Adesso
Adesso SE is a publicly listed German IT services company that provides consulting and custom software development to enterprise clients, supplemented by proprietary branch-specific software products, with FY2025 revenue of €1.47 billion and over 11,300 employees across Germany, Europe, and Asia.
- Company typePublic
- Founded1997
- HeadquartersDortmund, Germany
- Headcount5,001–10,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Adesso does
Adesso SE is a publicly listed German IT services company headquartered in Dortmund and traded on the German stock exchange under ticker ADN1. Founded in 1997, the company provides IT consulting and custom software development to enterprise clients, optimizing their core business processes through advisory services and bespoke technology solutions. Adesso combines project-based consulting engagements with the development of proprietary, branch-specific software products for more standardized use cases, positioning its product portfolio as an additional growth and earnings lever layered on top of its core services business.
The company operates from its own locations in Germany, additional European countries, and first locations in Asia, while also delivering work at numerous customer sites. Adesso served enterprise clients with a workforce of over 11,300 employees and reported FY2025 revenue of €1.47 billion, with Q1 2026 revenue of €398.1 million representing 13% year-over-year growth and EBITDA of €27.0 million significantly above the prior year. Its go-to-market is direct enterprise field sales, with pricing typically negotiated on a per-project or retainer basis rather than published rate cards.
Adesso is governed under a dual board structure with a five-member Executive Board chaired by Mark Lohweber and a Supervisory Board chaired by Prof. Dr. Volker Gruhn. Major shareholders include Prof. Dr. Volker Gruhn via Setanta GmbH (27.4%), Rainer Rudolf via RDF Familienstiftung (16.2%), Ludwig Fresenius (6.7%), and Janus Henderson Investors UK Limited (3.02%). The company converted from adesso AG to adesso SE in 2021 and maintains an institutionalized investor relations program, including quarterly earnings calls in English, a financial calendar, and an annual shareholders' meeting.
Adesso firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Adesso
- Legal name
- adesso SE
- Website
- https://adesso-group.de
- Company type
- Public
- Founded year
- 1997
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 5,001–10,000 employees
- Short description
- Adesso SE is a publicly listed German IT services company that provides consulting and custom software development to enterprise clients, supplemented by proprietary branch-specific software products, with FY2025 revenue of €1.47 billion and over 11,300 employees across Germany, Europe, and Asia.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Adesso industry classification
Industry- Product category
- IT Services and Consulting
- NAICS
- Custom Computer Programming Services (541511), Computer Systems Design Services (541512), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming Services (7371), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)
- akta.pro primary industry
- ERP/CRM/HRIS Implementation & Integration (BPAEAAAE)
Keywords
Where Adesso is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Dortmund
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Adesso business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- IT Consulting Services: Adesso provides consulting services for optimization of core business processes through smart use of information technology. Services are delivered at own locations and at customer sites across Germany, Europe, and Asia.
- Software Products: For more standardized use cases, adesso offers finished software products. Development of proprietary, branch-specific product offerings represents an additional growth and earnings opportunity as part of the adesso strategy.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
Adesso product offering
Product offeringCore offering
adesso SE provides IT consulting and custom software development services to optimize enterprise core business processes, delivered at its own locations in Germany, other European countries, and first locations in Asia, as well as at customer sites. For more standardized use cases, the company offers finished software products, and develops own branch-specific software product offerings as a strategic growth pillar.
Product overview
Adesso is a German IT services company offering consulting and software development services. The company optimizes core business processes through advisory services and software development. For more standardized use cases, Adesso offers pre-built software products. The development of own industry-specific product offerings represents an additional growth and earnings opportunity and is a further key element of the adesso strategy. The company operates primarily as a services company rather than a software product vendor.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- IT Consulting Services Consulting services for the optimization of core business processes through the smart use of information technology, delivered at adesso's own locations in Germany, other European countries, and first locations in Asia, as well as at numerous customer sites.
- Custom Software Development Tailored software development services designed to address the specific business process optimization needs of enterprise clients, delivered alongside consulting engagements at customer sites and adesso's own locations.
- Standardized Software Products Finished, ready-to-use software products offered by adesso for more standardized use cases, providing enterprise clients with pre-built solutions as an alternative or complement to custom development.
- Branch-Specific Software Product Offerings Proprietary, industry-specific software product offerings developed by adesso as a strategic growth and earnings lever, creating additional revenue streams beyond pure IT consulting services and tailored to the requirements of specific industry verticals.
Quantifiable outcome
- 13% revenue growth to 398.1 million EUR in Q1 2026
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Adesso
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Adesso technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Adesso partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Adesso competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- T-Systems: Deutsche Telekom's IT services arm, headquartered in Germany, providing consulting, systems integration, and managed services to large enterprises — directly competing with adesso for German enterprise digital transformation mandates.
- Capgemini: Global IT services and consulting leader with significant presence in Germany and Europe, offering systems integration, custom development, and digital transformation services — directly comparable to adesso's core consulting and software development business but at much larger scale.
- CGI Group: Global IT and business consulting services firm with a significant German footprint through CGI Deutschland, offering systems integration and custom software development comparable to adesso's core services.
- Accenture: Global professional services and IT consulting giant with deep European presence, competing for the same enterprise digital transformation, consulting, and custom software development engagements that adesso targets.
- Atos: European-headquartered IT services firm with operations in Germany offering systems integration, consulting, and managed services — competes directly with adesso in European enterprise IT services deals.
Direct peers
- GFT Technologies: German-headquartered IT services and software company with comparable revenue scale and similar mix of consulting plus proprietary financial services software products — a closely comparable mid-tier German IT services peer.
- msg: German IT consulting and software development firm with strong vertical specialization (insurance, banking, healthcare), directly competing with adesso for German enterprise clients and offering similar proprietary industry-specific software products.
- Nagarro: European-headquartered (Germany) digital engineering and IT consulting firm with comparable size, offering custom software development and digital transformation services to enterprises across Europe and globally.
- Allgeier: German IT services group offering consulting, software development, and enterprise solutions with similar revenue and headcount scale — competes with adesso in the German enterprise IT consulting market.
- Sopra Steria: European-headquartered IT services and consulting firm operating across Germany, France, and the Nordics with comparable scale, offering custom software development and IT consulting to enterprise clients — a direct competitor in adesso's primary European markets.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Adesso social profiles
Digital presenceAdesso financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Adesso leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
Adesso funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Adesso M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A13 records
Investments1 record
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Adesso
What does Adesso do?
adesso SE provides IT consulting and custom software development services to optimize enterprise core business processes, delivered at its own locations in Germany, other European countries, and first locations in Asia, as well as at customer sites. For more standardized use cases, the company offers finished software products, and develops own branch-specific software product offerings as a strategic growth pillar.
Is Adesso a public or private company?
Adesso is a public company. It is classified as public and is currently operating.
When was Adesso founded?
Adesso was founded in 1997. It employs 5,001 to 10,000 people.
Where is Adesso based?
Adesso is headquartered in Dortmund, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does Adesso make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. IT Consulting Services are the primary driver. The others are software Products.
Who are Adesso's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are T-Systems, Capgemini, CGI Group, Accenture and Atos. Direct peers are GFT Technologies, msg, Nagarro, Allgeier and Sopra Steria.
Does Adesso have an API?
No public API is recorded for Adesso.
What industry is Adesso in?
Adesso's product category is IT Services and Consulting. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAEAAAE, ERP/CRM/HRIS Implementation & Integration. Its NAICS code is 541511 and its SIC code is 7371.