Hardware and Software Innovation: How KOBIL Built a Single Universal Solution for DATEV

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2,000,000

German businesses using DATEV each month

1 universal

hardware and software solution provided by KOBIL

Introducing DATEV

DATEV is a cooperative organization with 40,000 members and 6,400 employees. It offers software for a range of professional and financial service businesses, including accounting, personnel management, business consulting, tax calculations and company organizations.

More than two million German businesses use DATEV software for their financial accounting, processing more than 11 million pay-slips each month.

Challenges

The diversity and sheer volume of business transactions handled by DATEV software had created two significant challenges: high operational costs and increased security risks.

DATEV’s clients used specially designed iPhone and iPad apps to access their accounts and the sensitive data held within them. With all data stored in the cloud, DATEV had to ensure only authorized individuals were able to retrieve, save and use information – regardless of whether they accessed the material from a smartphone or tablet.

Solution

KOBIL's mIDentity Air+ platform uses a combination of hardware and software innovation to guarantee a highly secure connection for all of DATEV’s app users across both smartphones and tablets.

A Micro-SIM format smartcard communicates with the user’s iOS devices through Bluetooth with Digitanium, KOBIL's end-to-end encryption channel, ensuring the secure transmission of any exchanged data.

When the user downloads data, it is securely stored and encrypted on their iOS device.

However, the user can only access that data by simultaneously connecting their mIDentity Air+ smartcard and entering the smartcard’s PIN. Once this stage has been completed, the user is free to either read the documents ‘offline’ or edit them.

And for DATEV users operating on desktop or laptop computers, the mIDentity Air+ can be connected via USB – making it a universal solution across both traditional computing systems and portable iOS devices.

Results

Through KOBIL's mIDentity Air+ platform, DATEV has provided a secure, comfortable and binding solution for tax consultants, auditors and lawyers across all areas of Germany.

It has marked itself as an innovation driver within its industry while also delivering an improved customer performance and increased customer confidence.

Finally, it has also enjoyed significant cost savings through a combined hardware and software solution that operates across all platforms.

KOBIL looks forward to supporting DATEV for many years to come.