Sitecore opens new office in Germany and is expecting a multi-million Krone turnover in the first year
Tuesday, november 18, 2003
The successful Danish CMS company, Sitecore has opened a new office in Munich, Germany. The expansion into Germany is a direct consequence of the capital contribution the company received in July. Germany is the first country outside of Denmark where Sitecore has opened an office, and therefore it is the first step in the company’s internationalisation. Simultaneously, Sitecore has closed a contract with Aston Business Solutions, and has updated their own company design to compete internationally.
The Danish CMS company, Sitecore, which in July 2003 received a multi-million Danish Krone cash injection from several Danish investors, is now opening an office in Germany. This is the first country, outside of Denmark, where Sitecore now has its own office and the move is an important for the company’s strategy of aggressive growth.
“Through our current partners we have seen a strong demand from the German market and since we were at the CeBIT fair in 2002 along with our German partner Software AG, we have received a number of very interesting enquiries from large German organisations. This is why we are now taking the step to establish ourselves south of the border,” says Sitecore CEO, Michael Seifert, and continues:
“The objective is to sign 20 partnership agreements with distributors of our software in the German market within the first 12 months. We are involved in negotiations with at least a dozen partners currently. Specifically, we expect to have delivered software to approximately 30 customers before the end of this fiscal year, June 2004, this is equivalent to approximately a million Krone of business”, Michael Seifert explains.
Already since opening the Sitecore office the first partners on the German market have been established. Sitecore has, amongst others, entered a partnership with the German consultancy company Steinbeis-Stiftung, which with more than 4,000 employees service more than 10,000 customers annually.
The German IT-company Objective Software has also entered a partnership with Sitecore. “Objective has already sold the first Sitecore CMS-solution”, says Nikolaus Letsch, CEO of Objective Software, “We have a solid foothold in the banking sector and in the German industry and the possibilities Sitecore presents fit perfectly into our ongoing penetration of this market.”
Experienced man leading the German operation
To run the business in Germany, Sitecore has employed Mr. Franz Schreiber who has 20 years experience from a similar position with the German partner of Sitecore, the software giant Software AG, where he was Area manager for East and Central Europe.
“The office in Germany is the beginning of a major international expansion from our side and in that respect, we rely strongly on the broad international experience of Franz Schreiber,” Michael Seifert explains.
In connection with the new office, the Sitecore CMS-software has been translated into German, so that it now exists in nine different languages.
Partnership with Aston Business Solutions
Parallel to the establishment in Germany, Sitecore has signed an international partnership agreement with the Danish international IT-consultancy company, Aston Business Solution, who have included Sitecore in their product portfolio. Aston Business Solutions have their own offices in ten countries and partners in 20 others.
”Aston Business Solutions is an internationally focused Microsoft consultancy company with a vertical market approach. In this context, the new .NET technology is crucial in the development of multiple-system solutions, which are to be integrated directly with the Internet. This is why it was important for us to expand our product portfolio with a CMS product that is officially .NET certified. Sitecore is included in the prestigious Microsoft .NET directory, and this is a good foundation relative to our international competitors in the CMS area,” explains Claus Hansen, Executive Vice President of Aston Business Solutions.
Rapid growth
Since the creation of Sitecore in 2001, the company has experienced impressive growth. The company has grown approximately 20% per month. The strategy is to consolidate the company in Denmark and internationally, with Northern Europe as the first key focus region.
”We have proved, that in spite of harsh competition in Denmark, we are extremely competitive. This has made us one of the leading producers in the country in a very short time. This is why I am convinced that we can take our experience and expertise with us to Germany and win market share there,” Michael Seifert explains.
New identity
As a foundation to the internationalisation, Sitecore has developed new marketing material and a new identity which will support the international expansion.
For further information please visit www.sitecore.net or contact:
Michael Seifert
CEO
Sitecore
Telephone: (+45) 70 23 66 60 - Mobile: (+45) 28 10 33 31
e-mail: ms@sitecore.net
Claus Hansen
Executive Vice President
Aston Business Solutions A/S
Telephone: (+45) 72 42 11 11
e-mail: claus.hansen@astonIT.com
About Sitecore A/S
Sitecore comply fully with the Worldwide Web Consortium’s open Internet standards, for example SOAP (web services) and XML, and are committed to Microsoft’s .NET technology. The result is one of the most versatile systems available on the market (Patent Pending). Sitecore covers two key areas; the content management client, to be used by editors to easily enter content on a website, and the developer environment, the platform for creating any Internet solution. Sitecore is an ideal choice for integrating and Internet enabling IT systems within an organisation.
The software is designed with both editors and developers in mind, and is highly recommended by both groups.
The Sitecore partner reach is global and they service a broad spectrum of successful businesses. The Sitecore CMS currently delivers millions of dynamic web pages to these organisations.
In independent tests the Sitecore CMS has been voted undisputed winner.
Relevant Links:
www.objective.de
www.steinbeis.de
www.astonit.com
www.softwareag.de