Bochum-based IT distributor ADN is expanding its security lineup with the open-source platform NetBird — a direct response to mounting pressure on businesses to replace aging VPN infrastructure with modern zero-trust network architectures.
The traditional network perimeter is dying — and with it, the VPN as a primary security tool. This shift has been building for years, but since the rise of hybrid work, it has accelerated to a pace that puts many IT departments under real pressure. ADN Distribution GmbH, headquartered in Bochum, Germany, is responding with a clear portfolio decision: adding the zero-trust networking solution from Berlin-based vendor NetBird to its offering.
The timing is deliberate. Companies that have relied on MPLS circuits or traditional VPN tunnels for years now face a structural challenge: their network architectures were built for a world where resources were centralized and employees worked in the office. With cloud workloads, remote teams and distributed sites, those models are hitting their limits.
„We’re seeing a clear shift in how companies approach network and security architecture. Zero trust is becoming the standard because traditional perimeter-based models have reached their limits.”
Hermann Ramacher, CEO, ADN Distribution GmbH
WireGuard as the Technical Foundation
NetBird is built on WireGuard, a modern tunneling protocol known for its lean codebase and high performance. The Berlin-based company adds fully encrypted peer-to-peer connections to the mix — no central data relay, no single point of failure. In practice, that means a field sales rep, a data center server and a cloud workload can communicate directly with each other, encrypted and policy-controlled, without traffic routing through a central hub.
Rather than IP addresses, NetBird places identities at the center of access control. Users, groups and devices receive granular permissions — a paradigm shift from the traditional model that treated internal network traffic as inherently trustworthy. Setup takes just minutes, according to the vendor, without complex firewall or VPN configurations.
Data Sovereignty as a Sales Argument
For system integrators and managed service providers serving customers in regulated industries — think GDPR, NIS2 or sector-specific compliance requirements — one detail is particularly compelling: NetBird is open source and can be run entirely on-premises, including the control plane. That eliminates dependencies on proprietary cloud services and gives customers maximum control over their network data.
„Zero trust shouldn’t be complex. That’s why our approach significantly reduces the effort required to achieve secure connectivity in distributed infrastructures.”
Nima Sadeghifard, Chief of Staff, NetBird
What Partners Get Out of It
ADN explicitly positions the partnership as a response to a market need in the reseller channel: system integrators guiding customers through cloud transformation projects need solutions that work without hardware dependencies, without excessive implementation overhead and without vendor lock-in. NetBird checks those boxes: software-defined, scalable, with API and infrastructure-as-code support for DevOps teams.
For ADN itself, the move extends a strategic positioning the company has pursued for years. As a distributor serving more than 7,000 resellers, system integrators and MSPs across the DACH region — ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certified since September 2025 — ADN is building out its security portfolio in a market segment driven equally by regulatory pressure and technological change.
„Resellers can establish secure, encrypted connections between sites, data centers, cloud workloads and remote users in hybrid and multi-cloud scenarios — with clear policies and an architecture designed for the demands of modern IT teams.”
Hermann Ramacher, CEO, ADN Distribution GmbH
Dr. Jakob Jung is Editor-in-Chief of Security Storage and Channel Germany. He has been working in IT journalism for more than 20 years. His career includes Computer Reseller News, Heise Resale, Informationweek, Techtarget (storage and data center) and ChannelBiz. He also freelances for numerous IT publications, including Computerwoche, Channelpartner, IT-Business, Storage-Insider and ZDnet. His main topics are channel, storage, security, data center, ERP and CRM.
Contact via Mail: jakob.jung@security-storage-und-channel-germany.de