What CSN does

CSN GmbH (Cloud Solutions Network) is a privately held German cloud services provider founded in 2012 by Dirk Siemann and Gerd Niedernhuber, headquartered in Mönchengladbach with compute infrastructure hosted in a high-security data center in Düsseldorf. The company sells bundled IT outsourcing services to small and medium-sized enterprises (KMU) in Germany, with a portfolio of five eponymous products: CSN.desktop (Desktop as a Service built on Citrix HDX), CSN.mail (Microsoft Hosted Exchange-based email, contacts, calendar, and tasks), CSN.phone (a 3CX-powered software PBX), CSN.backup (Ahsay/Veeam-based online backup with RAID-5 storage), and CSN.service (managed IT consulting, planning, implementation, and on-site support). Operations are certified to ISO 9001 (quality management) and ISO 27001 (information security), with the data center running on green energy and subject to German Datenschutzgesetze.

The technical stack is composed of third-party enterprise platforms rather than proprietary IP: Citrix Client terminates encrypted HDX sessions at CSN servers, Microsoft Exchange powers the mail service, 3CX runs the telephony platform, and Ahsay/Veeam handle backup across file, database (MS SQL, MySQL, Oracle), email (Exchange, Lotus Domino/Notes), and VMware workloads. Differentiation rests on operational certifications, German data residency, redundant infrastructure (immediate failover to a replacement server), and tailored consultation rather than novel technology.

The business model is subscription-based and horizontally positioned within the German SMB segment. CSN charges recurring monthly fees scaled to the number of users and workstations, with workstations addable or cancellable at short notice to give customers pay-per-use cost control; consulting, planning, implementation, and on-site support are layered on top. Go-to-market is sales-led and consultative — free personal consultations, direct telephone outreach, and a single sales office — with distribution concentrated domestically and no disclosed enterprise logos, revenue figures, or external funding.

Name

CSN

Legal name

CSN GmbH

Website

https://cloud-solutions-network.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CSN GmbH is a privately held German cloud services provider that delivers outsourced IT infrastructure — virtual desktops, hosted email, virtual telephony, and online backup — to small and medium-sized businesses from a certified data center in Düsseldorf.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cloud Infrastructure Services

NAICS

Computer Facilities Management Services (541513), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182)

SIC

Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)

akta.pro primary industry

Virtual Desktop & Application Delivery (VDI/DaaS, Remote Apps) (BPAEAIAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

End-User Computing Outsourcing (EUC / Desktop Services) (BPAEAMAE), Cloud DR, Backup & Business Continuity (BPAEACAJ), Cloud PBX & Hosted Telephony (HDAIAHAB), Backup & Restore Platforms (Cloud Backup) (HDABAIAB)

Keywords

• Cloud desktop services
• Hosted exchange email
• Virtual PBX telephony
• Managed IT services
• Cloud backup solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Mönchengladbach

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Cloud Services Subscription: CSN generates revenue through recurring subscription fees for their cloud services including DaaS (Desktop as a Service), SaaS, IaaS, virtual phone systems, online backups, and Microsoft Exchange email solutions. Customers pay based on usage and number of users/workstations. The model allows flexible scaling where workstations can be added or cancelled, reducing or increasing the monthly amount accordingly.
2. Professional Services and Consulting: CSN offers comprehensive service including professional consulting, planning, and implementation. They also provide telephone or direct support at customer premises for problem resolution.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

CSN provides cloud-based IT infrastructure services to small and medium businesses in Germany, including virtual desktops (CSN.desktop), hosted Microsoft Exchange email (CSN.mail), 3CX-based virtual PBX telephony (CSN.phone), online backup (CSN.backup), and managed IT services (CSN.service). Services are delivered from CSN's data center in Düsseldorf, Germany, under ISO 27001 and ISO 9001 certifications.

Product overview

CSN (Cloud Solutions Network) is a German cloud service provider offering a unified portfolio of cloud-based business solutions. The product lineup includes CSN.desktop (Desktop as a Service for virtual workplaces), CSN.mail (Microsoft Hosted Exchange email), CSN.phone (virtual PBX based on 3CX software), CSN.backup (online backup service), and CSN.service (managed IT support). Together these products provide IaaS, DaaS, SaaS, virtual telephone systems, online backups, and comprehensive managed services targeting small and medium-sized businesses in Germany.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CSN.desktop: Desktop as a Service (DaaS) solution providing virtual workstations hosted in high-security data centers with full scalability and cost control.
• CSN.mail
• CSN.backup
• CSN.phone
• CSN.service

Products and services

• CSN.desktop Desktop as a Service (DaaS) virtual desktop solution delivered from CSN's Düsseldorf data center, designed for small and medium businesses that need hosted desktop environments without on-premise servers.
• CSN.mail Hosted Microsoft Exchange email service providing SMBs with business-grade email, calendaring, and collaboration without on-premise Exchange infrastructure.
• CSN.phone Cloud-based virtual PBX telephony service built on the 3CX platform, providing SMBs with business phone systems without on-premise PBX hardware.
• CSN.backup Cloud-based online backup service for SMB data protection, delivered from CSN's German data center infrastructure.
• CSN.service Managed IT services layer providing operational support for SMB customers using CSN's cloud suite, covering routine administration, monitoring, and end-user support tasks.

Quantifiable outcome

• Full cost control with pay-per-use model
• +3 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration15 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• CitrixcoreTechnology or IntegrationCSN.desktop uses Citrix Client to establish encrypted HDX protocol connections to the company's data center. This enables secure remote access to virtual desktop environments from any internet-capable device.
• MicrosoftcoreTechnology or IntegrationCSN.mail is based on original Microsoft Exchange software for email, contacts, calendar, and task synchronization across devices. CSN also provides Microsoft Office licensing as part of their cloud desktop solutions.
• 3CXcoreTechnology or IntegrationCSN.phone virtual telephone system is based on 3CX software running on CSN servers in their high-security data center, providing features including video conferences, call recording, and mobile app integration.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Hetzner Online: German hosting and cloud infrastructure provider offering dedicated servers, cloud servers, and managed services with strong data-residency positioning. Comparable to CSN on the German data-protection angle but operates at much larger scale and primarily on IaaS rather than bundled SMB services.
• OVHcloud: European cloud provider with strong German/EU data-residency positioning offering hosted servers, cloud infrastructure, and managed services for SMBs. Competes with CSN's German sovereign-cloud and SMB-IT-outsourcing value proposition at infrastructure level.
• CANCOM SE: Germany- and Austria-headquartered IT services group providing cloud, managed, and workplace services including Microsoft-based solutions to SMB and enterprise clients. Comparable to CSN on the managed Microsoft/Cloud workplace offering for German-speaking SMB customers.
• IONOS (1&1 IONOS): Germany's largest cloud and hosting provider offering IaaS, SaaS, Microsoft 365, and business cloud solutions to SMBs. Competes with CSN for the same German SMB cloud-outsourcing wallet but at significantly larger scale and brand recognition.
• Allgeier (Allgeier IT Solutions): German IT services group with strong presence in SMB and mid-market managed services, cloud, and workplace solutions across DACH. Comparable to CSN as a managed cloud and workplace IT-outsourcing competitor in the German SMB market.
• Bechtle AG: One of Germany's largest IT service providers and system houses, offering managed services, cloud solutions, and workplace IT to SMB and mid-market clients. Overlaps with CSN's full-service SMB IT outsourcing model but with a multi-thousand-employee scale and vendor breadth.

Direct peers

• Datto (Kaseya): Provider of unified cloud-to-edge managed-services and backup solutions targeted at MSPs serving SMBs. Datto's backup, RMM, and workplace products overlap directly with the SMB-focused managed-services bundle that CSN delivers to its customers.
• 3CX (3CX Ltd.): Provider of the software-based PBX platform that CSN.phone is built on. While primarily a software vendor rather than MSP, 3CX directly competes with CSN at the channel/hosted-PBX layer and offers its own cloud telephony service that SMBs could buy directly, bypassing CSN.

Emerging players

• Acronis: Provider of backup, disaster recovery, and cyber-protection solutions targeted at managed-service providers and SMBs. Directly comparable to the CSN.backup offering and competes for the same SMB backup-and-cyber-protection wallet that CSN bundles into its outsourcing package.

Regional players

• Datagroup AG: German IT outsourcing and managed-services provider running its own data centers and serving mid-market and SMB clients across Germany. Directly comparable business model to CSN with similar full-service outsourcing positioning but at a larger public-company scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 CSN