nowhow solutions AG

What nowhow solutions AG does

nowhow solutions AG is a privately held Swiss custom software company founded in 2001 and headquartered in Bern. The firm designs, develops, and operates bespoke enterprise and government applications across three service lines: Beratung & Konzeption (consulting and concept design), Individuelle Entwicklung (custom development), and Betrieb & Weiterentwicklung (long-term operations and continued development). Its technology stack spans .NET Framework/Core, Vue.js, TypeScript, Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL/MariaDB, Apache OFBiz, Java, Git/GitLab, Azure, and OpenID Connect, with agile methodologies applied across the full software lifecycle.

The company's named portfolio consists of custom-built applications rather than a modular product: Swisscom UCC Selfservice (~20,000 users), DOCO and MDS document/device tooling, GSK Vaccines Direct webshop (with TensorFlow/Azure ML order recommender and IoT temperature alerting), VETdata and vetpoint.ch for the Swiss veterinary sector (combined CHF 3M monthly turnover), LSVA ISGate and Mailer for the Federal Customs Administration (40,000 chip cards and 2.4M enforcement transits monthly), DipClear for the Federal Office of Civil Aviation (~1,200 applications per year, integrated with Skyguide and the Swiss Air Force), BFS Profiling Light and BurWeb for the Federal Statistical Office, TVS billing for the Tierärztliche Verrechnungsstelle, PUMA for disabled transport billing, and a Refdata healthcare applications partnership (SAI, AIPS, Partner-Refdatabase).

Revenue is generated through project-based professional services and managed long-term operations under multi-year contracts, with no public pricing. The go-to-market is direct consultative sales to Swiss enterprise and federal clients, supported by ISO 9001 (since 2014), ISO 27001 (since 2023), ISO 14001 (since 2024), and Swiss Made Software designation. Customer concentration is diversified across telecom, federal administration, healthcare, pharma, and veterinary verticals, with a stated 500+ cumulative clients and 90% retention rate, anchored by long-tenure relationships with Swisscom, GSK, Refdata, and multiple federal agencies.

Name

nowhow solutions AG

Legal name

nowhow solutions AG

Website

https://nowhow.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

nowhow solutions AG is a Bern-based Swiss custom software company founded in 2001 that designs, develops, and operates bespoke enterprise and government applications for clients in telecommunications, federal administration, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and veterinary sectors across Switzerland.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Custom Enterprise Software Development

NAICS

Custom Computer Programming Services (541511), Computer Systems Design Services (541512)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming Services (7371), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)

akta.pro primary industry

Application Maintenance & Support (AMS) (BPAEAFAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

UI/UX Engineering & Front-End Modernization (BPAEAFAH), Incident Response, On-Call & Operational Readiness (BPAEAKAL), Backup & DR Software Implementation & Managed Platforms (BPAEALAI)

Keywords

• Custom software development
• Enterprise software solutions
• Government software systems
• Software lifecycle management
• IT consulting services

Headquarters

HQ city

Berne

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Custom Software Development: The company generates revenue primarily through custom software development projects for B2B clients. Projects are typically long-term engagements covering analysis, planning, development, implementation and ongoing support. Revenue is generated through project-based professional services.
2. Consulting and Conception Services: Business analysis, process consulting, and technical concept design services. These services analyze existing processes, identify potentials and develop solution approaches that are technically feasible and economically sensible.
3. Operation and Maintenance Services: Ongoing software operation, performance monitoring, and continuous adaptation to new requirements. Ensures long-term value delivery through stable operations and continuous improvement.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

nowhow solutions AG is a Swiss custom software company that designs, develops, operates and continuously evolves individual enterprise and government software applications for clients across telecommunications, federal administration, healthcare, pharmaceutical and veterinary sectors. Its offering spans business analysis and concept design, bespoke application development using .NET, Vue.js, Apache OFBiz, Azure and related technologies, and long-term operation and maintenance of the delivered systems.

Product overview

nowhow solutions AG is a Swiss B2B software company based in Bern (founded 2001) offering a portfolio of custom-developed enterprise software solutions alongside three core service offerings: Beratung & Konzeption (consulting and concept development), Individuelle Entwicklung (custom software development), and Betrieb & Weiterentwicklung (operations and continued development). The product portfolio consists of named applications spanning multiple sectors, each developed as a standalone custom solution: DOCO and MDS for Swisscom; BFS Profiling Light and BurWeb for the Swiss Federal Statistical Office; DipClear for the Federal Office of Civil Aviation; ISGate and Mailer for the Federal Customs Administration's LSVA system; TVS for the Tierärztliche Verrechnungsstelle (GST) AG; VETdata and vetpoint.ch for the Swiss veterinary sector; GSK Vaccines Direct and its IoT/ML extension for GlaxoSmithKline (Schweiz); UCC Selfservice for Swisscom; PUMA for Stiftung Behindertentransport Kanton Bern; Qualiservice for Qualiservice GmbH; and a telecommunications BSS/OSS for lexsys AG. These solutions share common technology foundations (.NET, Vue.js, Apache OFBiz, Azure, SQL Server, TypeScript) but are individual custom-built applications rather than a unified platform with modules.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• DOCO – Document Composer Document management solution developed for Swisscom (Schweiz) AG enabling the creation and handling of business documents.
• MDS – Mobile Device Service Solution for Swisscom (Schweiz) AG addressing the management and service of mobile devices.
• UCC Selfservice Self-service portal for Swisscom's UCC (Unified Communication & Collaboration) services, allowing customers to configure their own settings while backend systems are automatically updated in real time. Serves approximately 20,000 users.
• BFS Profiling Light Application for the Federal Statistical Office (BFS) that handles the updating survey of business and enterprise registers.
• BFS BurWeb Web application providing internet access to the Business Register (BUR) data maintained by the Federal Statistical Office (BFS).
• DipClear – Diplomatic Clearance Web-based approval management system for the Federal Office of Civil Aviation (BAZL) that handles the entire process for foreign state aircraft seeking to overfly or land in Switzerland. Integrates with Skyguide air traffic control and the Swiss Air Force, and processes approximately 1,200 applications per year.
• ISGate – LSVA Data Exchange Platform Central data exchange platform for the performance-related heavy vehicle charge (LSVA) managed by the Swiss Federal Customs Administration. Processes data from chip cards, border control gates, enforcement checkpoints, mobile controls, and internet declarations. Monthly volume: approximately 40,000 chip cards and 2.4 million enforcement passages processed.
• Mailer – LSVA Chipkartenversand Chip card mailing optimization system for the Federal Customs Administration's LSVA program, doubling chip card throughput and eliminating manual workflows through integration with Microsoft Word for automated cover letter production.
• TVS – Veterinary Billing Solution Billing solution for the Tierärztliche Verrechnungsstelle (GST) AG, replacing a host-based system with a modern client-server application that processes invoices, accounting entries, interest calculations, dividends, monthly and annual closings, and automated bank transactions. Processes approximately 16,000 documents per month from 43 connected suppliers.
• vetpoint.ch Switzerland's first centralized multi-vendor online ordering platform for the entire veterinary supply market. Connects multiple suppliers through a web shop for veterinarians, a supplier portal for catalog management, and automated interfaces processing up to 35,000 products. Monthly turnover through the platform is approximately 3 million CHF.
• GSK Vaccines Direct (gskvaccinesdirect.ch) Online vaccine webshop for GlaxoSmithKline (Schweiz), enabling authorized customers (doctors, hospitals, pharmacies, cantonal health offices) to order vaccines, view real-time availability, and receive re-availability notifications. Features include automated logistics interfaces and a backoffice for managing customers, products, and pricing.
• IoT & Machine Learning for GSK Vaccines Direct Extension to the GSK Vaccines Direct webshop adding IoT device integration and Machine Learning capabilities: a TensorFlow-based Recommender System generates personalized vaccine order proposals from historical purchase data, and an IoT temperature sensor triggers SMS/email alerts when vaccine storage temperatures deviate outside acceptable ranges.
• VETdata Digital data exchange and document archiving platform for the Swiss veterinary sector, enabling the exchange and storage of invoices, orders, and TVS account statements. Connected with Vetpoint, TVS billing, pharmaceutical suppliers, and veterinary practice software systems via dedicated interfaces. Processes approximately 400 vet practices and 30,000 invoices monthly.
• PUMA – Paperless Mobility Billing System Paperless billing system for Stiftung Behindertentransport Kanton Bern (BTB), replacing paper vouchers with electronic customer accounts and a transport service portal. Manages approximately 10,000 subsidized trips per month for 4,000 customers.
• Qualiservice – Quality Control Quality control application for the inspection of fruits, vegetables, and potatoes, developed for Qualiservice GmbH.
• Telecommunications BSS/OSS for lexsys AG Telecommunications Business Support System / Operations Support System (BSS/OSS) built on Apache OFBiz for lexsys AG, including webshop, actor management, contract management, order processing, automated provisioning to RADIUS and PLESK servers, and billing integration with TELERATE. Served approximately 30 system users.
• Beratung & Konzeption (Consulting & Conception) Consulting and concept development service covering process analysis, opportunity identification, and solution design for technically feasible and economically sensible outcomes. Serves as the initial phase before custom software development.
• Individuelle Entwicklung (Custom Software Development) Custom software development service tailored to clients' specific business processes and goals, focused on efficiency, flexibility, and sustainability using agile methods and technical expertise.
• Betrieb & Weiterentwicklung (Operations & Continued Development) Ongoing software operations and continued development service including stable operations management, performance monitoring, and continuous adaptation to new requirements to ensure long-term value delivery.

Quantifiable outcome

• 500+ clients served worldwide
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration21 records

AI capability5 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Refdata (Stiftung)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership where nowhow solutions AG took over operation, support and further development of all existing applications including SAI (Structured Medicine Information), AIPS (Medicine Information Publication System), and Partner-Refdatabase. Additionally, nowhow will implement a new interface between AIPS Tierarzneimittel and the Tierarzneimittel-Kompendium. For future standardization topics (ISO-IDMP, HL7 FHIR interfaces, etc.), nowhow will manage Refdata as a partner. This represents a significant milestone for nowhow solutions in the healthcare sector.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• ELCA Informatique SA: Swiss IT services firm delivering custom software, managed services and consulting to enterprise and government. Comparable in full software lifecycle delivery and regulated Swiss client base.
• Zühlke Group: Swiss-headquartered technology and engineering services firm delivering custom software across regulated industries. Comparable in offering (custom B2B application development and lifecycle services) and target market (European enterprise and mid-market clients).
• AdNovum Informatik AG: Swiss software company focused on custom application development, security and identity/access solutions, with strong public-sector exposure. Comparable in custom dev lifecycle services and Swiss federal/government client mix.
• Puzzle ITC GmbH: Bern-based Swiss software company specializing in custom development, open-source and DevOps services. Comparable in geography (Bern/Switzerland), custom development focus and B2B/government clientele.
• bbv Software Services AG: Swiss custom software development and consulting firm with a similar mix of long-term client engagements, agile delivery and lifecycle management. Directly comparable by size, geography and service portfolio.
• Ergon Informatik AG: Zurich-based Swiss custom software house serving banking, insurance, industry and government. Comparable in custom enterprise software focus, regulated-vertical exposure and Swiss government client base.
• ti&m AG: Swiss digital solutions provider offering custom software, consulting and platform engineering for banks, insurance and government. Comparable in vertical mix (regulated industries), Swiss-centric delivery and project-based engagement model.
• Netcetera AG: Swiss software firm providing custom solutions across finance, mobility, healthcare and public sector. Comparable in custom application development, Swiss/DACH focus and regulated-vertical orientation.

Broad incumbents

• Capgemini Switzerland: Global system integrator with a significant Swiss practice serving banking, public sector and telecom. Comparable service portfolio (custom dev, systems integration, managed services) but operates at much larger scale across broader industries.
• Tietoevry Switzerland: Nordic-headquartered IT services and software company with a Swiss public-sector practice. Overlaps with nowhow's government and enterprise custom development work as a larger, multi-country incumbent.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nowhow-solutions-ag

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about nowhow solutions AG