What Newthinking communications does

Newthinking Communications is a Berlin-based private limited company (newthinking communications GmbH) founded in 2003 by Markus Beckedahl and Andreas Gebhard to promote Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) and provide non-technical access to it. The company operated across three integrated service lines: (1) Web Development Services using open source CMS frameworks, primarily Drupal and Typo3, with a proprietary multi-domain Drupal 8+ conference management platform and the GCMS (Grünes CMS), a Typo3-based content management system tailored for German Green Party organizations; (2) Event Organization and Curation, including flagship owned and co-organized conferences — re:publica (50% owned via re:publica GmbH, founded 2011), Berlin Buzzwords, FOSS Backstage, Torstraßenfestival, and contracted events such as droidcon Berlin and Codemotion Berlin; and (3) Communication and Community Management covering press accreditation, social media, newsletter, and on-site event communications. The business model is project-based professional services for NGOs, political organizations, government-adjacent bodies, and technology/open source sponsors, with no disclosed pricing and multi-year contracts negotiated per engagement. Customers included Bündnis 90/Die Grünen (Berlin and Hannover), netzpolitik.org, GIZ, Oxfam Germany, Germanwatch, Fraunhofer ISI, Apache Software Foundation, Zalando, Bloomberg, and dataArtisans, with concentration on Berlin/Germany and DACH civil society. After a leadership transition in 2014 and a peak of around 30 full-time employees, the company ceased operative business around 2019, transferring client websites to other providers and spinning out the events division as Plain Schwarz UG in 2020; by spring 2021, the company retained no employees, was reduced to its two original founders as sole shareholders, and was described by its founders as 'sleeping', while still holding its 50% stake in re:publica GmbH.

Name

Newthinking communications

Legal name

newthinking communications GmbH

Website

https://newthinking.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Newthinking Communications is a Berlin-based FOSS-focused firm offering open source web development (Drupal/Typo3), end-to-end event organization (re:publica, Berlin Buzzwords, FOSS Backstage), and communications/community management to NGOs, political organizations, government bodies, and tech companies; the company ceased operations around 2019 and is now dormant.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Event Management and Open-Source Web Development Services

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Blogging & CMS Content Platforms (BPAMAJAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Digital Newsroom/CMS Platforms for Publishers (MPACAIAH)

Keywords

• Open source web development
• Event management services
• Conference organization
• Drupal CMS development
• Community management

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Web Development Services: Custom web solutions for clients built on open source CMS platforms (Drupal, Typo3), including website relaunches, multi-domain systems, portals, and extranets. Service includes hosting and ongoing support.
2. Event Management and Organization: End-to-end event services: conception, curation, production, speaker and volunteer management, press and communications, social media, and on-site execution for conferences, festivals, workshops, and barcamps. Also includes program curation and conference system management.
3. Communication and Community Management: Event communication, community management, press releases, social media, newsletter management, and press accreditation services for events.
4. Conference System Licensing/Hosting: The company's proprietary Drupal-based conference management system is used by re:publica and other events. Hosting and platform management services are provided alongside.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Newthinking Communications delivers three integrated services: (1) custom web development on Free and Open Source CMS platforms (Drupal, Typo3), (2) end-to-end event organization and curation for conferences and festivals, and (3) communication and community management for digital society, open source, and political-organization clients. The firm also maintains two proprietary platforms: a Drupal-based Conference Management System and the Typo3-based GCMS (Grünes CMS) tailored to political organizations.

Product overview

Newthinking Communications is a Berlin-based company founded in 2003 by Markus Beckedahl and Andreas Gebhard that operates in three core areas: Event Organization & Curation (organizing conferences and festivals), Web Development Services (building websites using Drupal and Typo3), and Communication & Community Management. The company developed a Conference Management System built on Drupal 8+ for managing event operations including call for papers, speaker management, and scheduling. They also maintain GCMS (Grünes CMS), a Typo3-based CMS customized for political organizations. Their notable owned and co-organized events include Berlin Buzzwords (Big Data/Open Source conference), re:publica (digital society conference, 50% ownership), and Torstraßen Festival (music festival). The company ceased operational activities around 2019-2020, with operations transferred to partner organizations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Web Development Services Custom, tailor-made web solutions built on Free and Open Source Software (FOSS), specializing in the Drupal and Typo3 CMS frameworks. Services include consulting, design, development, hosting, and ongoing support for content management systems, participatory web platforms, and customized editing systems, for NGOs, political parties, and event organizers.
• Event Organization & Curation End-to-end conception, curation, and organization of conferences, workshops, camps, and meetings, including sponsor acquisition, speaker management, volunteer management, location scouting, marketing and PR, social media, event production, and comprehensive documentation. Used by event organizers across tech, open source, and culture.
• Communication & Community Management Event communication and community management services across digital channels, including website editing, newsletters, press releases, social media management, and press accreditation handling. Provided to NGOs, conferences, and open-source communities.
• Conference Management System A proprietary Drupal 8+ multi-domain conference management platform used by re:publica and other events. Features include pre-configured content types, user roles and permissions, drag-and-drop program scheduling, call-for-papers management, speaker and attendee dashboards, volunteer management, press accreditation, and partner management, supporting multi-domain, multi-event operations.
• GCMS (Grünes CMS) A proprietary Typo3-based multi-domain content management system customized for political organizations, particularly German Green Party organizations such as Bündnis 90/Die Grünen Berlin and Hannover. Features include consistent media management, responsive design, scalable image handling, dynamic page creation, and integrated newsletter capabilities, with a shared media pool and centralized editorial support across multi-chapter deployments.

Quantifiable outcome

• Managed press accreditation for over 800 journalists at re:publica
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers18 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered minor, core and major.

• Plain Schwarz UGminorOthers · 1 January 2016The former event division of newthinking continued as Plain Schwarz UG (founded 2020), which continues to run events in the open source space, including Berlin Buzzwords.
• re:publica GmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Newthinking communications GmbH holds a 50% stake in the re:publica GmbH, which organizes the re:publica conference — Europe's largest internet and digital society conference. Newthinking is a co-initiator of re:publica and supports the company in planning, organization, and execution.
• netzpolitik.org e.V.majorStrategic or Co-development Partnernetzpolitik.org, the central platform for digital civil rights debate in German-speaking countries, was co-founded by newthinking founder Markus Beckedahl. Until 2016, the platform ran legally through newthinking. The organization is now independently operated by the netzpolitik.org e.V.
• Creative Commons DeutschlandmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCreative Commons Deutschland (CC Germany) was co-founded by newthinking and remains one of its key projects, promoting free and open licensing of creative works.
• dataArtisanscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerdataArtisans (originators of Apache Flink) partnered with newthinking as co-initiator of the Flink Forward conference, with newthinking providing event production and organizational support.
• Mobile Seasons GmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNewthinking served as local organizer for droidcon Berlin in partnership with Mobile Seasons GmbH for multiple years (2015-2017), handling project management, program curation, sponsorship, production, press, and social media.
• CodemotionmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerNewthinking organized the Codemotion Berlin conference, bringing the Italian-origin developer conference series to Berlin. Newthinking managed the Berlin edition of Codemotion in 2015 and 2017, handling all event operations and program curation.
• media:net Berlin Brandenburg e.V.minorGTM or Marketing PartnerNewthinking supported the Investors' Dinner matchmaking event organized by media:net Berlin Brandenburg, contributing as a cooperation partner for startup and investor networking events.
• Berlin PartnerminorGTM or Marketing PartnerBerlin Partner served as an event partner for tech conferences organized by newthinking, including droidcon Berlin and Berlin Buzzwords, contributing to the Berlin tech ecosystem.
• Apache Software FoundationcoreTechnology or IntegrationNewthinking organized Berlin Buzzwords in collaboration with the Berlin Buzzwords Program Committee, which includes members of the Apache Software Foundation (including founders Isabel Drost-Fromm, Jan Lehnardt, and Simon Willnauer), focusing on Apache open source big data projects.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• team neusta GmbH: Bremen-based digital agency providing web development, e-commerce, and digital communications services. Comparable as a German full-service digital agency with similar CMS and open-source capabilities serving enterprise and public-sector clients.
• Mayflower GmbH: German web development agency specializing in PHP-based platforms including TYPO3 and Drupal. Comparable to newthinking as a long-standing German open-source CMS development firm with similar technology stack and enterprise customer focus.
• dkd Internet Service GmbH: Frankfurt-based digital agency with deep Drupal, Contentful, and TYPO3 expertise. Directly comparable as a CMS-centric web development services firm in the German market with similar technical specialization to newthinking.
• neofonie GmbH: Berlin-based digital agency offering web development, content management, and digital communications services. Comparable as a fellow Berlin-headquartered CMS-focused agency serving enterprise and public-sector clients.
• //SEIBERT MEDIA GmbH: German digital agency specializing in open source CMS platforms including Drupal and Typo3, plus Atlassian tools. Comparable to newthinking as a German open-source-focused web development agency serving enterprise and mid-market clients.
• Plain Schwarz UG: Spin-off founded in 2020 that took over newthinking's event department and continues to run flagship open source events such as Berlin Buzzwords. Most directly comparable as it carries forward newthinking's exact event-organizing capabilities and customer base.

Others

• Open Knowledge Foundation Germany: Berlin-based nonprofit advocating for open data, open government, and FOSS principles. Comparable as a fellow German digital society / FOSS ecosystem organization with which newthinking shared community networks and events.
• iRights.Law GmbH: Berlin-based law firm specializing in digital rights, internet law, and FOSS-related legal issues. Comparable as a fellow German digital-rights ecosystem participant connected through newthinking founder Markus Beckedahl's network and netzpolitik.org community.
• Wikimedia Deutschland e.V. German chapter of the Wikimedia Foundation, promoting free knowledge and open licensing. Comparable as a fellow Berlin-based organization in the German FOSS and digital society ecosystem with overlapping community networks.

Broad incumbents

• T-Systems Multimedia Solutions GmbH: Large German digital services provider (subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom) offering CMS-based web development, digital communications, and event-related services to enterprise and government clients. Comparable as a much larger incumbent serving similar German market segments with overlapping capabilities.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/newthinking
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/newthinkingberlin
• Facebookfacebook.com/newthinking.de
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/newthinking-communications-gmbh

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries1 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 Newthinking communications