From IT Security to Cloud Innovation
The Success Story of UPONU
Since its foundation in 2008, UPONU has undergone an impressive development - from a small sole proprietorship to a leading provider of cloud solutions and IT services. Founded with the aim of bringing IT security standards from large corporations into medium-sized businesses, the company has always developed over the years, implemented new technologies and adapted to the increasing demands of the digital age. Discover the most important milestones in our history here and learn how UPONU has grown continuously through innovation, a sense of responsibility and a strong team.
Strengthening small and medium-sized businesses has been our mission from the very beginning.
When we founded UPONU, our aim was to transfer the high IT security requirements from large corporations to medium-sized companies. Our vision was to provide these companies with efficient, secure IT solutions and to provide the basis for sustainable growth. Today, with our own data centers and cloud products, we can proudly say that we have successfully fulfilled this mission.
Thomas Paar
Founder of UPONU
Our Milestones and Innovations
2008: Founded as a Sole Proprietorship
2011: Conversion to PAAR IT GmbH and first Full Outsourcing Customer
2017: Construction of the first Datacenter in Siegen
2019: Second Datacenter in Siegen
2019: Founding of Stimme GmbH as a Cloud VoIP provider
2020: Development of our own Cloud Portal
2022: Rebranded as UPONU GmbH
2023: Start of Development of own Software Products (mail:u secure & mail:u disclaimer) as an Extension of Large Cloud Services."
The detailed story of UPONU
2008 - The Founding
In April 2008, the sole proprietorship was founded, from which later emerged the present UPONU GmbH. The aim was to transfer the extensive experience in IT security, which was gained in large corporations, to medium-sized companies. The vision was to support companies in South Westphalia with increasing IT security requirements. This need characterized the first years of UPONU.
2011 - Change of name to PAAR IT GmbH
With the first employees, the company continued to grow and was converted into PAAR IT GmbH in February 2011. This marked the transition from a sole proprietorship to a limited liability company and laid the foundation for further growth and specialization in comprehensive IT services.
2011 - First full outsourcing customer
In the same year, PAAR IT GmbH acquired its first customer for a complete IT outsourcing. This was a milestone that underlined the company's efficiency and ability to offer complex IT services from a single source.
2017 - First Datacenter in Siegen
The first company-owned datacenter was built in Siegen in 2017 to meet the growing demand for secure and reliable IT solutions. This made it possible to provide customized cloud solutions for medium-sized companies.
2019 - Second Datacenter in Siegen
Due to the success of the first datacenter, a second datacenter was built in Siegen in 2019. This expansion enabled UPONU to expand its services even further and to realize larger customer projects.
2019 - Stimme GmbH is founded
Together with our partner effexx, the SaaS product Stimme was founded and implemented. The product is operated and managed in the UPONU cloud stack. Due to the increasing success and focusing exclusively on our own cloud applications, the company continued to grow steadily.
2020 - Focus on own Cloud Products
From 2020, UPONU focused exclusively on its own datacenter solutions. In this context, the development of its own cloud portal began, which enables customers to use and administer IT products in self-service. This was an important step towards establishing itself as an innovative cloud provider.
2022 - Rebranded as UPONU GmbH
In January 2022, the rebranding to the current UPONU GmbH took place. This served to clearly position the company in terms of cloud operation and the service models.
2023 - Development of own Cloud Products
In 2023, UPONU started developing its own products independently of its own cloud stack. The products mail:u secure and mail:u disclaimer provide add-ons to the major cloud services. These are designed to enable increasing process digitization and optimization with the cloud services of hyper scalers while complying with legal requirements.
This is what drives us today and in the past
Values that Characterize us
Since its foundation, UPONU has pursued the goal of reliably ensuring its customers' IT operations even in special situations. Responsibility for data protection, availability and innovation is always at the center of our activities. Our IT solutions offer our customers not only security but also efficiency and flexibility - whether in outsourcing projects, cloud applications or the development of new products.
Future Vision
UPONU aims to offer its customers a cloud portfolio that meets the highest standards of data protection, availability and innovation. With our software solutions we want to enable companies to use public cloud services according to these criteria. Our vision is to remain a leader in IT infrastructure and cloud services and to continuously develop innovative solutions for the challenges of the digital future.
Team & Growth
Together we are shaping the digital future
By 2018, the company had grown continuously and consisted of 8 employees. With the increasing demand for development work, including in our joint venture Stimme and the development of our self-service solutions, the team grew from 10 employees in 2020 to 30 employees in 2024. This expansion reflects the increasing demand and growing relevance.
Sustainability & Responsibility
From the outset, sustainability has been a core value for UPONU. Operating in its own data centers is significantly more efficient than individual solutions at customer sites. Through centralized administration and cloud operation, UPONU actively contributes to the reduction of energy consumption and CO₂ emissions.
