What Pro Archives SA does

Pro Archives SA, founded in January 2009 by Vincent Guillot and headquartered in Nyon, Canton de Vaud, Switzerland, is a privately-held Swiss Société Anonyme specializing in professional archive and document management services for public institutions and private organizations. The company dispatches qualified archivists to client premises to organize, classify, conserve, and valorize documents ranging from 13th-century parchment to contemporary electronic files. Its service portfolio comprises six interconnected modules — audit (état des lieux), document management (gestion documentaire), conservation, valorization and inventories, training, and ongoing maintenance — forming a full archival lifecycle offering.

The firm operates against international archival standards including ISAD-G for description, ISO 15489 for records management, and OAIS (ISO 14721:2012) for long-term digital preservation. Core technology components include the AtoM (Access to Memory) open-source platform for online archive inventories via the Vaud Archives Communales initiative, Archiclass for ISO 15489-compliant classification plans, and an electronic archiving system (SAE) following the OAIS reference model. Pro Archives SA maintains close ties with the Archives Cantonales Vaudoises and is an active member of the Association vaudoise des archivistes (AVA) Description and Diffusion working group.

The business model is B2G/B2B professional services with custom, quote-based, project-specific pricing. Revenue is generated through short-duration mandates and multi-year on-site maintenance contracts with approximately 180 clients, including 113 communes across multiple Vaud districts and Valais, 12 intercommunal associations, and 21 institutions such as EPFL, Geneva Airport, Nestlé Historical Archives, Vaudoise Assurances, and the Swiss Cinémathèque. Distribution relies on a referral network within the Swiss municipal and institutional community, supplemented by recruitment partnerships with the Association des archivistes suisses (AAS/VSA) and the Swiss-Lib newsletter. No external funding, M&A, or public listing has been disclosed.

Name

Pro Archives SA

Legal name

Pro Archives SA

Website

https://proarchives.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Pro Archives SA is a Swiss archive management firm founded in 2009 and based in Nyon that dispatches credentialed archivists to municipalities, intercommunal associations, and private institutions to organize, conserve, and valorize paper and electronic records.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Archival Management Services

NAICS

Libraries and Archives (51921)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

National Archives, Records & Information Governance (BPAIAAAG)

Keywords

• Archive management services
• Document management consulting
• Records management solutions
• Archival digitization services
• Municipal archive organization

Headquarters

HQ city

Nyon

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel

Revenue model

1. Archive Management Services: On-site professional archive management with qualified archivists dispatched to client premises. Covers document handling from creation to elimination or permanent conservation.
2. Maintenance Contracts: Periodic on-site archive maintenance contracts adapted to client size and needs. Ensures regular follow-up, document processing (sorting, elimination, conservation, description), and policy updates.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Pro Archives SA provides professional on-site archive management services for Swiss public institutions and private organizations. Its portfolio spans the full archival lifecycle: initial audits (Etat des lieux), document classification and management, physical and electronic preservation, online inventory publication via AtoM, client training, and ongoing maintenance contracts delivered by diploma-holding archivists dispatched to client premises.

Product overview

Pro Archives SA offers a comprehensive suite of archival services organized as six interconnected core service modules. The service portfolio begins with 'Etat des lieux' (audit) as the prerequisite assessment, followed by 'Gestion Documentaire' for document classification and management, 'Conservation' for physical and electronic preservation, 'Valorisation et Inventaires' for archive inventories and public access, 'Formation' for client training, and 'Gestion de vos Archives' for ongoing maintenance. Together, these modules form a complete archival lifecycle solution from initial assessment through ongoing management, covering both paper and electronic documents.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Etat des lieux (Audit) Initial assessment and audit service evaluating the internal organization and archiving system of each client. Prerequisite for developing any archiving policy, including analysis of storage costs, non-archiving costs, and compliance with standards.
• Gestion Documentaire
• Conservation
• Valorisation et Inventaires
• Formation
• Gestion de vos Archives (Maintenance)

Quantifiable outcome

• 40-50% storage space recovery after sorting and elimination phases
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Archives Cantonales (Canton Archives)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerClose collaborative relationship with Canton Archives for satisfying client needs. Part of the extensive partner network supporting Pro Archives SA operations.
• Swiss and Vaud Professional AssociationscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Swiss and Vaud professional associations (archivists associations) for industry standards and professional development.
• Association vaudoise des archivistes (AVA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPro Archives SA is member of the AVA working group 'Description and Diffusion' to make the 'Vaud Archives Communales' platform available through AtoM software.
• Protection des Biens culturelsminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPartnership for implementing archive evacuation plans as part of disaster prevention for cultural property protection.
• Specialized Document Destruction CompaniesminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCollaboration with specialized companies for confidential document destruction services.
• Certified RestorersminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPartnership with certified restorers for document restoration services.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• DocuWare GmbH: Germany-headquartered document management and workflow automation software vendor, widely deployed by European municipalities and enterprises. Comparable to Pro Archives' Gestion Documentaire/GED service offering as a broader ECM incumbent.
• M-Files: Finnish metadata-driven document and information management platform serving mid-market and enterprise clients across Europe. Comparable to Pro Archives' document management and ISO 15489-aligned classification plan work as a broader ECM incumbent.
• Hyland Software: Content services platform (OnBase, Alfresco) for public sector, healthcare, and financial services with records management capabilities. Comparable to Pro Archives' archive/document management services as a broader incumbent serving municipal and institutional clients.
• Iron Mountain Incorporated: Global records management, physical/digital archive storage, and information governance services. Broad incumbent offering overlapping capabilities (records storage, secure destruction, digital archiving) including in Switzerland, but at vastly greater scale across many verticals.
• OpenText Corporation: Global enterprise information management company (Documentum, Content Suite) serving large public and private organizations. Comparable to Pro Archives' document and archive management services as a much larger incumbent spanning the full ECM/archives stack.

Direct peers

• Docuteam GmbH: Swiss archive services consultancy providing records management, digitization, and preservation services to public institutions. Most direct comparable to Pro Archives SA in terms of geography, customer base (Swiss municipalities and cantons), and service portfolio.

Regional players

• Cindoc / Archives Online (non-profit consortium): Swiss online portal aggregating finding aids from cantonal and municipal archives via AtoM. Comparable to Pro Archives' Vaud Archives Communales platform as a regional/ecosystem peer enabling public discovery of Swiss communal archives.

Others

• Tessella (Accenture): Archive and information management consulting firm (now part of Accenture) supporting life sciences, energy, and public sector clients with archival strategy and digital preservation. Comparable as a consulting/services peer addressing archives and records governance at enterprise scale.

Emerging players

• Arkivum: UK digital archive and preservation services provider for universities, museums, and research institutions. Comparable to Pro Archives' digital archiving capability under the OAIS model, focusing exclusively on long-term digital preservation services.
• Preservica: UK-based digital preservation software vendor serving archives, libraries, museums, and regulated industries with long-term digital archiving (OAIS-aligned). Comparable to Pro Archives' electronic archiving (SAE) service but as a software-focused emerging player.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pro-archives-conseils-sa

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Pro Archives SA