hkn.de .COM, € (on request) on Domains

.COM has been added on Sep 30, 2026

💳 Payment Methods :	Credit / Debit / Prepaid Cards
✍️ Support Options :	Help Desk
⚑ Targeting :	DE

See also initial .COM plan location on their website!

*📜 Plan description

📄 Editorial Review

HKN GmbH is a German hosting, cloud and managed-infrastructure company founded in 1996 by Sandra Nöchel and Lutz Knabenreich. The business started in Duisburg while both founders were students, initially as a GbR and Internet provider during the dial-up and ISDN era. HKN later became a GmbH and today operates from Krefeld-Uerdingen. The current managing directors are Lutz Knabenreich, Sandra Nöchel-Knabenreich and Marco Nöchel.

With roughly three decades of Internet and hosting experience, HKN has evolved far beyond traditional shared hosting. The company now concentrates mainly on OpenStack Cloud, Managed Kubernetes, Colocation, Managed Servers, Nextcloud, Zimbra Business Mail, Open Cloud Workspace, Mail Security, sovereign AI infrastructure, Domains, SSL Certificates, Web Hosting and Reseller Hosting.

Open-source technology has an unusually important role throughout the portfolio. OpenStack powers the infrastructure-as-a-service environment, Nextcloud handles file sharing and collaboration, Zimbra provides professional mail and groupware, Kubernetes covers containerized applications, while Univention can supply centralized identity management for Open Cloud Workspace installations. This makes HKN particularly suitable for companies, public organizations, IT departments and system integrators that want German infrastructure combined with managed open-source technology.

OpenStack Cloud / Virtual Data Center is one of the central infrastructure products. Instead of a simple fixed VPS catalog, customers receive configurable virtual resources with virtual machines, block and object storage, networking, load balancing, VLAN connectivity, floating IP addresses and API access. OpenStack Horizon provides graphical administration, while more technical customers can work directly through APIs. Public IaaS, Managed Private Cloud and on-premises OpenStack environments are available, and managed services can add Linux patching, backups and 24/7 monitoring.

Managed Kubernetes provides fully managed Kubernetes clusters running on OpenStack infrastructure. Typical installations include a highly available control plane with three master/etcd nodes, worker nodes, encrypted communication, persistent storage and cluster networking. HKN handles deployment, patching and regular Kubernetes upgrades, while customers retain control of applications and workloads. Larger environments can also be distributed across several German locations or integrated into hybrid-cloud architectures.

Nextcloud is another major part of HKN's business. The company has worked with Nextcloud since 2016 and operates as a Platinum Partner. The platform combines file synchronization and sharing with browser-based Office applications, calendars, contacts, tasks, chat, video conferencing, workflow functions and AI capabilities. AD, LDAP, SAML/SSO, WebDAV, CalDAV and CardDAV integration make it suitable for established corporate IT environments.

Several Nextcloud models are available. Business Nextcloud provides a dedicated managed instance, while Enterprise Nextcloud is intended for individually designed architectures, high availability and deeper integration with existing infrastructure. Reseller Nextcloud allows IT providers to sell the service under their own branding while HKN handles the underlying platform and second-level support. Confidential Nextcloud adds Trusted Execution Environment technology so sensitive data can remain protected even during processing.

The standard Files, Teams and Teams & Talk services use separate customer instances rather than placing unrelated customers inside one shared Nextcloud installation. Data is stored redundantly, file changes are versioned and encrypted external backups are performed daily. A 14-day free Nextcloud trial is available without automatic conversion into a paid contract.

Zimbra Business Mail covers professional email, calendars, contacts, tasks and groupware. Cloud Mail provides conventional IMAP email, while Cloud Office adds shared calendars, delegation, mobile synchronization through ActiveSync and broader collaboration tools. Outlook, Apple Mail and Thunderbird can be used with the service. Mail Security with spam and malware protection is included, and organizations with larger requirements can obtain dedicated Zimbra installations.

In June 2026, HKN entered a strategic partnership with SpaceNet AG (spacenet.de) covering Zimbra services. The cooperation combines operational expertise, licensing and support resources and creates a larger joint technical base for professional Zimbra installations.

The Open Cloud Workspace combines Nextcloud, Zimbra and Univention into a more complete digital workplace. Files, online Office applications, email, calendars, contacts, tasks, chat and video conferencing can share centralized identity management and single sign-on. The environment can run as SaaS, as an Enterprise installation on HKN infrastructure, on customer infrastructure or as a hybrid implementation.

Security products include Mail Security Cloud with spam and malware filtering, optional mail archiving, encryption and advanced threat protection. 365 Total Protection adds additional protection for Microsoft 365 environments, including security filtering, mail tracking and archiving.

HKN has also expanded into Sovereign AI. The service is available through an OpenAI-compatible API for open-source language models, temporary LLM on Demand instances billed according to usage time and dedicated GPU servers for permanent workloads. Dedicated systems use current NVIDIA GPU hardware and can support inference, fine-tuning and larger AI workloads while keeping processing within German infrastructure.

Traditional hosting remains part of the portfolio through Web Hosting and Reseller Hosting, together with domain registration, SSL certificates and DNS management. These products are now a smaller part of the overall business than cloud and managed infrastructure. Web hosting accounts use Plesk, allowing customers to manage websites, databases, FTP accounts, domains, certificates and related hosting functions.

Dedicated infrastructure is available through managed servers, colocation and dedicated GPU systems. HKN therefore fits better into the category of a German managed-cloud and infrastructure provider than a conventional low-cost shared hosting company.

The company operates primarily in German. Some technical documentation is available in English, but no complete English localization exists for the main commercial offering. Products are priced in EUR. The website has a modern layout and works well on both desktop and mobile devices.