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Originally intended only as a replacement for Confluence, KenCube has grown into a complete digital workplace at netable. Today it brings knowledge, communication, KPIs, training and key business processes together on one platform. Use cases range from the info screen in the break room and the ISMS to ticket reports that a technician dictates into the employee app right at the customer’s site.
About netable
netable IT Systemhaus e. K., based in Frechen near Cologne, was founded in 2007 by Volker Frank, who runs the company as its owner. netable supports small and medium-sized businesses in the region with IT as a Service and managed services, cloud and backup, IT security and mobile device management, hardware, networks and servers, as well as consulting ranging from AI training to IT compliance. In parallel, netable is developing its own product called Oktorakel: an AI knowledge management platform that brings together classic customer systems such as ERP, CRM, PSA, RMM and wiki.
A little over 20 people work at the IT service provider, and the group of companies now has almost 30 employees at three locations. Eight to nine of them work in the technical team and are regularly out at customer sites. One issue that mattered personally to Volker Frank when he founded the company is work-life balance. This also made it clear that reliable, high-quality information and communication among everyone involved would play a major role. That is exactly how he came to KenCube.
The starting point: many tools, a cumbersome wiki
As an IT service provider, netable naturally uses an extremely large number of tools, says Frank. Currently there are around 55. Before KenCube, internal documentation ran on Confluence for four to five years, and before that there was practically nothing. netable deliberately decided against Teams and SharePoint because the administrative overhead was too high and the limitations kept making themselves felt.
But in the end, Confluence was no longer convincing either. The license cost a five-figure sum, and the application became increasingly cumbersome until at some point it had reached SharePoint levels. Given the number of security bugs, the company set out to find a secure alternative.
The choice fell on KenCube, and the deciding factor was the simplicity of the system. Most important was the clarity of the document structures, Frank explains. In KenCube these are strongly folder-based, which is ideal for technically oriented companies and for anyone who traditionally relies on folder structures. Then there was the ease of writing an article: create a folder, type the text and save. The result is visualized immediately, and the Pixabay integration supplies matching images.
AI features are now also available on the platform and, according to Frank, “convenient” to use. “KenCube is sometimes like a surprise egg or a Swiss Army knife. I go in with one problem and come out with two solutions: one for my problem and one for a problem I didn’t know I had,” says Frank.
KenCube is like a Swiss Army knife. I go in with one problem and come out with two solutions.
Volker Frank, Founder and Owner, netable IT Systemhaus e. K.
“Which features do you use?” – From the knowledge base to the info screen
Knowledge area, ISMS and data protection manual
At netable, the core of KenCube’s digital workplace is the knowledge area, which is used very heavily. It holds all of the IT service provider’s internal knowledge. netable has also moved its ISMS and its data protection manual to the platform. Both are documentation that has to be maintained and verifiable.
Dashboard, news and the “colorful board”
For Frank, the home page of the digital workplace is the second big lever: search field, company calendar, post list, even the weather, all at a glance. Set as the browser start page for all colleagues, the dashboard ensures that current news gets through. Then there is the bulletin board, which netable calls the “colorful board,” as well as the info screens: at the new location, an info dashboard with news and updates runs in the kitchen.
Tables and the dashboard are the two key features for us. When I open the home page, I have the most important topics in view. That sounds trivial, but it’s what brings the whole thing to life.
Volker Frank, Founder and Owner, netable IT Systemhaus e. K.
Tables as a hub for KPIs and systems
At first, netable was not even aware of the table feature. It only came up during onboarding. Today it is one of the most heavily used features. netable uses tables to display revenue and recurring income so that the team can see where the company stands at any time. The “system list” is also maintained as a table. It lists all IT systems in use along with a short guide, their purpose and their confidentiality class, Frank explains.
Employee app for the technical team
The technicians mainly use the employee app. Using a form, they submit reports directly at the customer’s site, such as a sales inquiry. This also works by dictation on the iPhone: speak the customer, the requirement and the desired action, then send. The report is done on site, with no trip back to the office.
Calendar, shop, org chart
netable uses the calendar to plan internal employee events and customer events, and staff order workwear through the shop. The org chart shows all employees along with the hierarchy and, according to Frank, is a heavily used feature. Forms are also in use. The team currently uses the AI for text and image generation.
Mandatory training: driver’s license checks, AI license, DGUV
Perhaps the most surprising use case came out of a conversation with KenCube support: driver’s license checks. Companies that provide company vehicles must regularly check that their employees hold a driver’s license. netable does this every quarter and has since documented it in KenCube using tables, images, approvals and mandatory templates. Previously, this was handled through another partner with a separate login.
The AI license followed the same pattern. netable implemented it as a video course, including proof that every employee has completed it. Currently in progress is the DGUV accident prevention video required by the German Social Accident Insurance.
We simply implemented the driver’s license checks in KenCube. That reduces the number of tools and the complexity, because our colleagues only ever have to work with one system.
Volker Frank, Founder and Owner, netable IT Systemhaus e. K.
“What are the benefits?” – One digital workplace with access to many individual tools
Fewer tools, less complexity
The biggest structural effect is that tools netable used to run separately are no longer needed. Driver’s license checks, the AI assessment and, in the future, the accident prevention video were all separate applications with their own logins. Today colleagues work with one system, and the content takes center stage instead of the question of which tool is connected to which and how, Frank explains.
With KenCube, we have our central system. We’ve even moved our ISMS and our data protection manual into KenCube because it’s so easy to maintain and so clean to document. That makes work fun.
Volker Frank, Founder and Owner, netable IT Systemhaus e. K.
Simplicity as a prerequisite for adoption
According to Volker Frank, the second benefit is simplicity itself, for readers and editors alike. The platform responds quickly: click, enter, save, done. Because the app could be rolled out via mobile device management and single sign-on was in place from the start, the introduction practically ran itself. Login issues have disappeared completely, says Frank.
Ease of use is the big added value for me. These systems thrive on being used. And they can only be used if they are easy to use and the barriers are as low as possible. That is entirely true of KenCube.
Volker Frank, Founder and Owner, netable IT Systemhaus e. K.
A better-informed team
The general level of knowledge across the workforce has changed measurably. Employee information no longer has to be passed on to each person individually. Even details have become consistent: out-of-office messages are now always worded the same way because the texts come from KenCube. Communication runs through the platform as a shared mouthpiece and has become clearer as a result. For netable, it is now a no-brainer, Frank explains.
A role-based org chart instead of a rigid hierarchy
netable maps its company hierarchy via Active Directory and HRLab. One long-standing problem was that people with dual roles, for example in accounting and in contract management at the same time, could not be represented properly. KenCube finally made a role-based org chart possible in which people can appear more than once. To be honest, the price is some maintenance effort, Frank admits. The standard structure is imported automatically, and the add-on is taken care of as part of the onboarding process.
Half the cost, fast ROI
The switch also pays off financially, the entrepreneur says. netable had invested around 15,000 euros in the basic Confluence structure. The move to KenCube, including a student assistant, onboarding and setup, cost between 7,000 and 8,000 euros. Annual costs are also around half.
We’re at 50 percent of the annual costs. The pure return on investment was reached after three years, and if I look at the practical value, it was there after just two to three months.
Volker Frank, Founder and Owner, netable IT Systemhaus e. K.
Rollout: 1,000 documents in four weeks
The migration was planned with military precision, because around 1,000 documents were stored in Confluence. netable hired a student assistant who reviewed the content, reworded it with AI and transferred it to the new system in about four weeks. Frank attributes the speed to the usability and the good hosting.
Skepticism arose mainly because of the investment that had already been made. However, it quickly disappeared. As a smaller company, he needs partners who meet him on equal terms, says Frank, and that is exactly what he found. What he values about KenCube support is that requirements can be implemented without affecting update compatibility.
Looking ahead: interfaces, AI and e-learning
First on the roadmap is the API: additional interfaces will connect the platform with netable’s Oktorakel. Second, the knowledge from KenCube will be integrated into netable’s own AI platform, with a direct reference back to the source in KenCube. Third, the digital workplace will be extended to the entire group of companies so that the other IT service providers in the group can also draw on it as a knowledge source. And finally, e-learning will take over the training topics.