Review of the year 2021
Finally live again: Our Autumn GFT-/VAF-Conference 2021 in Leipzig.
In 2021, too, it was hard to separate from the topic of Covid - and yet this year was characterised by much more than just the pandemic. GFT looks back on an eventful 2021.
JAN
GFT Austria GmbH, Vienna, commences business operations. The distributor ITAS AG, Neukirchen, becomes a new supplier to GFT.
BFW Kommunikationssysteme GmbH, Langenhagen, and Comfinity GmbH, Steinhagen/Westphalia, join the GFT group of companies.
FEB
Federal and state governments decide to extend the lockdown until 7 March 2021.
MRZ
A Corona outbreak in the Chinese port city of Yantian, strong demand for tablets in German schools and an accident in the Suez Canal trigger a supply crisis.
APR
For the first time, GFT conducts the annual round-table discussions with the Executive Board and Supervisory Board in spring as a digital format.
The es2000 performance circle meets digitally to discuss the introduction of the new esoffice 12.0 and the GFTWAWI.
MAI
GFT simplifies invoice processing for members in the central invoice portal with the introduction of the ZUGFeRD invoice format.
HFO Telecom GmbH, based in Oberkotzau in the northern Bavarian district of Hof, becomes a GFT member. With around 160 employees, it offers products in the areas of fixed-line/IP and cloud telephony, internet and mobile telephony for business and private customers.
Hi-Systems Sicherheitstechnik GmbH, Leitsberg in Austria, becomes a GFT partner supplier. The name stands for high-quality products in alarm, video, access and security technology. The partners include only well-known manufacturers and market leaders, such as JABLOTRON, HIKVISION, RISCO, OPTEX and UR Fog.
JUN
GFT is master broker for the German market of the cloud products Unify Office by RingCentral and Rainbow Office by RingCentral.
JUL
AUBÖCK Sicherheitssysteme GmbH, Ried im Innkreis, becomes the first Austrian GFT member. AUBÖCK offers individually tailored security concepts with intelligent technology for companies or private individuals from Telenot, HIKVISION, JABLOTRON and other partners.
Together with Unify, GFT has agreed on an attractive special bonus to promote the sale of Unify products for the subscription period from 1 July to 31 December 2021. GFT bonuses these sales with up to 7% of the sales made with Unify products.
The ALE Performance Circle meets digitally with 19 participants on key topics, including Rainbow Hub & Rainbow Office, service issues and product changes.
SEP
Bundestag elections 2021: Change of government in Germany after 16 years.
GFT-/VAF-Autumn Conference takes place again for the first time as a face-to-face event in Leipzig with over 140 participants.
Change on the Supervisory Board of GFT: Sabine Keitel retires from the Supervisory Board at the end of the Annual General Meeting after 22 years of service. Philip Kalthöfer is elected as her successor.
The Controlling Performance Group meets for one and a half days in Fulda with 14 participants on topics such as System House 4.0, provisioning models in sales and the main topic of the possibilities of business intelligence systems (Power BI) in operational use.
We welcome Smart Security Technology GmbH, Essen, as part of the Thelen Group - the facility group for everything to do with real estate, with more than 5,800 employees in the areas of planning, construction and management of buildings - as a new member of the GFT group.
OKT
Admission of three new members:
Oberndorfer Elektrogesellschaft mbH in Vöcklabruck, Austria, has been installing electrical systems, smart home systems, security and telecommunications systems in commercial and private properties for over 50 years.
EAS Elektroanlagen Sicherheitstechnik GmbH in Euratsfeld/Lower Austria has been serving customers in all segments of electrical installation including alternative energies, communication and security technology since 2010.
The PTC Professionals' Telecom group of companies, founded in 1988 and based in Wörthsee, Bavaria, with locations in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, creates a holistic voice, video and web communications infrastructure for medium-sized companies and large enterprises with partner status for Unify and certifications for Avaya.
NOV
New suppliers:
Mehrens Unified Communication GmbH, Neumünster, as distributor for innovaphone products.
i-Alarmsysteme GmbH, Erkrath, is a total provider for alarm, video, access and offers quality products from well-known manufacturers, such as Dahua, JABLOTRON, Visonic, SATEL, Aritech, etc.
DEZ
GFT's Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise performance circle meets digitally on the topics of manufacturer liability and commissioned data processing.
CloudProjekt GmbH, Hanover, and ITES GmbH, Geiersthal, become members of GFT: CloudProjekt GmbH deals with the design and billing of TV/WLAN and communication solutions.
ITES GmbH has been active in the field of communication, security and IT network technology for over 15 years and is a partner of well-known manufacturers. In addition to the headquarters in Geiersthal, ITES Kommunikations- und Sicherheitstechnik is represented by another office in Bavaria.
GFT-/VAF-Autumn Conference 2021 - Meeting in person and having good conversations
In September 2021, after an absence of almost 2 years due to the pandemic, the GFT once again offered a communication platform for an industry meeting with over 140 participants from members and contract suppliers with the GFT/VAF Autumn Conference. From 30 September to 1 October 2021, GFT and VAF jointly invited participants to the HYPERION Hotel Leipzig.
A total of 18 GFT contract suppliers presented their highlights at the autumn conference as part of the accompanying trade exhibition.
Various statements on the challenges, solutions and strategies - on the one hand from the perspective of the ICT system house as a provider and on the other hand from the perspective of the UCC/TK provider - were formed under the main topic "An industry on the way to the cloud!?" This was followed by stimulating discussions on the experiences and perspectives with the participation of the members.
During the evening event, the guests used the time for networking.
The second day of the event was also very exciting with the presentation topics "Solving company succession in a structured and tax-optimised way", "Recruiting Trends 2021" and "Presentation of Ecoprofit".
In the closing lecture "Head or gut? Making the Right Decisions in Times of Big Data", this year's keynote speaker Prof. Dr. Volker Busch gave an overview of the possibilities and limits of the mind in decision-making in the work process.
