Regionales Rechenzentrum Erlangen

What Regionales Rechenzentrum Erlangen does

Regionales Rechenzentrum Erlangen (RRZE), founded in 1987 and headquartered at Martensstraße 1, Erlangen, is the central IT service unit of Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), a public university under Bavarian law. RRZE provides comprehensive IT infrastructure and application services to approximately 40,000 students, faculty, researchers, and administrative staff across FAU's multi-campus footprint in Erlangen and Nuremberg, with selected services extended to regional partner universities and cooperation partners under a regional concept framework.

The service portfolio spans hardware and software procurement (PCs, workstations, Apple and Surface devices, enterprise software licenses for Adobe, Autodesk, MATLAB, Microsoft 365, Ansys, ArcGIS, etc.), communication and collaboration services (FAUMail, Matrix, video conferencing via DFNconf/Jitsi/MS Teams/Zoom, VPN, WLAN), server and web hosting (including GitLab and WordPress CMS instances), cloud storage via FAUbox with desktop and mobile clients, centralized identity management (IdM) and single sign-on (WebSSO), multi-factor authentication, certificates, a ticketing system (OTRS), multimedia production, and a print center. The organization operates the FAU node of the national NHR (Nationales Hochleistungsrechnen) HPC network and the Nordbayerisches Wissenschaftsnetz regional science network.

Commercially, RRZE is not a revenue-generating entity; it is an internal organizational unit funded through FAU's institutional budget and Bavarian state higher-education appropriations, governed by the FAU IT-Richtlinie (IT Acceptable Use Policy) approved in November 2020. Services are provisioned to authorized FAU members and contracted partners via institutional channels (self-service portals, service desks at Martensstraße 1, internal infrastructure) with no public external pricing. The unit operates with approximately 23 staff and is led via a collegial management structure with departmental leads across Zentrale Systeme, Kommunikationssysteme, and other functional areas.

Name

Regionales Rechenzentrum Erlangen

Legal name

Regionales Rechenzentrum Erlangen (RRZE)

Website

https://rrze.uni-erlangen.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

RRZE is the central IT service unit of Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, providing infrastructure, HPC, identity management, cloud storage, communication tools, and enterprise software to ~40,000 FAU members across multiple campuses under Bavarian state funding.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Erlangen

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Institutional Funding: Funded through Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg budget and Bavarian state government higher education funding. Services are provided to authorized users (students, faculty, staff) as part of university IT infrastructure.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

RRZE is the central IT service provider for Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), delivering a comprehensive portfolio of enterprise IT services including cloud storage (FAUbox), email (FAUMail), high-performance computing for research, identity management, web hosting, network services (VPN, WLAN), and centralized software licensing. Services are provisioned internally to FAU students, faculty, researchers, and administrative staff across campuses in Erlangen and Nuremberg, with shared regional infrastructure extended to partner Bavarian universities.

Product overview

Regionales Rechenzentrum Erlangen (RRZE) is the central IT service provider for Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), offering a comprehensive portfolio of IT infrastructure and application services organized across multiple domains. The service portfolio includes: hardware and software provision (client equipment, software licenses for products like Adobe, Autodesk, MATLAB, Microsoft 365, and specialized academic software); cloud and storage services centered on FAUbox for file sharing; communication and collaboration platforms including FAUMail email service, Matrix for encrypted chat/video, and video conferencing solutions (DFNconf, Jitsi, MS Teams, Zoom); web services providing hosting and WordPress CMS; identity management through IdM and WebSSO single sign-on; network infrastructure including VPN, WLAN, and campus networking; development platforms such as GitLab for version control; high-performance computing (HPC) for research; and multimedia services for video production and lecture recording. The organization follows the FAU's IT acceptable use policy (IT-R) and implements data protection measures including SSL encryption and GDPR compliance. Key products operate as interconnected services sharing common authentication infrastructure (IdM/WebSSO) and security frameworks (MFA, certificates).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• FAUbox: Cloud-based file storage and synchronization service provided by RRZE for FAU members
• NHR@FAU
• IT-Schulungszentrum

Products and services

• FAUbox Cloud storage and file sharing service for FAU members, supporting desktop clients (Windows, macOS, Linux), web portal, and mobile apps (Android, iOS). Enables secure document exchange and collaboration with external partners.
• FAUMail Email service providing postboxes, mailing lists, anti-spam, central virus protection, and Exchange integration for university communication.
• Matrix (FAU Chat) End-to-end encrypted chat and video conferencing platform for team collaboration at FAU.
• Web Hosting Services (Webdienste) Web hosting, CMS instances (WordPress), and website management services for university units and members.
• High Performance Computing (HPC) High-performance computing resources and supercomputing services for scientific research, operated as part of the NHR@FAU national HPC infrastructure.
• Identity Management (IdM) Centralized identity and access management system providing user lifecycle management for FAU employees and students.
• WebSSO Central single sign-on authentication service providing federated access to university web applications.
• VPN Virtual private network service for secure remote access to university resources from off-campus locations.
• WLAN Wireless network access service across FAU campuses in Erlangen and Nuremberg.
• GitLab Code repository and CI/CD platform for software development, version control, and collaboration.
• Data Integration Platform (DIP) Platform for integrating and synchronizing data across FAU administrative and academic systems.
• Server Hosting and Housing Physical and virtual server hosting services including virtualization for university departments and projects.
• Multimedia Center (MMZ) Audio/video production, streaming, lecture recording, and digital signage services for teaching and events.
• Software Licenses (Software-Lizenzen) Centrally procured licensed software products including Adobe, Autodesk, MATLAB, Microsoft 365, Zoom, IBM SPSS, ANSYS, COMSOL, ArcGIS, and other academic software for university use.
• OTRS Ticket System IT service management and ticketing system used to handle support requests from FAU members.
• Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) Multi-factor authentication service using hardware tokens (YubiKey) and software tokens for enhanced login security.
• Print Center (Druckzentrum) Centralized printing services including large-format poster printing for research and teaching purposes.
• SSL/TLS Certificates (Zertifikate) SSL/TLS server certificate management and issuance services for FAU-operated servers and services.
• Nordbayerisches Wissenschaftsnetz Regional science network infrastructure providing data communications for FAU and partner institutions across northern Bavaria.
• Hardware Procurement Centralized procurement of PCs, workstations, notebooks, Apple products, MS Surface products, printers, peripherals, servers, media technology, and network equipment for university members.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• NHR@FAU (National High Performance Computing at FAU)coreTechnology or IntegrationRRZE operates the high-performance computing infrastructure as part of the national NHR (Nationales Hochleistungsrechnen) network, providing supercomputing resources for scientific research across Germany.
• Bayerische Hochschulen (Bavarian Universities)coreTechnology or IntegrationRRZE operates under a regional concept serving multiple Bavarian universities, providing shared IT infrastructure and services across institutions.
• FAU (Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRRZE is an organizational unit of FAU, providing comprehensive IT services to support the university's missions in research, teaching, and administration.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• HLRS (High-Performance Computing Center Stuttgart): One of Germany's three national HPC centers and a core NHR partner. Operates supercomputing infrastructure and provides research computing services similar to RRZE's NHR@FAU role.
• HLRN (Norddeutscher Verbund zur Förderung des Hochleistungsrechnens): Northern German HPC consortium serving universities and research institutions. Operates as a regional high-performance computing peer with similar federally-funded research mandate.
• Leibniz Rechenzentrum (LRZ): Central IT service provider for Bavarian universities and research institutions, including HPC and data services. Direct peer operating under the same Bavarian regional concept framework as RRZE.
• ZIH (Zentrum für Informationsdienste und Hochleistungsrechnen, TU Dresden): Central IT and HPC service provider for TU Dresden. Offers comparable portfolio of HPC, cloud storage, identity management, and academic IT services.
• Rechenzentrum Universität Heidelberg: University computing center providing HPC, cloud storage, email, identity management, and media services to Heidelberg University. Functionally analogous to RRZE for a similar-scale research university.
• Regionales Rechenzentrum (RRZ) der Universität zu Köln: University computing center for the University of Cologne providing comparable IT services (HPC, cloud, email, web hosting, identity management) to a large public university.
• GWDG (Gesellschaft für wissenschaftliche Datenverarbeitung mbH Göttingen): Joint computing center of the University of Göttingen and the Max Planck Society. Provides comparable HPC, cloud storage, identity management, and managed IT services to academic users.

Broad incumbents

• GÉANT: European research and education networking organization. Operates the pan-European GÉANT network and services that underpin national research networks like the one RRZE connects to.
• DFN-Verein (Deutsches Forschungsnetz): National operator of the German research network (X-WiN) providing backbone connectivity and services to all German universities. Upstream network and authentication services provider to RRZE.

Others

• DFN-CERT: Computer emergency response team serving German universities. Closely related security services provider that RRZE coordinates with for incident response and security operations.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xbsky.app/profile/rrze.de
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCIW07Xpr8jZzTxYaYxlMiUg
• Instagraminstagram.com/rrze_erlangen
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/regionales-rechenzentrum-erlangen

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Regionales Rechenzentrum Erlangen