• Deutsche Telekom is supporting digital startups with up to 10 million euros
• The overall aim: 100 startups into the Cloud
• Deutsche Telekom bridges the gap between startups and SMEs

At the CeBIT exhibition in Hanover, Deutsche Telekom is presenting a comprehensive program for cooperation with digital startups – and thereby positioning itself as a strategic partner for startups, and as a builder of bridges between startups and German small and medium-sized companies (SMEs). The new program addresses the difficulty that startups serving B2B customers often have in obtaining access to SMEs, an attractive target group. On the other hand, SMEs rarely come into contact with startups. 

Deutsche Telekom has a wide-reaching customer network and extensive contacts to SMEs. Now, with its new "TechBoost" startups program, the company is helping to bring SMEs and startups together by providing up to 100,000 euros per startup, for ICTresources and capacities, along with sales and marketing support. In addition, the program provides options for expanding collaborations with tech startups into full-fledged partnerships for joint development of business models and/or sales cooperation.

The measures package under the TechBoost startups program provides for 100,000 euros of starting credit per startup, for IT resources such as computing and storage capacities, from the Open Telekom Cloud. The program also offers startups special rates on mobile and fixed-network services. Starting immediately, startups with digital business models are invited to apply for the program at www.telekom.de/TechBoost. 

Deutsche Telekom is boosting its efforts on behalf of startups. In addition to maintaining its conventional modes of support for startups in Germany, Deutsche Telekom is now expanding its startup-oriented commitment in the area of cooperation. In the framework of sales cooperation arrangements, business customers can now purchase solutions offered by innovative startups directly from Deutsche Telekom. A partnership with the Munich-based technology startup NavVis illustrates how this works. NavVis, a spin-off from a research project at the Technical University of Munich, has developed a method for surveying building interiors with centimeter accuracy. The system, for which a patent application has been filed, is compact enough to be mounted on a wheeled cart. At high speed, it surveys building interiors by scanning them with lasers and simultaneously taking 360-degree panoramic photographs. The image data are fed into an indoor-navigation app of NavVis' own development.

Deutsche Telekom has integrated the new system within its own product portfolio. SME customers profit in that Deutsche Telekom is now able to offer them a complete solution based on NavVis technology. In addition to planning and executing building-interior scans, Deutsche Telekom processes the resulting digital data and hosts them in the Open Telekom Cloud, supplies the pertinent navigation application and provides full support. 

Another example of this approach is provided by the startup enfore. enfore has developed a digital-business-process platform that facilitates the digitization process. enforePOS is the first Business- APP that focuses on the point of sales and service for retail, service and gastronomy. Complemented by the electronic cash register, small businesses can now digitize and thereby optimize processes as staff management, accounting, CRM and merchandise management in an easy, fully-integrated way.

SYFIT, a startup based in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, is also benefiting from cooperation with Deutsche Telekom. SYFIT has developed AYE-D.NET, a web-based application that supports companies in digitally assessing and managing resources such as tools, machines and systems. The application, which is RFID-based, carries out unambiguous, comprehensive and tamper-proof assessment and documentation processes, thereby making it easy for companies to comply with legal regulations in these areas. The system saves time and considerably reduces costs. AYE-D.NET can save SMEs up to 600,000 euros annually, depending on the sector in which they operate. For large corporations, the savings can be as high as seven million euros. AYE-D.NET is hosted in highly secure German data centers. 

For all the details on the "TechBoost" support program for startups, and further information about cooperation between Deutsche Telekom and startups, come to the "Startup Day" being held on March 22 at Deutsche Telekom's CeBIT booth C38, in hall 4.