN is the umbrella association of municipal IT service providers in North Rhine-Westphalia.
• VITAKO (Bundes-Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Kommunalen IT-Dienstleister e.V.)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2005Member since 2005. GKD Managing Director Sören Kuhn served as VITAKO Board Chairman until his departure. Association provides platform for exchange and learning among municipal IT providers, enabling unified voice at federal level.
• Westfälische Hochschule (Westphalian University of Applied Sciences)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDual study cooperation offering Informatik (Computer Science) and Wirtschaftsinformatik (Business Informatics) programs at Gelsenkirchen campus. Students combine theory at university with practical work at GKD.
• IHK Nord Westfalen (Chamber of Industry and Commerce)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGKD follows IHK training framework plan for apprentices. Apprenticeship programs include Fachinformatiker Anwendungsentwicklung, Fachinformatiker Systemintegration, and Kaufmann für IT-System-Management.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Competitive moat6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Gemeinsame Kommunale Datenzentrale