a&f systems
a&f systems is a Swiss system integrator founded in 1985 that designs, integrates, and operates publishing and Business-IT solutions for DACH enterprises, anchored by its proprietary Publishing Circle framework combining WoodWing, Adobe, and AI/automation platforms.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1985
- HeadquartersSchenkon, Switzerland
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What a&f systems does
a&f systems ag is a Swiss system integrator founded in 1985 and headquartered in Schenkon (canton of Lucerne), specializing in publishing and Business-IT solutions for the DACH enterprise market. The company designs, integrates, and operates multichannel editorial and content management systems centered on its proprietary "Publishing Circle" methodology, which combines best-of-breed third-party platforms — including WoodWing (Studio, Assets, Cloud, AILA), Purple, Livingdocs, Adobe Creative Cloud/Acrobat/Sign, Synology, Contentserv, and dataplan — with AI, automation, and analytics tools into a unified workflow spanning content planning, creation, multichannel distribution, and performance measurement. a&f holds WoodWing Diamond Partner status (the highest tier) and positions itself as the world's largest WoodWing integrator, alongside Adobe Platinum Partner and Synology Partner of the Year 2025 credentials. Customers include major DACH publishers and media groups (NZZ, TX Group, Tamedia, Ringier, Axel Springer, DER SPIEGEL, Funke Mediengruppe, Gruner + Jahr, Aller Media, CH Media, Somedia, Hearst Netherlands) as well as enterprises outside publishing (Coop, Migros, Allianz, Raiffeisen, Schaeffler, Kambly, Bosch, Geberit).
The business model blends professional services, software and hardware resale, recurring support contracts, and managed cloud/IT outsourcing. Consulting, project management, development, and application services are billed hourly (EUR 160-170/hour in Germany, comparable CHF rates in Switzerland), while support is sold through tiered annual contracts (MEZZO and GRANDE piano/forte) with guaranteed response and intervention times up to 30 minutes, backed by a 7/24 HelpLine and dedicated on-call team. Distribution is primarily direct enterprise sales with a consultative, account-executive-led motion, complemented by an active event and webinar program (CrossMediaForum, WAN-IFRA, European Publishing Congress, SwissMediaForum). Revenue is not publicly disclosed, and the company has no venture capital or external institutional investment, remaining wholly owned by its four co-founders/executives.
a&f systems firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- a&f systems
- Legal name
- a&f systems ag
- Website
- https://a-f.ch
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1985
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- a&f systems is a Swiss system integrator founded in 1985 that designs, integrates, and operates publishing and Business-IT solutions for DACH enterprises, anchored by its proprietary Publishing Circle framework combining WoodWing, Adobe, and AI/automation platforms.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where a&f systems is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Schenkon
- HQ country
- Switzerland
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
a&f systems business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
Revenue model
- Professional Services: Consulting, project management, development, and application services billed hourly. Services include installation, integration, configuration, support, maintenance, and training. The primary revenue driver, with services delivered both on-site and remotely.
- Software Distribution: Resale of standard software (WoodWing, Adobe, Purple, etc.) with license contracts mediated directly between customer and manufacturer. Non-exclusive, non-transferable usage rights.
- Hardware Sales: Sale of hardware including servers, NAS, storage, backup solutions, and Apple business devices. Hardware delivery with optional installation services.
- Support & Maintenance Contracts: Recurring support contracts including HelpLine access, ticket system, and 7/24 emergency services. Tiers include MEZZO piano/forte and GRANDE piano/forte with varying response and intervention time guarantees.
- IT Outsourcing & Cloud Services: Outsourcing of publishing systems and IT infrastructure via a&f Cloud, including backup data management and monitored system environments.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Germany: Consulting |
| Subscription | Annual | 7/24 Emergency Service Tiers |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Reimbursement and Travel |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels7 records
a&f systems product offering
Product offeringCore offering
No source content was provided in the input to describe what a&f systems fundamentally does or sells. The core offering cannot be evidenced from the supplied material.
Product overview
a&f systems is a Swiss system integrator specializing in Business-IT and Publishing solutions. The company operates on a platform-plus-modules architecture centered around the Publishing Circle, a holistic workflow combining 40 years of expertise with innovative software tools, automation and AI. The core publishing stack includes WoodWing Studio (editorial/CMS), WoodWing Assets (DAM), Livingdocs (digital-first CMS), and Purple (AI-native publishing platform with Purple Hub, Purple Editorial, Purple Experience, and Purple Growth). Supporting modules span content planning (Dataplan ContentSuite, JournalSuite), analytics (smartocto), AI capabilities (AI now aibox), and workflow automation (n8n, Workato). The company also provides cloud services, enterprise storage (Synology), hardware management (Mosyle MDM), security solutions, and maintains Adobe PLATINUM and WoodWing Diamond partner status. Services include consulting, installation and integration, 24/7 support, and IT outsourcing.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Publishing Circle: A holistic publishing workflow combining 40 years of expertise, innovative software tools, automation, and artificial intelligence for future-proof content publishing.
Quantifiable outcome
- WoodWing ranked #1 most important editorial system in DACH region for 2022 and 2023 by Kress pro
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use a&f systems
Customer profileNamed customers22 records
Segments1 record
a&f systems technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration20 records
AI capability8 records
Feature5 records
a&f systems partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- WoodWingcorea&f systems is the world's largest WoodWing integrator and Diamond Partner, the highest partnership tier. They implement WoodWing Studio, Assets, and the new WoodWing Cloud platform for customers across the DACH region, with AILA AI-powered layout automation as a key differentiator.
- AdobecoreAdobe Platinum Partner — the highest Adobe partner tier. a&f resells and implements Adobe Creative Cloud, Acrobat DC, Adobe Sign, and related products for enterprise customers.
- PurplecorePurple is the KI-native publishing platform integrated into the Publishing Circle. a&f implements and supports Purple Editorial, Purple Experience, and Purple Growth solutions for media companies.
- LivingdocscoreLivingdocs is integrated into the Publishing Circle as a digital-first CMS solution. Together with WoodWing Studio, Livingdocs provides a complete print and online publishing solution.
- SynologycoreSynology Partner of the Year 2025. a&f offers Synology NAS, storage, backup solutions, and enterprise storage solutions including the PAS7700 enterprise platform.
- ProxmoxminorProxmox Partner & Reseller in Switzerland for enterprise virtualization solutions.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
a&f systems competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Cyanic: Provider of publishing and content-management solutions for media companies in German-speaking markets, with comparable editorial-workflow and multichannel-publishing offerings for DACH customers.
- PPI Media (Software Union): German vendor of publishing and advertising systems (NewsPilot, AdVision) targeting newspaper and magazine publishers, overlapping directly with a&f's WoodWing/Livingdocs/Purple integrations for DACH media groups.
- vjoon GmbH: German provider of editorial and publishing workflow software (vjoon K4) that competes in the same multichannel-publishi ng and editorial-system space where a&f integrates WoodWing and Livingdocs, often on the same enterprise shortlists.
- Stämpfli Gruppe: Swiss communications and publishing services group also listed as an a&f customer; offers comparable content, publishing, and Business-IT services to DACH enterprise clients, making it the closest Swiss-headquartered peer in scope and customer base.
- Imago Group (Imago / e-velopment): German publishing technology specialist offering editorial, production, and distribution solutions to newspaper and magazine groups, operating in the same DACH publishing-IT niche as a&f.
- Gassner Digital: Swiss publishing services company listed on a&f's own customer roster, indicating it operates in an overlapping multichannel-publishing and editorial-IT services niche in the DACH market.
- Dataplan GmbH: German publisher of ContentSuite and JournalSuite content-planning and layout-automation software integrated by a&f into the Publishing Circle; competes and partners across the same publishing workflow stack.
Broad incumbents
- WoodWing: Netherlands-based vendor whose Studio, Assets, Cloud, and AILA products form the technical core of a&f's Publishing Circle; competes indirectly as WoodWing expands its own direct enterprise and cloud capabilities.
- Arvato (Bertelsmann): Large Bertelsmann-owned IT and business-services division serving major media and enterprise customers with content, customer-experience, and supply-chain services; competes for the same DACH media-IT budgets at much greater scale.
- ADAM Software (now Aprimo): Marketing and digital asset management vendor serving enterprise content and publishing operations across Europe, adjacent to a&f's PIM/MAM and DAM integration offerings (Contentserv, SixOMC, WoodWing Assets).
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
a&f systems social profiles
Digital presencea&f systems financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
a&f systems leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
a&f systems funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
a&f systems M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about a&f systems
What does a&f systems do?
No source content was provided in the input to describe what a&f systems fundamentally does or sells. The core offering cannot be evidenced from the supplied material.
Is a&f systems a public or private company?
a&f systems is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was a&f systems founded?
a&f systems was founded in 1985. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is a&f systems based?
a&f systems is headquartered in Schenkon, Switzerland, in the Europe region.
How does a&f systems make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Professional Services are the primary driver. The others are software Distribution, hardware Sales, support & Maintenance Contracts and IT Outsourcing & Cloud Services.
Who are a&f systems's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Cyanic, PPI Media (Software Union), vjoon GmbH, Stämpfli Gruppe, Imago Group (Imago / e-velopment), Gassner Digital and Dataplan GmbH. Broad incumbents are WoodWing, Arvato (Bertelsmann) and ADAM Software (now Aprimo).
Does a&f systems have an API?
No public API is recorded for a&f systems.