GFI
GFI (Gesellschaft für Informationstechnologie mbH) is a Leipzig-based German IT company that provides GIS software, online public participation portals, and consulting services to municipalities, county administrations, and environmental agencies across Central Germany.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1996
- HeadquartersLeipzig, Germany
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What GFI does
GFI (Gesellschaft für Informationstechnologie mbH) is a Leipzig-based German IT services and software company founded in 1996 that specializes in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), database solutions, and internet-based portal solutions for public administration. The company operates primarily in Central Germany (Mitteldeutschland) and serves municipalities, county administrations, environmental agencies, and other public authorities requiring spatial planning, environmental information, and online public participation tools. Andreas Richter serves as Managing Director (Geschäftsführer); the firm is privately held with no identified institutional investors or parent company.
The company's technology stack centers on commercial and open-source GIS platforms — ArcGIS and QGIS — augmented by proprietary productized tools including the TB+ Themenbrowser topic browser (shipped for both ArcGIS 10.6/10.7 and QGIS 2.18/3.10) and the AAA-NAS-Reader for processing NAS-standard geospatial data. The broader solution portfolio spans the XPlanung/XPlanWeb standardized planning portal, the Mapserververbund federated map server for shared geographic infrastructure, the Onlinebeteiligung public participation platform (with the Online-Konsultation module launched in 2020), and vertical workplace solutions such as N-GIS for nature conservation and STRAGIS for road and civil engineering offices. GFI holds official QGIS Bronze Sponsor status, reflecting active engagement with the open-source GIS community.
GFI generates revenue through a combination of productized software sales, recurring support and hosting contracts, and project-based consulting and training engagements. Distribution is sales-led and direct, targeting enterprise government clients in the German market. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; engagements appear to be quote-based. The company maintains a primary office at Philipp-Rosenthal-Straße 9 in Leipzig and a regional branch in Sachsen-Anhalt.
GFI firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- GFI
- Legal name
- Gesellschaft für Informationstechnologie mbH
- Website
- https://gfi-gis.de
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1996
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- GFI (Gesellschaft für Informationstechnologie mbH) is a Leipzig-based German IT company that provides GIS software, online public participation portals, and consulting services to municipalities, county administrations, and environmental agencies across Central Germany.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
GFI industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Software
- NAICS
- Custom Computer Programming Services (541511), Software Publishers (5132), Surveying and Mapping (except Geophysical) Services (541370)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming Services (7371), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)
- akta.pro industry
- GIS & Spatial Data Management PlatformsGeospatial Data Management & Enterprise GIS (Geodatabases, Web GIS, Spatial Analytics)Energy, Utilities & Environment/Environmental Compliance, Monitoring & Consulting/Environmental Data Management, Modeling & GIS/Remote Sensing
Keywords
Where GFI is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Leipzig
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
GFI business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Software Solutions and Products: Development and sale of GIS software solutions, topic browser tools (TB+), and data reader applications for ArcGIS and QGIS platforms
- Consulting and Training: Professional consulting services and training programs for GIS implementations and software usage
- Hosting Services: Web hosting services for online participation platforms and portal solutions
- Support and System Management: Ongoing technical support and system maintenance services
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels3 records
GFI product offering
Product offeringCore offering
GFI develops and sells GIS software products, including the TB+ Themenbrowser for ArcGIS and QGIS and the AAA-NAS-Reader for German geobasis data, alongside solutions such as Mapserververbund, GDI/X-Planung, and the Onlinebeteiligung online participation platform. The company also delivers application development, consulting, training, hosting, and ongoing support services targeted at German public administration and environmental agencies.
Product overview
GFI (Gesellschaft für Informationstechnologie mbH) is a software and solutions provider specializing in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), databases, and internet solutions. Founded in 1996 and based in Leipzig, Germany, GFI operates in the business fields of software development, consulting, and training. The company offers a portfolio of GIS software products including the Themenbrowser (TB+) desktop applications for ArcGIS and QGIS platforms, the AAA-NAS-Reader for NAS data format interoperability, and various specialized workplace solutions (N-GIS for nature conservation, STRAGIS for road engineering). Beyond products, GFI provides integration services such as Mapserververbund (map server federation), Onlinebeteiligung (online participation platforms), GDI/X-Planung (spatial planning data infrastructure), and GIS interoperability services, complemented by consulting, training, application development, hosting, and support services.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Companies that use GFI
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
GFI technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
Feature5 records
GFI partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators1 record
Recent moves3 records
Expansion highlights3 records
GFI competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Hexagon Geospatial: Global broad-line geospatial platform vendor (Power Portfolio, ERDAS, Luciad). Competes with GFI indirectly as an alternative enterprise GIS stack for public-sector and infrastructure clients in Germany.
- Esri Deutschland: The German arm of the global GIS market leader. Competes with GFI in municipal and environmental GIS deployments across Germany, but operates at far greater scale with a full ArcGIS platform versus GFI's specialized XPlanung and portal add-ons.
Direct peers
- RIPS Software GmbH: German vendor of geospatial database technology (Spatial Workshop) used by cadastre and public administration. Comparable niche specialization in GIS data management for German government clients.
- KISTERS AG: German environmental and water-resource IT vendor offering GIS-integrated information systems (WISKI, Wasserblick). Comparable to GFI's environmental information system and water-resource (Wasserbuch) digital map offerings.
- AED-SICAD GmbH: German vendor of GIS solutions for utilities, cadastre, and public administration based on ArcGIS. Competes with GFI in the same utility/municipality segment and integrates with the same Esri platform GFI's TB+ for ArcGIS targets.
- WhereGroup GmbH: German open-source GIS specialist with deep QGIS, GeoServer, and PostGIS expertise. Direct peer to GFI on the open-source GIS side, including German public administration deployments, XPlanung work, and QGIS ecosystem contributions.
- con terra GmbH: German geospatial specialist focused on SDI/INSPIRE, INSPIRE-compliant spatial data infrastructure, and municipal GIS interoperability — directly comparable to GFI's Mapserververbund and GDI/X-Planung offerings and German public-sector customer base.
- Disy Informationssysteme GmbH: German specialist in GIS-based reporting, environmental information systems, and Cadenza analytics platform. Overlaps with GFI's environmental agency segment (Naturschutz, Umweltinformationssysteme) and similarly targets German public administration.
Others
- Safe Software (FME): Provider of FME, the leading spatial data integration/transformation platform. Comparable to GFI's GIS-Interoperability and AAA-NAS-Reader offerings as enabling technology for German geodata exchange.
Regional players
- IB&T GmbH (card_1 / Galileo): German vendor of software for road, rail, and infrastructure planning with GIS integration. Adjacent to GFI's STRAGIS (Straßen- und Tiefbauamt) workplace solution, though more focused on infrastructure linear referencing than environmental planning.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
GFI social profiles
Digital presenceGFI financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
GFI leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
GFI funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
GFI 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 GFI
What does GFI do?
GFI develops and sells GIS software products, including the TB+ Themenbrowser for ArcGIS and QGIS and the AAA-NAS-Reader for German geobasis data, alongside solutions such as Mapserververbund, GDI/X-Planung, and the Onlinebeteiligung online participation platform. The company also delivers application development, consulting, training, hosting, and ongoing support services targeted at German public administration and environmental agencies.
Is GFI a public or private company?
GFI is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was GFI founded?
GFI was founded in 1996. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is GFI based?
GFI is headquartered in Leipzig, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does GFI make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Software Solutions and Products are the primary driver. The others are consulting and Training, hosting Services and support and System Management.
Who are GFI's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Hexagon Geospatial and Esri Deutschland. Direct peers are RIPS Software GmbH, KISTERS AG, AED-SICAD GmbH, WhereGroup GmbH, con terra GmbH and Disy Informationssysteme GmbH. Safe Software (FME) is listed as an others. IB&T GmbH (card_1 / Galileo) is listed as a regional player.
Does GFI have an API?
No public API is recorded for GFI.
What industry is GFI in?
GFI's product category is Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAMANAK, GIS & Spatial Data Management Platforms, with a secondary code of EUAHAKAC, Geospatial Data Management & Enterprise GIS (Geodatabases, Web GIS, Spatial Analytics). Its NAICS code is 541511 and its SIC code is 7371.