Berlin, 21 October 2020 – De-Mail is an important driver behind digitalisation in the public sector and since 2011 the De-Mail Act has made it mandatory for all companies that communicate regularly with public authorities¹. With De-Mail, users can exchange confidential documents in an encrypted and legally compliant manner. De-Mail combines the speed of email with the security of a letter and the traceability of registered mail. With its subsidiary FP Mentana-Claimsoft, Francotyp-Postalia, an expert in secure digital communication, is the first De-Mail service provider to be accredited by the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) since 2011 and offers public authorities and companies a smart introduction to the secure De-Mail system.
Secure communication: Simple, verifiable, confidential
In Schleswig-Holstein, work on equipping the state authorities and municipalities with De-Mail began as early as 2014. Around 170 municipalities and every state authority now has a De-Mail connection. Mentana has now taken over the operation of the De-Mail service for the next 4 years. In addition to further expansion, Mentana will ensure the improved connection of De-Mail to digital processing within the administration.
A plug-in integrated into the mail client makes it easy for users to use both email and De-Mail. The content of the message and metadata such as sender address, dispatch time and dispatch type are therefore encrypted and protected against changes and external manipulation through the use of signatures. This makes communication not only particularly secure, but also binding and verifiable. The service for Schleswig-Holstein was put out to tender in 2019 by the Central IT Management of the state administration together with the IT Association of Schleswig-Holstein for the municipalities by Dataport as the awarding authority. FP Mentana-Claimsoft was awarded the contract in June 2020 and is now implementing the joint De-Mail project with all participants.
User-friendly and flexible
In addition to relieving the burden on public authorities whose daily business is based on the exchange of sensitive documents, De-Mail also offers advantages for small and medium-sized enterprises and private citizens, for example when they are in contact with public authorities, insurance companies and banks. This is why providers rely on open interfaces, standardised technologies and the use of existing software. "Our solution is beneficial for companies, but also for public authorities with a more complex infrastructure. Users can directly benefit from all the advantages of De-Mail," explains Stephan Vanberg, CEO of FP Mentana-Claimsoft GmbH. Dr. Philipp Willer, Managing Director of the ITVSH, emphasizes the importance of a legally compliant communication channel between the administration and citizens: "De-Mail supports us in the task of making our local authorities in the state fit for a comprehensive and media-consistent digitalization of administrative processes." Municipalities and public authorities in Berlin, Hamburg, Bremen and Baden-Württemberg are also already equipped with the De-Mail system from FP Mentana-Claimsoft. The flexibility and user-friendliness of the FP solution, which distinguishes it from the other De-Mail service providers, was a decisive factor for them.
Accelerating digitalisation in the public sector
"With FP Mentana-Claimsoft, we have an experienced service provider on our side who offers us exactly what we need for a legally compliant De-Mail infrastructure for the state administration and local authorities in Schleswig-Holstein. We are looking forward to working together and hope that the implementation of De-Mail in public authorities will pick up speed in the future," says Matthias Gitsels, Electronic Mailroom Product Manager at Datatport. FP Mentana-Claimsoft CEO Stephan Vanberg is also confident: "We want to press ahead with digitalisation in the public sector. As an expert for secure digital communication, we offer every public authority a customised De-Mail infrastructure and help to ensure that De-Mail continues to gain acceptance within public authorities and administrations."
¹https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/de-mail-g/BJNR066610011.html
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