ISGUS looks back on 135 years of company history

It all began back in 1888 in Schwenningen with the production of watchmen control clocks and suspension springs. The company quickly specialised in the development of time clocks and later electronic systems. From the very beginning, ISGUS has been dedicated to the recording of working hours using the most modern technologies of the time. The entrepreneurial spirit to constantly develop something new, to be open to innovative methods, ways and business models still characterises our company today.

From clock manufacturer to software producer

Keeping track of time and having everything under control. This inspired the company's founder Jakob Schlenker-Grusen, because at that time, time recording was used to control attendance and punctuality and, as such, indispensable for payroll accounting and performance-based wage calculation. A precise clockwork mechanism in combination with a sophisticated mechanism to record the time stamps on paper and to later visualise and document the time cards, was the basic idea that resulted in dozens of devices, terminal series and designs. As a result, ISGUS could always offer a suitable device combined with an easily evaluable time card format to suit any working time or shift model.

With the advent of electronics and computers, the next stage of evolution was set. Consequently, we ventured into the electronic age at an early stage and began developing electronic time and information systems based on core memory computers at the beginning of the 1970s. In the world of digitalisation, things are developing rapidly, and so is our company.

Today, with ZEUS® Workforce Management, ISGUS is continuously developing modern, browser-based software solutions such as ZEUS® Time & Attendance, Staff Scheduling, Access Control and Production Data Capture as well as apps for mobile devices. Moreover, ISGUS is a manufacturer of terminals for stationary time and data management, access readers and access control centres. Additionally, a full range of digital locking technology, the ZEUS® Security Monitor solution and a comprehensive visitor management complete our current portfolio.

It turned out to be the right step at the right time that ISGUS started to establish its own data centre in 2009 and – originally only for customers in the USA – to offer Software as a Service. Accelerated by digitalisation and the pandemic, the ISGUS data centre has developed considerably. Almost 50% of our new customers use ZEUS® in the ISGUS Cloud and existing customers who previously operated their solution on premise are also increasingly moving to the ISO 27001 certified ISGUS data centre.

135 years after our foundation and five generations later, we are one of the most important players in digital HR and time management, both nationally and internationally. With around 300 employees at ten locations in Germany and ISGUS-owned subsidiaries in the USA, England, Austria along with our commercial partners in France, Luxembourg, Romania and Switzerland, the ISGUS Group currently serves over 15,000 customers.

Innovative strength and professional competence

As a family-run company, we attach great importance to a fruitful, beneficial working atmosphere and an open corporate culture. Our employees are the heart of the company and contribute significantly to our success. Everyone takes responsibility for his or her area and together we work on the continuous development of our company to achieve the ambitious business and growth targets.

The secret of our success remains our high level of technical expertise combined with the ambition to inspire our customers time and again with trend-setting products.

Creative and innovative minds, not only in product development but in every area of the company, are our future. That is why we place great emphasis on promoting our employees and offering a wide-ranging training programme along with personal development—ideal prerequisite for convincing with innovative strength and durability in the future as well.