By the Integrated Business Systems engineering team · Last updated 27 October 2026
Germany is Europe's largest economy and home to many US subsidiaries, from Berlin tech teams to Frankfurt finance and Munich engineering. German employee and data protection expectations are among the strictest in Europe, so plan IT with them in mind.
Involve HR and legal advisers early. Choices that are routine in the US, such as email retention, endpoint monitoring or productivity analytics, may need agreement in Germany before they are switched on.
Use our general new European office checklist.
Germany applies the GDPR together with the Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG). Supervision is shared between a federal authority and data protection authorities in each federal state. NIS2 extends cybersecurity duties to more organisations; Germany has been implementing it through national legislation, so confirm the current status with your advisers. Financial entities are also subject to DORA, the EU's Digital Operational Resilience Act, which has applied since January 2025.
Where a German company has a works council (Betriebsrat), it has co-determination rights over technical systems that can monitor employee performance or behaviour. In practice that covers many IT tools, so agree the rollout before deploying them.
Many international teams in Berlin work in English; in other cities and in production settings, German is more common. Match the support language to who will actually call for help.
For tools that can monitor employee performance or behaviour, a works council generally has co-determination rights. Your HR and legal advisers can confirm what applies.
DORA applies to EU financial entities such as banks, insurers and investment firms, and affects their critical ICT providers. Check with your compliance team.
Often yes. Check data location and transfer terms first; see our Microsoft 365 data residency guide.
We run IT for the Frankfurt offices of financial services and international companies: helpdesk, Microsoft 365 security, networks and backups, under one English-language SLA. Our team monitors your systems 24/7, and vetted local partners handle on-site work.
We run IT for the Munich offices of international technology, engineering and manufacturing companies: helpdesk, Microsoft 365 security, networks and backups, under one English-language SLA. Our team monitors your systems 24/7, and vetted local partners handle on-site work across Bavaria.
We run IT for Berlin startups, scale-ups and the German offices of international companies: helpdesk, Microsoft 365 security, networks and backups, in English and under one SLA. Our team monitors your systems 24/7, and vetted local partners handle on-site work.
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