Careers at United Internet

Mission

United Internet aims to provide effective and reliable internet services to consumers and businesses, including fixed-price telecommunications subscriptions and access to complementary applications.

Business segments                              

United Internet’s operations are organised into two reportable business segments:

  • The Access segment, which comprises the Company’s provision of fee-based landline and mobile access products, as well as related applications such as online storage and video-on-demand, as well as various enterprise infrastructure services; and
  • The Applications segment, comprising the Company’s provision of fee-based and advertising financed applications, including for both consumers and businesses, such as applications relating to domains, home pages, webhosting, servers and online shops, online storage, and office software.

History

United Internet traces its history back to the establishment in 1988 of 1&1 Marketing by Ralph Dommermuth (“Dommermuth), who continues to serve as the Company Chief Executive Officer.

The Company initially provided systemised marketing services for smaller software suppliers; however, the Company later developed additional marketing services that targeted larger corporate clients. Under its previous name, United Internet secured a range of high-profile customers, including IBM, Compaq and Deutsche Telekom.

As the internet became a more professional space with more opportunities for growth, United Internet sought to move away from its provision of services to third parties and began developing its own internet services.

The Company has since established itself as Europe’s largest internet services provider, with customers across Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Poland, Spain, Switzerland and the UK, as well as in the US, Canada and Mexico. It was restructured into United Internet in 2000.

United Internet has traded its shares on the Börse Frankfurt since 1998, when it became the first German internet company to go public. The Company has a current market capitalisation of €8.18 billion.

Business model of United Internet

Customer Segments

United Internet provides a range of internet services and technical services to a range of customers. The Company has around 15.97 million fee-based customer contracts and 33.15 million ad-financed free accounts around the world, primarily in Europe. United Internet focuses on two customer segments:

  • General consumers, to whom it provides a range of internet services such as cloud storage, online office, communications, and organisation; and
  • Business Customers, comprising small, medium and large enterprises from various sectors, to which it provides applications and solutions relating to website design, payment solutions, display advertising, business and mobile apps, and search engine optimisation.

United Internet principally serves customers across Europe, with target markets in Austria, France, Italy, Poland, Spain, Switzerland and the UK, and across North America, with target markets in Canada, Mexico and the US.

Value Propositions

United Internet provides value to its customers in the following ways:

  • Its privacy, support and security functionality, with the Company providing 24-hour data protection and security to its customers and contact partners, and 24-hour replacement of defective equipment;
  • Its range of accessible business tools and applications, which enable to small business to easily establish a web presence and provide integrated sales and marketing tools;
  • Its range of mobile products, its flexible and accessible range of mobile applications and functionality, allowing customers to access the Company’s services on the go; and
  • Its brand name and reputation, with the Company being the largest and most established internet services provider across Europe, with a brand associated with quality services.

Channels

United Internet operates a website at www.united-internet.de, through which customers can find information on the Company’s various services, tools and products. The Company operates a number of online brand channels that can be access through mobile and desktop browsers and mobile applications. These brands include GMX, mail.com, WEB.DE, 1&1, Arsys, InterNetX, Fasthosts, home.pl, affilinet, Sedo and united-domains.

Many of United Internet’s business services and solutions, including its display advertising services and payment solutions, are delivered through United Internet’s direct sales and marketing channels. The Company operates several sales teams across Europe, organised regionally.

United Internet additionally operates an affiliate program, through which a number of website and companies extend the Company’s own sales and marketing reach.

Customer Relationships

As an internet services company, much of United Internet’s services and products are available on a self-service basis through its online channels. The Company’s self-service offerings primarily serve general consumers, and include products and services such as email and communications platforms, cloud storage functionality and organisational tools.

United Internet’s relationships with customers come principally through fee-based, fixed-term subscriptions, which are designed to establish long-term, stable and recurring customer relationships, and advertisement-financed free accounts that provide the Company the opportunity to monetise its various applications and products.

United Internet provides a range of support and technical assistance services to its customers separately through its numerous internet brands, including FAQs, user guides and community support portals. The Company additionally has a policy in place that it will replace defective equipment within 24 hours.

Customers are also able to internet directly with United Internet through its social media accounts with Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, and Xing.

Key Activities

United Internet is a Germany-based Internet service provider and the parent company of a number of internet service providers.

The Company's products and technical services are divided into two key segments: Access, which comprises narrowband, broadband and mobile access subscriptions, in addition to the corresponding applications; and Applications, which includes the provision of a range of applications including home pages, online stores, personal information management applications, online storage and office software solutions.

The Company’s Application segment also includes the operations of the Sedo and affilinet, which provide a range of performance-based advertising and sales solutions to business customers. United Internet additionally develops Internet based applications, such as cloud applications.

Key Partners

United Internet’s operations are supported by a network of partners, including companies operating across multiple sectors.

  • Advertising and Marketing Partners, comprising advertising agencies and brand marketing companies that assist the Company in securing advertising revenue;
  • Internet Service Partners, including companies that provide internet solutions and technical services to which services can be outsourced;
  • Strategic Partners, which primarily comprise technology and internet companies that share tools and resources with the Company; and
  • Media Partners, comprising media houses and media agencies.

United Internet owns minor stakes in several of its key partners, including shares in media technologies and advertising company Virtual Minds, infrastructure-as-a-service provider ProfitBricks, email and solutions provider Open-Xchange, e-commerce solutions provider ePages, and online listings company Uberall.

Key Resources

United Internet’s key resources are its technology, its IT infrastructure, its network of partners, its personnel and its various internet brands.

The Company’s network of servers and data centres are key to its operations. Searches of records published by the German Patent and Trademark Office and the US Patent and Trademark Office identified no patent applications filed in the name of United Internet.

Cost Structure

United Internet incurs costs in relation to the management of its various brands, the maintenance of its IT infrastructure, the implementation of marketing and advertising campaigns, the retention of its personnel, and the management of its network of partners.

United Internet employs more than 8,000 staff members worldwide, more than 6,500 of whom are in Germany, who represent costs in the form of salaries and benefits. Personnel costs in 2015 were 429.7 million, up on the 351.7 million recorded in 2014.

Revenue Streams

United Internet generates revenue through the provision of various internet services and products. Its revenue streams are divided between its two business segments:

  • Access, comprising revenue derived from fee-based landline and mobile access products – including home networks, online storage, telephony, and video-on- demand – as well as through data and network solutions for small and medium sized enterprises and infrastructure services for large corporations; and
  • Applications, comprising revenue generated from fee-based subscriptions, including revenue generated from fixed monthly fees for the usage, administration and storage its applications, as well as income from the brokerage and administration of domains.

The Company also derives a proportion of its revenue from the provision of advertising and marketing solutions. In 2015 United Internet generated annual revenue of €3.72 billion. The majority of this revenue, around 2.74 billion, was generated by the Company’s core Access business.

Our team

Ralph Dommermuth,
Chief Executive Officer

info: Ralph has served as United Internet’s Chief Executive Officer since founding predecessor company, and now a United Internet subsidiary, 1&1 Marketing in 1988. He has broadly credited with developing United Internet into Europe’s largest internet provider and taking the Company public. Prior to establishing United Internet, Dommermuth began his career with a training program as a banker, followed by taking on a sales position at a computer retailer in Montabaur, Germany. Dommermuth is reported to be a keen sailor and sponsored the United Internet Team Germany in the 2007 America's Cup.

Robert Hoffmann,
Deputy Chief Executive Officer

info: Hoffmann has served as United Internet’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Board Member for Business Applications since 2013. He first joined the Company in 2006, and is credited with playing a significant role in determining the Company’s strategic direction. He has held a variety of roles at United Internet, including spells as Management Board Member for the Access Segment, Speaker of the Management Board and Executive Board Member. In 1993 Hoffmann founded Hoffmann Distributions-Technik, of which he served as Chief Executive Officer for five years. In 1998 he joined Vodafone as head of Consumer Business and Sales, a role he held until joining United Internet. Hoffmann is a graduate of the University of Cologne.

Frank Krause,
Chief Financial Officer

info: Krause has been a member of the Management Board of United Internet AG and its Chief Financial Officer since 2015, responsible for finance and controlling, risk management and internal audit, investment management, and human resources. Krause has worked within the telecommunications for more than 20 years. From 2000 to 2011 he worked at German software company, where he held the position of Managing Director. He went on to join Vodafone, where he was a member of the management board in Germany with responsibility for strategy and corporate development. Krause is a graduate of the Universität des Saarlandes in Saarbrucken, Germany.