Secure Data, Secure Future
Interview with Susanne Moosreiner, Managing Director of SEP GmbH
Cyberattacks are currently at record levels. According to a Bitkom study, the threat of industrial espionage, ransomware, and data theft is real for 81% of German companies. Because the economic damage is immense, multi-layered security strategies are becoming increasingly important. SEP GmbH from Holzkirchen has specialized exactly in this. Their platform-independent backup solutions are made in Germany and are based on the concept of 'one fits all'.
Wirtschaftsforum: Ms. Moosreiner, you are the managing director of SEP GmbH, a specialist in backup solutions. How has your journey within the company been?
Susanne Moosreiner: SEP was founded in its current form in 2003, though there was a predecessor company where I was already involved. Thus, I have been with the company since its inception and have been the sole managing director since the beginning of 2024. The focus on backup solutions has been central since 1992. To this day, we have grown with our customers and their requirements, always having to face competition from overseas and Asia. As a comparatively small player, the "Made in Germany" seal has strengthened us in competition; in our product environment, this has always been and continues to be a unique selling point.
Wirtschaftsforum: What is SEP's current structure?
Susanne Moosreiner: We employ 40 permanent staff members, with an additional 15 to 20 freelancers in development. Besides our headquarters in Holzkirchen near Munich, we have a subsidiary in the USA; this allows us to directly establish contacts with American manufacturers.
Wirtschaftsforum: The issue of backup is becoming increasingly important for businesses of every sector and size and is at the same time a major challenge. How does SEP support its customers in this area?
Susanne Moosreiner: With our solutions, we guarantee secure and functional data availability, irrespective of industries, hardware and software, and in compliance with laws. In this exciting area, which we like to call the last line of defense, it is important to have a trustworthy partner by your side who is accessible and, for example, is not subject to the Cloud Act or Patriot Act. With many competitors, it is no longer standard to keep data on-premises; this is where we clearly differ. We are local, accessible, and close. Additionally, we offer a purchase license; meaning, even if customers decide against a backup by SEP, they can continue using the license.
Wirtschaftsforum: What products are we talking about exactly?
Susanne Moosreiner: SEP sesam is our backup, restore, and disaster recovery solution for virtual and physical environments. The current version is called Artemis. With the names, we refer to Greek mythology where we see many parallels to ourselves. There were also fighters, strong personalities that had to defend themselves, but were also innovative. It's always about defense, but also about agility and progress. With SEP Caps, we present a second product; a cloud-application-service-backup solution.
Wirtschaftsforum: Where do you want to take the company and what impulses are necessary for it?
Susanne Moosreiner: I am currently in a personal transformation process from operational to strategic business with the goal of putting SEP on a clear growth trajectory.
The market offers great potential and promising opportunities; given the uncertain geopolitical situation, 'Made in Germany' is becoming increasingly significant, standing for quality and continuity. It's clear that we can only generate growth through new customers and for that brand awareness is important. We are a small company and backups are a big project; it's usually about terms of five years. Customers must know that SEP is a real alternative. Therefore, we will focus more on marketing and sales areas and rethink established structures. Customers, for example, need to be addressed directly; until now this has been done through channels like resellers and distribution partners.
Wirtschaftsforum: You have been involved with SEP from the start. What are the reasons for its continued success?
Susanne Moosreiner: Excellent support and comprehensive know-how. We are reachable, speak German, have very good consultants who can help with backup strategy planning, and a very agile development team that can quickly adapt to customer wishes. Customers appreciate having a dedicated contact person in sales who takes care of them in the long term.
Wirtschaftsforum: You aim for growth in the future as well. What are the goals for the coming years?
Susanne Moosreiner: My vision is for municipal utilities, district offices, city administrations, and SMEs to really think about whether their data is secure and whether they are building digital sovereignty. This is associated with growth for SEP. I have a lot of responsibility for a great team, for great people. I want to continue to accompany and lead them and keep our company healthy. One of the biggest challenges will be finding the right employees to support our growth path.