OTRS
OTRS AG is a German vendor of a modular service management platform spanning ITSM, customer service/help desk, enterprise service management, and cyber defense (STORM), sold to mid-market and public-sector organizations via SaaS, on-premise licenses, and professional services.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersOberursel, Germany
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What OTRS does
OTRS AG is a German software company headquartered in Oberursel that develops and sells a modular service management platform serving IT service management (ITSM), customer service/help desk, enterprise service management (HR, office operations), and corporate security/cyber defense use cases. The horizontally positioned platform is built around a configurable ticketing and workflow engine offering ITIL-aligned process management, a CMDB, business process management (BPMS), knowledge management, and time tracking. It is delivered as either a fully managed SaaS environment (hosted on Hetzner, OVH, and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure under ISO 27001 / BSI C5 controls) or as an on-premise deployment, with a free open-source ((OTRS)) Community Edition serving as an evaluation and top-of-funnel entry point. Named customers are predominantly German mid-market and public-sector organizations (LaSuB, SIEVERS-GROUP, ecotel, DLRG, Avendoo) running ticket volumes of roughly 1,100–7,000 per month across 7–218 agents.
The company monetizes through three streams: recurring subscription revenue for managed SaaS, one-time/perpetual on-premise licenses, and professional services (consulting, implementation, and training via OTRS Consulting and OTRS Academy). Pricing is quote-based and undisclosed, billed annually for SaaS and on multi-year contracts for on-premise. Go-to-market is primarily sales-led enterprise field sales supplemented by a global channel-partner network (with a Partner Locator and partner training) and self-serve free trials plus the Community Edition download. Recent product surface additions include STORM (cyber defense/SOC operations) and OTRS Pulse AI, an add-on delivering ticket summarization, AI-assisted routing, and knowledge retrieval.
OTRS AG is privately held and operates as a German Aktiengesellschaft with a two-tier governance structure: a Management Board and a Supervisory Board chaired by Patrice Barbedette. Source data is internally inconsistent on leadership (variously naming Andre Mindermann as CEO/co-founder and Muriel Gellf as Chairwoman of the Management Board) and on founding date (2003 origin vs. 2018 AG registration). The company maintains offices in Germany and Cupertino, California, localized sites across seven European and Latin American languages, and multi-jurisdiction data-protection compliance (GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, LGPD, PDPA).
OTRS firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- OTRS
- Legal name
- OTRS AG
- Website
- https://otrs.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- OTRS AG is a German vendor of a modular service management platform spanning ITSM, customer service/help desk, enterprise service management, and cyber defense (STORM), sold to mid-market and public-sector organizations via SaaS, on-premise licenses, and professional services.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where OTRS is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Oberursel
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
OTRS business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- OTRS SaaS / Managed Service: Subscription-based fully managed SaaS deployment of the OTRS platform. Includes hosting, maintenance, security updates, and support. Customers can choose between managed cloud environment or on-premise installation.
- On-Premise License: Traditional on-premise license model for organizations preferring to host OTRS internally. Requires customer to manage infrastructure, updates, and security.
- Professional Services: Consulting, implementation, and training services through OTRS Consulting and OTRS Academy.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Fully Managed SaaS - Subscription-based cloud deployment with full support |
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | On-Premise - Self-hosted license for internal deployment |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
OTRS product offering
Product offeringCore offering
OTRS is a flexible and customizable service management platform that provides ticketing, workflow automation, business process management, and security incident management capabilities. It is available as fully-managed SaaS, on-premise license, or free ((OTRS)) Community Edition, and addresses ITSM, customer service, corporate security, and enterprise service management use cases.
Product overview
OTRS offers a modular service management platform comprising the core OTRS software alongside purpose-built solution modules and add-on capabilities. The core OTRS platform provides ticketing, workflow automation, and process management, which is available as both a commercial managed solution and a free ((OTRS)) Community Edition. Purpose-built solutions apply this system to specific use cases: Help Desk and Customer Service & Support for support organizations, IT Service Management (ITSM) for IT departments, Office Management and HR Management for enterprise service management, and Cyber Defense – STORM for security operations. Add-on modules including Remote IT Support, Observability, and Artificial Intelligence (OTRS Pulse AI) extend core functionality with specialized capabilities. The platform supports both on-premise deployment and fully-managed SaaS operation.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- OTRS: The core flexible and customizable service management platform for IT Service Management, customer service, and enterprise service management.
- ((OTRS)) Community Edition
- OTRS Pulse AI
- STORM
Products and services
- OTRS (Service Management Platform) Flexible and customizable service management platform providing ticketing, workflow automation, and process management for IT service management, customer service, and corporate security operations. Available as a commercial managed SaaS or on-premise license for organizations of any size.
- ((OTRS)) Community Edition Free, open-source version of the OTRS platform providing core service management functionality. Community-supported with no commercial SLA or managed hosting included, intended for evaluation and small-scale use.
- Help Desk Purpose-built help desk solution keeping service at the center, enabling teams to manage inbound requests, track issues, and deliver timely customer support.
- Customer Service & Support Comprehensive customer service and support solution designed to ignite customer connections through multi-channel ticket management and automated workflows.
- IT Service Management (ITSM) ITSM solution delivering ITIL-aligned processes for IT organizations, enabling better IT landscape management with standardized workflows and incident, problem, and change management.
- Office Management Enterprise Service Management module extending service management best practices beyond IT to office operations, keeping organizational processes in motion.
- HR Management Human resources service management solution supporting HR processes such as leave management and employee onboarding, keeping the organization alive through automated HR workflows.
- Cyber Defense – STORM Security operations and cyber defense solution (STORM) providing tools for vulnerability management, security incident response, and SOC operations to defend the digital enterprise.
- Remote IT Support Remote support capabilities enabling IT teams to provide assistance and troubleshooting to end-users without physical presence, part of the OTRS software solutions portfolio.
- Observability IT observability module providing monitoring and visibility into IT infrastructure, services, and applications to support proactive management and incident detection.
- Artificial Intelligence (OTRS Pulse AI) AI-powered capabilities including ticket summarization, intelligent routing, and knowledge retrieval to enhance service management efficiency and reduce agent workload.
Quantifiable outcome
- Significant time savings reported by LaSuB (State Office for School and Education) compared to pre-OTRS ticketing system
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use OTRS
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
OTRS technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability4 records
Feature8 records
OTRS partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- OTRS Partner NetworkcoreGlobal network of local partners providing implementation, customization, consulting, and support services for OTRS deployments. Partners are trained through OTRS Academy and can be located via the Partner Locator tool on the website.
Scale indicators1 record
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
OTRS competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- BMC Helix ITSM: BMC Helix is an established enterprise ITSM and digital service management suite, competing with OTRS in large enterprise ITIL-aligned deployments and increasingly in multi-cloud ITSM.
- ServiceNow: ServiceNow is the dominant cloud-native ITSM, ESM, and workflow platform, competing head-on with OTRS in incident, problem, change, and customer service management while extending into security operations, HR, and custom workflows.
Direct peers
- Ivanti (Ivanti Neurons for ITSM / HEAT): Ivanti offers enterprise ITSM, IT asset management, and service desk software that directly competes with OTRS in mid-market and enterprise ITSM deployments.
- Atlassian (Jira Service Management): Atlassian's Jira Service Management is a leading ITSM and service desk solution targeting IT and business teams, directly competing with OTRS on ticketing, asset management, and DevOps-aligned service workflows.
- TOPdesk: TOPdesk is a European-based ITSM and service management vendor with comparable size and customer base to OTRS, often competing in DACH public sector and education markets alongside OTRS.
- Freshworks (Freshservice): Freshservice is Freshworks' cloud-native ITSM and IT asset management product aimed at mid-market and enterprise customers, directly overlapping OTRS's ITSM and help desk offerings.
- Zendesk: Zendesk is a leading customer service and support ticketing platform; its employee service/customer service suite overlaps directly with OTRS's Customer Service & Support and HR Management modules.
- SysAid: SysAid provides ITSM and service desk software with both cloud and on-premise options, directly competing with OTRS in mid-market ITSM and increasingly in AI-augmented service management.
- ManageEngine (Zoho): ManageEngine offers ServiceDesk Plus, a direct on-premise and cloud ITSM competitor to OTRS, particularly strong in mid-market and SMB deployments with ITIL-aligned features.
- SolarWinds Service Desk: SolarWinds Service Desk (formerly Samanage) is an ITSM and asset management platform aimed at mid-market customers, overlapping directly with OTRS's ITSM and CMDB use cases.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
OTRS social profiles
Digital presenceOTRS compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance5 records
OTRS financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
OTRS leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
OTRS funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
OTRS 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 OTRS
What does OTRS do?
OTRS is a flexible and customizable service management platform that provides ticketing, workflow automation, business process management, and security incident management capabilities. It is available as fully-managed SaaS, on-premise license, or free ((OTRS)) Community Edition, and addresses ITSM, customer service, corporate security, and enterprise service management use cases.
Is OTRS a public or private company?
OTRS is a private company. It is classified as public and is currently operating.
When was OTRS founded?
OTRS was founded in 2018. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is OTRS based?
OTRS is headquartered in Oberursel, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does OTRS make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. OTRS SaaS / Managed Service is the primary driver. The others are on-Premise License and professional Services.
Who are OTRS's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are BMC Helix ITSM and ServiceNow. Direct peers are Ivanti (Ivanti Neurons for ITSM / HEAT), Atlassian (Jira Service Management), TOPdesk, Freshworks (Freshservice), Zendesk, SysAid, ManageEngine (Zoho) and SolarWinds Service Desk.
Does OTRS have an API?
Yes. OTRS provides an API-based environment that enables customers to build custom integrations and extend platform functionality. Specific API endpoint documentation, REST/GraphQL type, authentication methods, rate limits, and versioning details are not explicitly stated in the provided source content. The OTRS customer portal at portal.otrs.com provides access to data processing documents and configuration. Developer documentation is at portal.otrs.com.