What Alkacon Software GmbH does

Alkacon Software GmbH & Co. KG is a privately held German software company headquartered in Cologne that develops and maintains OpenCms, an open source Java and XML-based enterprise content management system (CMS) released under the LGPL license. Founded in 2000, the company is structured as a GmbH & Co. KG with its general partner Alkacon Verwaltungs GmbH, and is led by Managing Director Alexander Kandzior. OpenCms is built entirely from open source components, targeting large internet and intranet applications for enterprise customers running mission-critical workloads. The company operates with 1–10 employees and is self-sustaining, with no disclosed external funding, parent entity, or institutional shareholders.

The company's commercial model rests on three revenue lines. First, Alkacon OCEE (OpenCms Enterprise Extension) — a subscription-licensed add-on providing clustering, the Accelerator cache, LDAP/Active Directory integration, and database replication — priced at €6,500 first year / €5,500 renewal when bundled with Premium Support for a two-node cluster. Second, tiered support contracts: Premium Support at €5,000/year with 24-hour response and core bug-fix service, and Incident Support at €2,500 for ten prepaid requests. Third, on-site professional services — Complete Training (€5,000 for five days), Advanced API Training (€3,000 for three days), Basic Template Training (€3,000), Individual Workshops, and day-rate consulting at €1,000 per staff member per day, delivered worldwide in German or English. All sales are direct via the company website or phone.

The April 2026 release of OpenCms 21 introduced AI/LLM-powered translation workflows in the XML content editor integrating OpenAI and DeepL APIs, alongside Java 25 support (minimum Java 21), a configurable encrypted secret provider, and an upgraded Apache Solr 10 search layer. The OCEE 21 companion release was shipped concurrently. Alkacon maintains a public GitHub repository, YouTube tutorials, a live demo installation, and detailed API documentation, and the company is actively recruiting developers as of 2026.

Name

Alkacon Software GmbH

Legal name

Alkacon Software GmbH & Co. KG

Website

https://alkacon.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Alkacon Software GmbH is a Cologne-based developer of OpenCms, an open source Java/XML enterprise CMS. It monetizes OCEE subscriptions, premium support contracts, on-site training, and consulting for enterprise customers running mission-critical installations worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Enterprise Content Management System (CMS) Software

NAICS

Software Publishers (513210), Custom Computer Programming Services (541511)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)

akta.pro primary industry

Enterprise Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Platforms (HDAEAKAJ)

Keywords

• Open source content management
• Enterprise CMS software
• Java XML CMS
• CMS enterprise extensions
• Professional CMS support

Headquarters

HQ city

Cologne

HQ country

Germany

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. OCEE Subscriptions: Annual subscription licenses for Alkacon OCEE enterprise extensions. Pricing tiers include versions with/without Premium Support. Base license covers cluster with up to 2 servers, with additional fees for additional cluster nodes.
2. Premium Support Subscription: 12-month recurring subscription providing unlimited support requests, 24-hour response time, and bug fix services for OpenCms core and OCEE components.
3. Incident-based Support: Prepaid packages of 10 support requests valid for 12 months. Email and telephone support available with 48-hour response commitment.
4. Training Services: On-site training delivered in German or English. Packages include Complete Training (5 days), Advanced API Training (3 days), Basic Template Training (3 days), and Individual Workshops.
5. Consulting Services: Individual consulting and development services for specialized OpenCms solutions, on-site team support, and full project development.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Alkacon Software develops, maintains, and commercially supports OpenCms, an open source Java/XML-based enterprise content management system, and sells Alkacon OCEE enterprise extensions (Accelerator, Cluster Manager, LDAP Connector, DB Replicator) on annual subscription licenses. The company also delivers on-site training courses, premium and incident-based support subscriptions, and individual consulting services to enterprise customers worldwide running OpenCms for mission-critical internet and intranet applications.

Product overview

Alkacon Software GmbH offers a portfolio of products and services centered around OpenCms, an open source Java/XML-based enterprise content management system. The core product is OpenCms, a browser-based CMS suitable for large internet and intranet applications. Enterprise capabilities are extended through Alkacon OCEE (OpenCms Enterprise Extension), an add-on package providing clustering, caching (Accelerator), database replication (DB Replicator), and LDAP/Active Directory integration (LDAP Connector). The company complements its software with professional services including Premium Support subscriptions (annual, with 24-hour response), Incident Support packages (10 requests), and Individual Consulting. Training services include the 5-day Complete Training, 3-day Basic Template Training, 3-day Advanced API Training, and custom Individual Workshops, all delivered on-site. OpenCms 21 (April 2026) added AI-powered translation features via OpenAI and DeepL APIs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Alkacon OCEE: Commercial extension product for OpenCms providing cluster support, database replication, LDAP connector, and Accelerator cache for mission-critical OpenCms installations.
• OpenCms

Products and services

• OpenCms Open source Java and XML-based enterprise website content management system with browser-based user interface, WYSIWYG editing, drag-and-drop content arrangement, XML-based structured content editor, multi-site management, integrated image scaling, SEO features, Apache Solr-powered full text search across PDF/MS Office/OpenOffice documents, JSP integration, modular extension system, time-warp preview for expired/not-yet-released content, Headless JSON API, and WebDAV/CMIS repository access. Suitable for large internet or intranet applications.
• Alkacon OCEE Enterprise Extension Package Commercial add-on package for OpenCms providing cluster support, Accelerator cache for database access and page delivery, LDAP/Active Directory directory integration, and optional database replication for MS SQL Server and DB2. Sold on annual subscription licensing with tiered pricing including optional Premium Support.
• Alkacon OpenCms Premium Support Annual subscription support service priced at 5,000 EUR for 12 months, providing 24-hour response time, unlimited email inquiries, bug fix services for OpenCms core and OCEE components, and telephone support for 2 named employees. Support delivered in German and English.
• Alkacon OpenCms Incident Support Request-based prepaid support package of 10 inquiries priced at 2,500 EUR, valid for 12 months from purchase date, with 48-hour response time. Email and telephone support available. Does not include bug fix services for OpenCms core.
• Alkacon OpenCms Individual Consulting Custom support agreements, on-site consulting, specialized OpenCms core extensions development, and full project development outsourcing. Consulting and development delivered by experienced OpenCms advisors working alongside customer development teams on-site worldwide.
• Alkacon OpenCms Complete Training Five-day on-site training course priced at 5,000 EUR plus travel costs and trainer expenses, covering OpenCms template and module creation as well as advanced OpenCms API development. Includes over 500 slides and example code. Maximum 8 participants per session. Delivered in German or English.
• Alkacon OpenCms Basic Template Training Three-day on-site training course for HTML/web designers with basic Java knowledge, covering OpenCms template development, JSP integration, and XML content creation. Delivered at customer location in German or English.
• Alkacon OpenCms Advanced API Training Three-day on-site training priced at 3,000 EUR plus travel costs for experienced Java web developers, covering advanced OpenCms API development, XML content programming, and multi-site management. Delivered at customer location in German or English.
• Alkacon OpenCms Individual Workshops Custom on-site workshops tailored to specific customer requirements at 1,000 EUR per day plus travel costs per staff member. Includes evaluation workshops, administrator training, and end-user training workshops.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

AI capability2 records

Feature6 records

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Automattic (WordPress): WordPress is the most widely deployed open-source CMS in the world, dominating long-tail and SMB website use cases. Comparable to OpenCms as an open-source CMS with a vendor providing commercial hosting/support extensions, though serving a much broader and lower-end market.
• Adobe (Adobe Experience Manager): Adobe Experience Manager is a large enterprise CMS within the Adobe Experience Cloud suite, targeting mission-critical digital experiences at global enterprises. Comparable to OpenCms as a high-end enterprise CMS serving mission-critical use cases, though a much larger incumbent with closed-source/SaaS delivery.
• Open Source Matters (Joomla): Joomla is a long-standing open-source CMS with an active community and third-party commercial extension/support ecosystem. Comparable to OpenCms as an open-source CMS with a community-driven core and parallel market for commercial support and extensions.
• Drupal Association (Acquia-backed Drupal ecosystem): Drupal is one of the largest open-source CMS communities globally, serving enterprise and government websites with a dual open-source/commercial ecosystem. Comparable to OpenCms as a community-driven open-source CMS with a third-party commercial support and extension market, though PHP-based versus OpenCms's Java stack.

Direct peers

• Jahia Solutions Group: Jahia provides a Java-based open-source digital experience platform combining CMS, portal, and personalization for enterprises. Closely comparable to OpenCms through shared Java heritage, open-source community edition with commercial extensions, and enterprise customer segment.
• TYPO3 GmbH: TYPO3 is a leading open-source CMS with strong enterprise and intranet orientation, similar in its dual open-source/core + commercial extension + support model. Comparable to Alkacon/OpenCms in target customers, open-source philosophy, and reliance on professional services and support revenue on top of a community-driven core.
• Magnolia International Ltd. Magnolia is a Java-based open-source CMS targeting mid-market and enterprise customers, with commercial extensions and vendor-led support. Directly comparable to OpenCms along Java tech stack, open-source/commercial hybrid go-to-market, and enterprise content management focus.
• Liferay Inc. Liferay offers a Java-based enterprise portal/CMS platform with a community edition and commercial subscription model. Comparable to OpenCms as a Java enterprise platform, open-source/community-led development, and commercial support/extension revenue structure.

Emerging players

• Contentful GmbH: Contentful is a leading headless CMS-as-a-service targeting digital teams at mid-market and enterprise customers. Comparable to OpenCms as an enterprise-focused CMS, but represents the modern composable/headless architecture that is displacing legacy open-source monoliths.
• Strapi (Strapi.io): Strapi is the leading open-source headless CMS built on Node.js, with a strong developer focus and growing commercial extensions. Comparable to OpenCms as an open-source CMS with a community-to-commercial extension model, but positioned in the modern headless/composable segment.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/alkacon/opencms-core
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/Alkacon
• Xx.com/alkaconopencms
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/alkacon-software-gmbh

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Alkacon Software GmbH