centron vs. STACKIT: Who takes care of operations?
Both are German cloud providers with a BSI C5 attestation. The difference lies in operations: at centron, our team can take on updates, 24/7 monitoring, backup and disaster recovery for €50 per VM per month, plus infrastructure. At STACKIT, updates and backups run via automation services, while control and recovery stay with your team.
As of 22 September 2026 · Publisher: centron GmbH
centron and STACKIT at a glance
centron is the right fit if you want to hand over server operations and have personal contacts. You book per VM, with no minimum term, and your data stays in Germany.
STACKIT is the right fit if your tender requires a C5 attestation Type 2 or you need managed platform services such as databases and messaging.
We compare virtual servers with ongoing managed operations, not the entire portfolio of either provider.
| Criterion | centron | STACKIT |
|---|---|---|
| Server operations | Premium Full Managing: our team takes on administration, updates, monitoring, backup and disaster recovery. Bookable per VM, with no minimum term. | Automated services for updates and backups as well as managed operating system variants. Anyone wanting to hand over more of their operations will find managed service partners. |
| Support | Personal contacts and 24/7 monitoring with proactive fault resolution. Response times contractually defined per SLA level. | Three support plans with a 15-minute response time within service hours, non-binding on Essential. From Advanced upwards, 24/7 for business-critical incidents. |
| Prices | €50 per VM per month for managed operations, plus the infrastructure at public list prices. All prices excluding VAT. | Public product prices and a calculator. Add update and backup services, further operations and support depending on scope. |
| Data centres | Own data centre in Hallstadt, plus rented space in Frankfurt am Main, Nuremberg and Coburg. Data location 100 % Germany. | Data centres in Germany and Austria, regions EU01 (Germany) and EU02 (Austria). |
| Company | Owner-managed German GmbH. | Part of the Schwarz Group. |
| C5 attestation | C5:2020 Type 1 for ccloud³ / Managed Cloud, unqualified attestation. | C5 Type 2, among others for Compute Engine, Server Update Management and Server Backup Management. |
| Starting credit | €200 for every new business account, usable within the first 60 days. | Cloud credits for start-ups after application and individual review. |
Managed or automated
An application is not finished at go-live. Updates, security patches and incidents take up time on an ongoing basis, time that small IT teams in particular lack for their own projects. With Premium Full Managing, centron takes on this work, bookable per VM and with no minimum term. You decide together with us which systems and tasks we take on.
STACKIT takes a different approach. Server Update Management installs operating system updates automatically. According to the service certificate, however, the customer defines the schedule, and STACKIT recommends that they check the success of updates and the functioning of the application themselves. Anyone wanting to hand over more of their operations turns to one of STACKIT's managed service partners.
From practice: FOC Solutions
Hamburg-based EDI service provider FOC Solutions serves more than 200 customers in industry and retail and has been with centron since 2019. The move began with a proof of concept, after which all systems were migrated step by step. Clear communication, personal support and full-service management meant that FOC Solutions could focus on its core business again. Managing Director Oliver Suhr: “We sleep much better since we have had centron as our partner.” Read the FOC Solutions success story
Who does what in day-to-day operations?
Identical CPU and RAM figures do not make two quotes equivalent. What matters is who does the work in day-to-day operations.
| Task | centron with Premium Full Managing | STACKIT with update and backup management |
|---|---|---|
| Installing operating system updates | Our team, within the agreed scope. | The service, automatically. Your team sets the schedule. |
| Checking update success and the application | We agree this with you in the quote, including whether we test your business application. | Your team, as recommended by the service certificate. |
| Monitoring and incidents | Our team: 24/7 monitoring with proactive fault resolution. | Your team checks the update status, the service monitors backups automatically. Neither service includes monitoring of the entire server. Help with incidents depends on the support plan. |
| Data backup | Our team, backup is part of the scope of services. | The service, with schedules and retention periods of your choice. |
| Disaster recovery | Our team, disaster recovery is part of the scope of services. | Your team, via self-service in the service. |
| Database operations | We agree this with you in the quote. | Managed databases are available as a separate service. Clarify per service which tasks remain with you. |
The basis is the public service descriptions of both providers. Only a specific quote settles the tasks bindingly. The same applies to maintenance windows and the required recovery time.
When centron is the better choice
There are three cases in which centron is the better fit.
You want to hand over operations, not just automate them.
At STACKIT the services install updates and backups automatically; schedule, update checks and recovery remain with your team. At centron our team takes this on, bookable per VM and with no minimum term.
You want infrastructure and operations from a single source.
For further operations, STACKIT refers to managed service partners. At centron, servers and managed operations come from the same provider, with personal contacts and support from Hallstadt.
You want round-the-clock monitoring included in the price.
24/7 monitoring with proactive fault resolution is part of Premium Full Managing at centron. At STACKIT, 24/7 support for business-critical incidents applies from the Advanced plan, which is booked per project; the free Essential plan has service hours from Monday to Friday.
When STACKIT is the better choice
There are two cases in which you should seriously consider STACKIT.
C5 Type 2 is mandatory.
STACKIT holds a C5 attestation Type 2, centron an attestation Type 1. If your tender requires Type 2, that speaks for STACKIT, namely for the services covered by the audit report. We explain what the difference means in the FAQ.
You need managed platform services.
STACKIT offers PostgreSQL Flex, MongoDB Flex, RabbitMQ and AI Model Serving, among others, as managed services. If your application is to build on such components, that speaks for STACKIT. In that case, also check which tasks remain with your team. Kubernetes clusters are available from both providers.
What managed operations cost
Both providers publish their prices, but they charge for different things. An example: your application runs on two virtual machines, a web server and a database server, each with 4 vCPU, 8 GB RAM and 160 GB SSD.
At centron, managed operations for this cost €100 per month excluding VAT, that is €50 per VM. On top come the servers themselves at the prices in the ccloud³ price list, plus data traffic and further services depending on your needs. Your quote states how much backup storage you need and what it costs.
At STACKIT, you add Server Update Management and Server Backup Management per server and hour. These are automation services: schedule, update checks and recovery remain with your team. The rates are listed on STACKIT's product pages and in the STACKIT Calculator.
A fair comparison is only possible for the same environment with the same scope: servers, storage, backup, traffic, licences, managed operations and support. Which offer is more economical depends on how much work you want to hand over.
Customer voices and success stories
Three companies that have been running their infrastructure at centron for years.
FOC Solutions: from proof of concept to full service
The Hamburg-based EDI service provider with more than 200 customers has been with centron since 2019 and migrated all systems after a proof of concept, with personal support and full-service management.
Read the success story
GIS Consult: from physical servers to virtual environments
The specialist for geographic information systems has been with centron since 2015 and moved step by step from physical servers to virtual environments.
Read the success story
meinBafög: from startup to million-euro business
The Cologne-based BAföG platform has relied on virtual managed servers at centron for around ten years and grew from €80,000 in annual revenue to a million-euro business over this time.
Read the success storyFrequently asked questions
What is included in the price of €50 per VM, and what is not?
Is a C5 attestation Type 1 sufficient?
How quickly does support respond?
STACKIT offers three support plans. Essential is free of charge, but its times are non-binding. Advanced is booked per project, can be cancelled monthly and offers 24/7 support for business-critical incidents. Ultimate offers 24/7 for all incidents. The response time is 15 minutes within service hours in each case; for service requests, Monday to Friday, 8 am to 6 pm applies, except on public holidays in Baden-Württemberg.
How is billing done, and is there a minimum term?
Does the data stay in Germany?
Let us talk about your environment
Tell us which systems you run and which tasks you would like to hand over. From that we will put together a specific quote for you. Prefer to test it yourself first? New business accounts receive €200 in starting credit for the first 60 days.
Provider information as of 22 September 2026, checked on the public pages of STACKIT and centron. Prices and services may change; the specific quote is authoritative. All centron prices exclude VAT. The trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners.