1.4  Main focus areas for products and innovations

The disclosures made in the section “1.4 Main focus areas for products and innovations” are “non-audited management report disclosures”, as the content of “non-management report-related disclosures” is not audited.

As an internet service provider, the United Internet Group does not engage in research and development (R&D) on a scale comparable with manufacturing companies. Also within the context of its own sector, research and development expenditures play a fairly subordinate role. Against this backdrop, United Internet does not disclose key figures for R&D.

At the same time, the United Internet brands stand for high-performance internet access, solutions, and innovative web-based products and applications which are mostly developed in-house. The success of United Internet is rooted in an ability to develop, combine, or adapt innovative products and services, and launch them on major markets.

Thanks to its high-performance development centers (especially in Karlsruhe, Berlin, and Bucharest) with around 3,750 programmers, product managers, and technical administrators, United Internet is able to react swiftly and flexibly to new ideas and trends, and to continuously enhance its established products by adapting them to changing market needs – a key success factor in the fast-moving internet market. The Company’s expertise in product development, enhancement, and rollout minimizes its reliance on third party development work and supplies in many areas, and thus ensures decisive competitive and time-to-market advantages.

Due to the steady growth in customer figures, the demands placed on reliability and availability are constantly rising. In addition to the further development of existing products and continuous optimization of back-end operations, the Company also focuses on enhancing existing processes in order to raise system reliability, and thus also customer satisfaction.

Focus areas 2025

Consumer Access

  • Expansion of footprint for sales of 1&1 fiber-optic products (FTTH) with the inclusion of partners such as Gelsennet, EWE-TEL, and Deutsche Glasfaser
  • Introduction of Wi-Fi calling abroad: this enables mobile customers to use their phones automatically via Wi-Fi access even when abroad
  • Optimization of eSIM switching processes: automated processes provided for Apple and Google devices, enabling customers to transfer their eSIM from one device to another with minimal effort using a digitalized process
  • New process for changing providers: the new process allows customers to switch to 1&1 without interruption, even without transferring their phone number
  • Improved fast activation for DSL and fiber optic connections: clear identification of end-user devices (routers) used in the network (hardware identification) significantly speeds up the activation of broadband connections
  • Optimization of product and supplier management: during broadband expansion, multiple lines are available for providing broadband connections at many locations; by optimizing management and selecting the best possible pre-product (line), 1&1 can offer customers the best connection at their location

Business Access

  • Rollout of the new XGS-PON technology, a standard for passive optical networks (PON) that supports symmetrical data transmission at high speeds of up to 10 Gbit/s
  • Introduction of new encryption technologies to increase the security of business connections
  • Expansion of offerings for the NE4 (“last mile”) of 1&1 Versatel customers, including the introduction of a fiber-copper converter
  • Introduction of an additional SD-WAN solution with LANCOM as a site networking solution “made in Germany”
  • Expansion of fiber-optic footprint for 1&1 Versatel customers through the purchase of FttH access via third-party carriers using the 1&1 Versatel Open Access platform

Consumer Applications

  • Establishment of an LLM infrastructure (LLM = Large Language Model) for secure and high-performance provision of LLMs for integration into mail products and internal use cases
  • Introduction of “Inbox Ad Image” product in Ad Manager for 1&1 Mail & Media customers
  • Support for permanent login of GMX customers to increase security and simplify use
  • Expansion of the cloud product with the introduction of a photo timeline on iOS, pooling of photos by social events, and photo memories on the web
  • New AI features for emails (pay): translation, summary, and writing assistance
  • New, flexible registration process to improve conversion through simpler operation and modern design, with a better basis for monetization and fraud prevention
  • Development and launch of an identity hub that combines different identification methods (including video identification and eID), reduces costs, and offers customers more options
  • CMS-based upselling in mobile apps to increase sales
  • Enhancement of the premium order platform to introduce new, flexible premium mail tariffs
  • Event-driven subscription and retention architecture to support personalized offers and churn prevention
  • Customer self-care relaunch with configurable cancellation flows and value-based retention discounts to prevent churn for web and mobile
  • Introduction of AI-supported automation in the customer service system for fully automated processing of selected customer issues, based on the LLM infrastructure
  • Development and rollout of a personalized “Deals & Offers” platform in the app with freephone integration and personalized targeting based on mail and media profile characteristics

Business Applications

  • IONOS launches IONOS GPT, a secure and sovereign European ChatGPT alternative – free of charge and GDPR-compliant
  • Expansion of private cloud with Bring Your Own IP (BYOIP), vSAN Enterprise, and NFS Snapshots
  • Expansion of Image Factory to include Managed Kubernetes (MK8s) images for IONOS Cloud
  • Opening of a new co-location data center in Frankfurt am Main
  • Global expansion of the content delivery network (CDN) minimizes latency through intelligent routing and ensures worldwide availability of content
  • IONOS Network File Storage (NFS) offers scalable performance for demanding workloads based on the NFSv4.2 protocol and SSD technology
  • SUSE LINUX Enterprise Server (SLES) offers customers cost-effective use of their own licenses (BYOS) in the IONOS Public Cloud
  • With the development of a powerful video conferencing solution, the Nextcloud portfolio has been expanded into a comprehensive, digitally sovereign collaboration platform
  • IONOS Cloud GPU VMs based on NVIDIA H200 GPUs offer direct hardware access for demanding AI and high-performance computing
  • IONOS Dedicated GPU Servers provide NVIDIA H100/H200 GPUs without virtualization overhead to deliver maximum performance for complex AI training
  • With IONOS Momentum, an integrated ecosystem is being developed that pools infrastructure and applications for data privacy-compliant AI use, enabling companies to seamlessly transition to AI-supported processes
  • As an intelligent voice assistant, the AI Phone Receptionist automates business calls in natural language and integrates seamlessly into existing systems