Taplaworld

What Taplaworld does

Talpaworld GmbH is a privately held German SaaS provider headquartered in Cologne that hosts and manages open-source business applications for small and medium-sized organizations, educational institutions, and entities requiring GDPR-compliant cloud infrastructure. The company was incorporated in April 2026 through the restructuring of Herrenbrück-Kohler-GbR, a partnership founded approximately in 2001, and is led by sole managing director Folkert Herrenbrück following the retirement of co-founder Stephan Kohler.

The product portfolio centers on managed instances of leading open-source platforms: Nextcloud for cloud file storage and collaboration, BigBlueButton for web-based video conferencing (optimized for eLearning with capacity for 120–200 concurrent participants on dedicated physical servers), Keycloak for identity and access management via OpenID Connect and SAML, and ERPNext for business management including accounting, CRM, HRM, POS, and project management modules. Complementary offerings include Mailu for email hosting, Collabora Online for browser-based office document editing, Relution for mobile device management, and Shopware and WordPress for e-commerce and content management. All services run on Kubernetes clusters hosted in EU data centers (Germany and Finland) with NVMe SSD storage and nightly backups. The collaboration suite is marketed under the "Collox" sub-brand.

Talpaworld operates a recurring subscription-based SaaS model with monthly pricing tiers ranging from approximately €18/month for entry-level Keycloak services to €105/month for BigBlueButton servers, augmented by configurable infrastructure add-ons including storage capacity (10GB to 50TB) and performance tiers. The company combines a self-service e-commerce webshop (shop.talpaworld.de) for direct subscription purchases with email and phone-based consultation for customized enterprise requirements. Customers are concentrated in Germany with EU-wide data residency, and the core value proposition is data sovereignty and open-source vendor independence versus US-based proprietary cloud providers.

Name

Taplaworld

Legal name

Talpaworld GmbH

Website

https://talpaworld.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Talpaworld GmbH is a German SaaS provider offering managed open-source cloud applications including Nextcloud, BigBlueButton, Keycloak, and ERPNext. The company serves SMBs, educational institutions, and GDPR-conscious organizations through EU-hosted Kubernetes infrastructure.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Managed Cloud Hosting Services

NAICS

Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518210)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYHDABAAAB

Managed Container Platforms (Kubernetes & Container PaaS)

Hardware, Technology & Telecom/Cloud & Data Center Infrastructure/Public Cloud Infrastructure (IaaS/PaaS)

SECONDARYHDABABAC

Kubernetes & Container Platform Management (Private Cloud)

Hardware, Technology & Telecom/Cloud & Data Center Infrastructure/Private Cloud & Cloud Management Platforms

SECONDARYBPAEAGAO

Enterprise Application License Advisory, Vendor Management & Optimization

Business & Public Services/IT & Digital Services (Managed Services, Systems Integration)/Enterprise Applications Services (ERP/CRM/HRIS)

Keywords

• Managed cloud hosting
• Open source SaaS
• Video conferencing servers
• Cloud collaboration platform
• Identity management SSO

Headquarters

HQ city

Köln

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. SaaS Subscription (Hosting & Managed Services): Recurring subscription-based revenue from hosting and managed services including Nextcloud, BigBlueButton, Keycloak, ERPNext, Collabora Online, Shopware, WordPress, Mailu, and Relution MDM. Customers pay monthly, semi-annually, or annually depending on the product and billing method selected.
2. Scalable Infrastructure Add-ons: Additional revenue from configurable add-ons including storage capacity (RAID5 from 10GB to 50TB), performance tiers (S to XL for concurrent users), Collabora Online integration, Whiteboard backend, and domain configurations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Talpaworld GmbH provides managed, GDPR-compliant hosting of open-source business applications on Kubernetes clusters located in EU data centers in Germany and Finland. The core portfolio includes Nextcloud (cloud storage and collaboration), BigBlueButton (video conferencing), Keycloak (identity management and SSO), ERPNext (ERP/CRM), Mailu (mail server), Relution (mobile device management), Shopware (e-commerce), and WordPress (CMS). Customers subscribe on a recurring basis with optional add-ons for storage, performance, and additional modules.

Product overview

Talpaworld GmbH is a German SaaS provider offering hosted software solutions through a unified platform architecture. The company provides a portfolio of open-source applications including BigBlueButton (video conferencing), Nextcloud (cloud storage and collaboration), Keycloak (identity management), and ERPNext (business management). The Collox sub-brand bundles collaborative applications together. Services are deployed in Kubernetes clusters with data centers in Germany and Finland. Talpaworld specializes in providing GDPR-compliant alternatives to proprietary cloud services, emphasizing data sovereignty and open-source software independence.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Collox: Brand of Talpaworld for a group of applications enabling collaborative work 'in the Cloud' - location-independent and on practically any operating system. Applications include Nextcloud, Collabora, Whiteboard, Peertube, and Keycloak. Data sovereignty and open-source software are central to the brand promise.

Products and services

• Nextcloud Managed Nextcloud instance for organizations seeking EU-hosted cloud file storage and collaboration, with unlimited user accounts, nightly backups, GDPR compliance, and optional Collabora Online document editing integration.
• BBB BigBlueButton Server Web-based WebRTC video conferencing server optimized for eLearning, delivered as a managed dedicated physical server with browser-based access, external API for LMS integration (e.g., Moodle), and EU data residency.
• Keycloak Server Managed Keycloak identity and access management (IdM) server providing centralized user management and Single Sign-On via OpenID Connect and SAML for organizations seeking EU-hosted, GDPR-compliant SSO.
• ERPNext Managed ERPNext ERP/CRM platform providing integrated business management modules (accounting, CRM, HRM, POS, project management, purchasing, sales, warehouse) hosted on EU Kubernetes infrastructure.
• Mailu Mail Server Managed open-source email server solution with IMAP, SMTP, web access, spam and virus protection, DKIM signing, and encrypted TLS/DANE/MTA-STS transport for organizations requiring sovereign EU-hosted email.
• Relution Mobile Device Management Managed open-source mobile device management (MDM) server by Relution GmbH supporting cross-platform management of stationary and mobile devices (Apple, Windows, Android, ChromeOS, Linux).

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Hetzner Online GmbHcoreTechnology or IntegrationHetzner provides web hosting services for Talpaworld's web offerings. They have a data processing agreement (AVV) with Talpaworld. Located in Gunzenhausen, Germany (Industriestr. 25, 91710). Talpaworld uses Hetzner as their hosting infrastructure provider.
• Frappé Technologies Pvt. Ltd.coreTechnology or IntegrationProvider of ERPNext software that Talpaworld hosts and offers as a managed service. ERPNext includes modules for Accounting, CRM, HRM, Production, POS, Project Management, Purchasing, Sales, and Warehouse Management.
• Nextcloud GmbHcoreTechnology or IntegrationProvider of Nextcloud open-source cloud platform. Talpaworld hosts Nextcloud instances as a managed SaaS service with unlimited accounts, GDPR compliance, and nightly backups.
• Collabora Online (CodeWeavers)coreTechnology or IntegrationCollabora Online provides the online office suite for document editing (text, spreadsheets, presentations, drawings) integrated into Talpaworld's Nextcloud offering. Compatible with MS Office formats.
• BigBlueButtoncoreTechnology or IntegrationOpen-source web conferencing system (WebRTC) optimized for eLearning. Talpaworld offers dedicated managed servers with capacity for 120-200 concurrent participants. No app required - runs in browser.
• Keycloak (Red Hat)coreTechnology or IntegrationOpen-source identity and access management solution. Talpaworld offers managed Keycloak servers for centralized user management via OIDC and SAML, with LDAP/AD integration support.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Hetzner Online GmbH: Hetzner is Talpaworld's underlying infrastructure partner and Germany's largest independent cloud/hosting provider. It offers managed servers, cloud hosting, and increasingly managed Kubernetes that directly overlaps with Talpaworld's Kubernetes-as-a-service offering, but at materially greater scale and price competitiveness.
• Open-Xchange GmbH: Open-Xchange is a German provider of white-label email, collaboration, and productivity software sold through ISPs and telcos. It overlaps with Talpaworld's Mailu-based mail and Nextcloud/Collabora productivity bundles at the carrier/telecom channel level.
• IONOS (1&1 IONOS): IONOS is a leading European cloud and hosting incumbent serving SMBs with shared hosting, managed servers, and cloud infrastructure. It competes head-on with Talpaworld's Nextcloud-style file hosting and managed-server offerings and has substantially greater geographic reach across the EU.
• STRATO GmbH: STRATO is a major German hosting provider serving SMBs and consumers with shared hosting, managed servers, and HiDrive cloud storage. It overlaps with Talpaworld's SMB-focused web hosting and storage offerings at a substantially larger scale.

Emerging players

• OpenSource Services Erdmann & Freunde: A smaller German managed-services provider specializing in open-source enterprise stacks (Nextcloud, ownCloud, OX App Suite, Groupware). It targets the same regulated, data-sovereign buyer segment as Talpaworld at a smaller scale.

Direct peers

• dogado GmbH: dogado is a German managed cloud and hosting provider offering Nextcloud, Exchange alternatives, and managed servers with EU data residency. It directly competes with Talpaworld on GDPR-compliant SMB cloud services.
• plusserver (PlusServer GmbH): plusserver is a German managed cloud provider offering managed Kubernetes, enterprise hosting, and managed open-source applications (Nextcloud, GitLab) with EU data residency. It is one of the closest direct competitors to Talpaworld's managed Kubernetes and open-source SaaS portfolio.
• Netways GmbH: Netways is a German managed-services and open-source integrator offering managed hosting, monitoring, and consulting around open-source stacks (Nextcloud, GitLab, Kubernetes). It directly competes for the same GDPR-sensitive, open-source-leaning SMB and public-sector buyer that Talpaworld targets.
• Mailbox.org (Heinlein Hosting GmbH): Mailbox.org, operated by Heinlein Hosting, is a German privacy-focused email and collaboration suite provider with EU-only data residency. It directly competes with Talpaworld's Mailu and Nextcloud-based secure email/collaboration offerings for the same DACH privacy-conscious SMB and public-sector customers.

Others

• Nextcloud GmbH: Nextcloud is both a Talpaworld partner and an adjacent competitor: while Talpaworld hosts Nextcloud as managed SaaS, Nextcloud itself sells enterprise subscriptions and offers its own 'Nextcloud Hub' deployments that compete for the same GDPR-conscious buyers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/talpaworld

Compliance2 records

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 Taplaworld