The Europa-Universität Flensburg, with around 6,000 students, is one of Germany’s smaller but highly committed universities. For IT administrator Thomas Starck, who has been working in the university’s IT department for over 33 years, one thing was clear: distributing software manually via license servers was neither modern nor efficient. With the goal of minimizing administrative workload, reducing security issues, and simplifying software access for students, the university decided to make a change – moving away from local license servers towards a centralized, cloud-based solution: the Academic Software Portal, implemented in close cooperation with their long-standing partner asknet.
“We wanted to provide students with easier, more accessible software access and significantly reduce our administrative burden,” explains Thomas Starck.
The previous setup required individual configurations for each software installation – often combined with access via a VPN client – creating extra steps for students and posing potential security risks. Maintaining license servers was both time-consuming and costly, which had become unsustainable. A new solution was needed – one that was flexible, secure, and centrally managed.
With the Academic Software Portal and the well-established framework agreements provided by asknet, Europa-Universität Flensburg successfully carried out this transition. asknet has been a reliable software supplier to the university for many years – so it was a natural choice to expand the partnership by integrating the Academic Software Portal.
Through the portal, all relevant software licenses can now be centrally managed and deployed – without the need for in-house license servers. Thanks to IP whitelisting, the previously required VPN access is no longer necessary. This means easier access for students – regardless of location, time, or device – and significantly less IT overhead.
“Easier, more accessible software access for students and less administration for us.”
Europa-Universität Flensburg now benefits in two ways: Academic Software provides the platform, while asknet, as a trusted partner, manages the framework agreements and license procurement. The result is a seamless collaboration that ensures reliable delivery, centralized control, and modern technology.
The implementation of the Academic Software Portal, in partnership with asknet, has noticeably simplified day-to-day operations at Europa-Universität Flensburg. The centralized access point for staff and students provides transparency, flexibility, and efficiency. License servers are a thing of the past, VPN access is no longer needed – and the IT team can now focus on more strategic tasks.
What remains is a modern, secure, and user-friendly solution that has sustainably improved the university’s digital environment – and a partnership that demonstrates how successful digital transformation in higher education can work today.