Digital urban development: How Teamwire is preparing municipal administrations for the future

Secure communication as the backbone of digital urban development

One of the biggest challenges in digital urban development is secure and efficient communication between different organizational units. Whether city administration, fire department, police, or building yard – everyone needs a smooth and fast coordination option, especially in crises.

Conventional messenger services such as WhatsApp or Telegram are unsuitable for official use as they do not meet public institutions’ high data protection requirements.

Teamwire, on the other hand, was developed specifically for use by public authorities and guarantees highly secure, GDPR-compliant communication. All data is hosted on German servers and subject to strict security guidelines such as ISO 27001 or BSI C5 certification.

With Teamwire, municipalities can exchange sensitive information without worrying about data protection risks or being dependent on cloud services from overseas.

Urban development increasingly requires networking between public offices, citizen services, and utilities. In addition to data protection, Teamwire offers clear communication structures: messages can be sent specifically to certain groups or departments, shortening long coordination processes and increasing efficiency in day-to-day business.

Increasing efficiency through digital workflows

Digitization also means replacing analogue processes with digital workflows. Many municipal processes are often still paper-based or require numerous intermediate steps before decisions can be made or actions taken.

Instead of relying on outdated communication methods such as fax or lengthy email chains, a tool like Teamwire offers real-time communication that enables responsive decisions.

Practical example:

A city’s public order office can use Teamwire to process citizen complaints more quickly by allowing field staff to receive real-time reports and send photos or location information directly back.

Winter services, building yards, and waste disposal companies also benefit from Teamwire:

Coordinated work without media disruptions optimizes the use of resources and reduces response times.

This shows the example of the Zweckverband Bauhof TKS:

Emergency communication and resilience for cities

Another key issue in digital urban development is resilience to crises and emergencies. Cyberattacks and ransomware attacks on companies and city administrations are on the rise. 

Natural disasters or technical faults can also have a significant impact on operations. To remain operational, cities need a secure and fail-safe communication solution with functions such as

• Alerts for rapid action in crises
• Push-to-talk for direct coordination
• Live location sharing for better coordination
• Status messages for rapid situation assessments

Teamwire ensures that cities remain capable of acting even in crises.

While traditional communication channels often fail or are compromised in such situations, Teamwire remains operational as a decentralized, fail-safe solution. This ensures the administration and emergency services can work efficiently even in critical moments.

Practical examples: Successful use of Teamwire in German cities

Several practical examples show how Teamwire is successfully used as a secure communication tool in local authorities:

City of Zirndorf: Communication in times of the GDPR

“Acting lawfully is an undisputed maxim in public authorities, a fact that Teamwire takes into account one hundred percent. The reference case with the Bavarian police has convinced us here in particular.” – Richard Lippmann, Head of IT at the city of Zirndorf

The City of Zirndorf faced the challenge of implementing a modern, data protection-compliant communication solution for its administration. Previous communication channels via private messenger apps such as WhatsApp were not GDPR-compliant and did not offer professional user management via a central administration.

With Teamwire, the city administration has introduced a secure messaging solution specially developed for official use.

It enables fast, structured communication between the various offices and employees, regardless of whether they work in the town hall, on the move, or in the field.

Especially in emergencies or crises, Teamwire ensures that all relevant parties are informed quickly.

The introduction of Teamwire has strengthened the administration’s IT security and significantly improved the efficiency of internal processes. The solution is, therefore, making a significant contribution to the digital transformation of the city of Zirndorf.

Teamwire’s experience and expertise are a big plus: “Behind Teamwire are real people who understand me. I’m not just communicating with a ticketing system.”, says Richard Lippmann, the city’s Head of IT.

👉 You can read the entire case study here.

City of Kleve: Fast and secure communication for bomb disposal or significant events

“The ease of use is definitely one of the things we like best about Teamwire. It’s a bit like WhatsApp.” – Ben Viethen, Digitalization City of Kleve

The City of Kleve faced a challenge that many local authorities are familiar with:

Ensuring fast, efficient, and data protection-compliant communication within the administration and with external bodies.

Previously, coordination was usually carried out by telephone or e-mail, which were often too slow or impractical in urgent cases. Kleve was also looking for a secure alternative to non-GDPR-compliant consumer messengers, some of which had previously been used.

With Teamwire, the city of Kleve has found a solution that connects the administration, field service, and crisis teams in real time. The messenger platform enables fast, uncomplicated coordination between employees – whether in the office or on the move.

Teamwire has proven to be indispensable, particularly in emergency and crisis communication, as necessary information can be transmitted immediately to the right contacts.

Ben Viethen, who works in the Digitalization department, comments:

“Teamwire enables us to communicate quickly, securely, and flexibly – both in everyday life and during extraordinary events such as bomb disposal or major events. We are particularly impressed by the intuitive operation, which colleagues can use in pressurized situations.”

Another key application area is the coordination of field staff, for example, in urban planning, building supervision, or public order. Thanks to Teamwire, they can easily stay in contact with the administration, send documents or photos directly from the field, and access relevant information without resorting to insecure channels.

By introducing Teamwire, the city of Kleve has modernized its digital infrastructure and significantly improved its ability to respond to emergencies.

At the same time, it has strengthened IT security and data protection, as Teamwire offers a secure, GDPR-compliant alternative to common consumer messengers.

The solution thus makes an essential contribution to Kleve’s digital urban development.

👉 You can read the entire case study here.

Bauhof TKS: Flexible and efficient resource planning

“As a public service, we are subject to strict data protection regulations. With Teamwire, we can ensure that all communications comply with data protection regulations and that our employees can respond reliably to requirements in the field.” – Andrea Rennebarth, Managing Director of Zweckverband Bauhof TKS

The Bauhof TKS (Teltow, Kleinmachnow, Stahnsdorf) building yard association is responsible for various municipal tasks, including maintaining green spaces, street cleaning, winter services, and the upkeep of public facilities.

The challenge was to improve coordination between the field teams and the administration to make work processes more efficient and flexible.

Previously, communication was partly via conventional messengers such as WhatsApp, leading to data protection issues. There was no GDPR-compliant solution for rapidly exchanging information, especially for sending deployment plans, photos, or status reports.

With the introduction of Teamwire, Bauhof TKS revolutionized its communication. The emergency teams are now directly connected to the administration via secure messenger and can exchange important information in real time.

This enables more efficient coordination of work orders, faster responses to unforeseen events, and transparent operations documentation.

Andrea Rennebarth, Managing Director of the Zweckverband, gives us an example: “In winter service, we must ensure that alarms are reliably received at night and that feedback can be documented directly. With Teamwire, we have found a solution that supports our deployment planning flexibly and efficiently.”

By using Teamwire, the Bauhof TKS has increased the productivity of its employees and improved the safety and traceability of operations.

The solution significantly contributes to the special-purpose association’s digital transformation and is an example of how modern communication solutions can improve workflows in municipal operations.

👉 You can read the entire case study here.

Into the digital future with Teamwire

Cities and municipalities face growing challenges, and digital urban development requires a secure, flexible, and assertive communication solution. And this is precisely where Teamwire comes into play.

Whether for administration, the public sector, or emergency services, Teamwire offers a future-proof solution that optimally connects administrations, emergency services, and municipal facilities.

Would you like to find out how your city can benefit from Teamwire? Arrange an individual product tour or test the solution yourself.

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