What itSMF Deutschland does

itSMF Deutschland e.V. is a registered German professional association (eingetragener Verein, Vereinsregister 12112) founded in 2001 and headquartered at Sebastian-Kneipp-Str. 41 in Frankfurt am Main. Itself self-described as the largest German-speaking Service Management Community in the D-A-CH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland), the association on July 6, 2023 formally transformed into Germany's first nationwide Berufs- und Fachverband (professional and specialist association) for IT Service Management. It serves individual ITSM practitioners (Service Managers, ITSM Consultants, IT Operations personnel, IT leadership) and organizations that implement ITSM frameworks such as ITIL, COBIT, and SIAM.

The association's offering is a portfolio of community services rather than a technology product. Core deliverables include the ITSM Magazin (a specialist publication), two certification programs (SMP Zertifikat, launched as a pilot to verify implementation competency, and Selbstlernzertifizierung self-study certification), specialized expert forums (Fachforen) covering Change Management, Multi-Provider Management, and AI in ITSM, a collective purchasing consortium (Einkaufsgemeinschaft) that negotiates group buying terms for members, an annual ITSM Jahreskongress flagship conference, and a recurring Community Day virtual event series. The organization operates a service subsidiary, itSMS GmbH, to support these activities.

Revenue is generated across five streams: recurring annual membership fees (individual and corporate), certification fees, event revenues from the annual congress and Community Days (attendance fees, sponsorship, exhibition booths), ITSM Magazin subscriptions, and the Einkaufsgemeinschaft. Go-to-market is community-led, relying on content marketing (website, blog, magazine), social channels (LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram), newsletters via CleverReach, and event-driven engagement. The organization is member-governed through an elected board led by Chairman Sven Schindler-Grünholz, with Managing Director Alexander Prosek, and operates with a staff of approximately six; it is not investor-backed.

Name

itSMF Deutschland

Legal name

itSMF Deutschland e.V.

Website

https://itsmf.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

itSMF Deutschland e.V. is a registered German professional association founded in 2001 and the largest German-speaking IT Service Management community in the D-A-CH region, serving ITSM practitioners and organizations with memberships, certifications, expert forums, the ITSM Magazin, an annual congress, and a purchasing consortium.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Association / IT Service Management Community

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), Professional Organizations (81392), Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (541)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Management Services (8741)

akta.pro primary industry

ITIL/ITSM Process Consulting & Implementation (BPAEAJAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Technical Committees, Working Groups & Expert Panels (BPADANAB), IT Service Management (ITSM) Operations (Incident/Request/Problem/Knowledge) (EDALAMAH)

Keywords

• IT service management
• Professional association
• ITIL certification
• Service management community
• Technology professional development

Headquarters

HQ city

Frankfurt am Main

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: Annual membership fees from individual and corporate members in the IT Service Management professional community. Members receive access to forums, publications, certifications, and networking events.
2. Certification Services: Revenue from SMP (Service Management Professional) certifications and self-learning certification programs offered to ITSM professionals.
3. Events and Conferences: Annual ITSM congress and various Community Day events generate revenue through attendance fees, sponsorship, and exhibition booth rentals at trade shows.
4. ITSM Magazine and Publications: Sales of the ITSM Magazine and other professional publications covering IT Service Management topics.
5. Einkaufsgemeinschaft (Purchasing Consortium): Group purchasing services for members providing access to negotiated rates and collective buying power for ITSM-related products and services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

itSMF Deutschland is a registered professional association (Berufs- und Fachverband) for IT Service Management in the D-A-CH region. It sells annual memberships, the ITSM Magazin publication, SMP and Selbstlernzertifizierung certifications, expert forums (Fachforen), and access to its Einkaufsgemeinschaft purchasing consortium, alongside its annual ITSM Jahreskongress and recurring Community Day events.

Product overview

itSMF Deutschland is a professional association (Berufs- und Fachverband) for IT Service Management, serving as the largest German-speaking Service Management community in the D-A-CH region. Rather than a software platform, its offering is a portfolio of professional community services: the ITSM Magazin (a specialist publication), certification programs (SMP Zertifikat and Selbstlernzertifizierung), expert forums (Fachforen) covering topics such as Change Management and Multi-Provider Management, a purchasing community (Einkaufsgemeinschaft), the annual ITSM conference, and regular Community Day online events. The association acts as an intermediary and knowledge hub, bundling the interests of ITSM professionals rather than selling a software product.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ITSM Magazin: The association's professional magazine covering IT Service Management topics, trends, and industry news.
• ITSM Jahreskongress
• itSMF Community Day

Products and services

• ITSM Magazin A specialist magazine covering IT Service Management topics, trends, and best practices for the D-A-CH region professional community, distributed to members and available for subscription.
• SMP Zertifikat (Service Management Practitioner Zertifikat) A certification program offered by itSMF Deutschland as an independent, non-commercial professional association, enabling IT Service Management professionals to demonstrate implementation competency through stringent and transparent standards.
• Selbstlernzertifizierung A self-study certification offering that allows IT Service Management professionals to earn credentials independently through the association's structured learning materials.
• Fachforen (Expert Forums) Expert forums covering specialized ITSM topics such as Change Management, Multi-Provider Management, and AI in ITSM, providing peer exchange and knowledge sharing within the community.
• Einkaufsgemeinschaft (Purchasing Community) A collective purchasing initiative that enables member organizations to access negotiated benefits and group buying advantages for ITSM-related products and services.
• itSMF Jahreskongress (ITSM Annual Congress) The association's annual flagship conference bringing together the ITSM professional community for knowledge sharing, networking, and industry insights.
• Community Day Events Online events organized by itSMF Deutschland covering trending ITSM topics such as AI in Multi-Provider Management, Experience Level Agreements, Cyber Security, and Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• BITKOM: Germany's largest digital industry association, representing a broad swath of IT vendors, service providers, and users. Overlaps with itSMF Deutschland on corporate member organizations operating in the German ITSM market.
• PeopleCert (owner of ITIL / AXELOS): Owns and monetizes the ITIL certification framework on which much of the ITSM ecosystem is built. As the dominant credentialing body in the ITSM space, it both shapes and competes for the training and certification spend itSMF Deutschland targets.

Direct peers

• itSMF International: The global federation of IT Service Management forums. itSMF Deutschland historically operated as a national chapter within this international network, sharing mission, governance model, and member community orientation in the ITSM space.
• HDI (Help Desk Institute): An international professional association for the IT service and support industry. Operates a similar membership-plus-certification model serving overlapping ITSM/service-desk practitioners in the D-A-CH region.
• Serview GmbH: A leading German ITSM training and consulting firm that delivers ITIL and DevOps certifications and competes directly with itSMF Deutschland for the same pool of D-A-CH ITSM professionals seeking credentials and continuing education.

Emerging players

• ISACA Germany Chapter: Professional association for IT governance, risk, audit, and cybersecurity. Targets an adjacent but overlapping D-A-CH member base of senior IT practitioners, many of whom also engage with ITSM frameworks.
• PMI Germany Chapter: Germany chapter of the Project Management Institute. Mirrors itSMF's professional-association operating model — membership dues, certifications, chapter events — for an adjacent IT-adjacent discipline.
• ISSA (Information Systems Security Association) Germany: International not-for-profit association for cybersecurity professionals. Shares the same volunteer-driven association model and targets a portion of the D-A-CH IT practitioner audience itSMF Deutschland also serves.
• VOICE – Verband der IT-Anwender: German IT user organization representing enterprise IT customers. Overlaps with itSMF Deutschland in championing IT best practices among corporate IT departments and operates a similar member-driven association model.

Regional players

• itSMF Austria: Austrian national chapter of the global IT Service Management Forum. Competes with itSMF Deutschland for German-speaking ITSM professionals in Austria and serves as a sibling/peer association in the same regional market.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/itSMFDE
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/itsmfde
• Instagraminstagram.com/itSMFDE

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries2 records

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 itSMF Deutschland