Software-as-a-service – or SaaS – startups are among the fastest growing worldwide. Through cost-efficient and productive solutions, these companies are not only revolutionizing the way we work, but they are impacting every aspect of every industry. Much like for Fintechs, Germany offers a centrally located hotspot for these startups, with a culture of dynamic and young workers from various backgrounds. Whether it be the capital of Berlin or the attractive Munich, energetic entrepreneurs from all over the globe flock to the major cities of Germany to start off their business.
Here is a selection of 8 German SaaS companies to watch out for:
Derived from ‘Segnavia’, the Italian word for signpost, Signavio is all about Navigation of Business Process Management (BPM). The Berlin-based company was first founded in the neighboring state capital of Potsdam, Brandenburg.
The four students who came up with the idea were aiming to solve a straightforward, yet complex problem: creating a software that will reliably provide knowledge sharing among employees and allow them to manage business processes easily. Their philosophy was one focused on giving businesses the empowerment to orient themselves around their own decisions, workflows and processes. The first prototype was created in 2006, but it was brought to perfection with the company’s genesis in 2009.
Contentful is the Content Management System (CMS) of the digital-first era. The market leader in ‘headless’ content management, the company based in Berlin and San Francisco has amassed a team of over 350 people from more than 70 countries since its inception in 2013. Offering an uncomplicated and unified software to help deliver different types of high quality content across all digital channels from a single centralized hub, Contentful’s clients include more than a quarter of Fortune 500 companies. Their software stands out by not being limited to a presentation output in form of a webpage, but being able to convert content into countless types of output.
Though technically speaking a Platform-as-a-service and not a traditional SaaS, Spryker still deserves a shoutout. Since 2014, this solution for B2C, B2B and marketplace commerce has supported businesses around the world in their efforts to growth their eCommerce. Their vision prioritizes the development and expansion of their clients while simultaneously increasing efficiency, offering a 24/7/365 customer service and various products for specified purposes. Spryker employs more than 190 employees across 3 offices in Berlin, Hamburg and Kharkiv.
This Munich-based SaaS was launched in 2011 with the goal of helping businesses maximize their performance through their Execution Management System (EMS). Their vision is clear: recognizing that many business practices will become obsolete soon enough, their product is built with the objective of helping businesses avoid inertia in this time of rapid digital transformation. Powered by their process mining software, Celonis can provide their clients with extensive insights into many aspects of their processes, like analytics, management, or automation.
Founded in 2015 in Munich, Personio strives to put all HR personnel’s best interest in the spotlight. With offices across 4 different countries in Europe, Personio and its 600 employees are committed to make life easier for ‘HR heroes’ in various industries by allowing them to avoid tedious administrative tasks and focus on what is really important: Their employees. Providing a single tool for all employees, Personio allows for quick and efficient administrative work, whether it is recruitment and onboarding, payroll or feedback.
With a number of different tools to optimize your pricing, Pricefx truly lives up to its name. Having been founded in 2011 in Bavaria, Pricefx is all about making sure that their clients are able to manage their prices effectively. Their company philosophy is built on the three ‘F-words’: Fast, Flexible and Friendly, a formula that is utilized in each of their solutions. These components guarantee quick and dynamic tools that have no barriers of entry and are easy to use. With all this, Pricefx’ goal is to change the present and define the future of pricing.
Seated in Germany’s former capital of Bonn, LeanIX is committed to providing businesses with a logical and effective solution for enterprise architecture. With a presence across 3 continents and offices in Boston, Bonn and Hyderabad, LeanIX is all about governing IT and business processes, bringing valuable insights quickly to the table and reducing business risks in the process. Having amassed a team of more than 300 employees since its inception in 2012, LeanIX pursues the goal of easily manageable enterprise architecture.
Formerly known as FreightHub, Forto aims to give logistics and shipping companies end-to-end control over their processes. But their aspirations go beyond point-to-point transportation: Forto’s SaaS platform allows shipping companies to optimize trade and transportation and make better decisions through an efficient and easy interface. Including air, sea, rail and multimodal transport methods, the Berlin-based company has been supporting the world of logistics since 2016. In the years since, they have grown into a team of over 900 employees across nine offices in Germany, China and Singapore.
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For more information about SaaS, read this article about Key Roles any SaaS company should have.
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