ZeTT - Das Zukunftszentrum Thüringens

What ZeTT - Das Zukunftszentrum Thüringens does

ZeTT - Das Zukunftszentrum Thüringens is a government-funded collaborative project (Verbundprojekt) headquartered in Jena, Thuringia, that delivers free consulting, training, qualification, and advisory services to small and medium enterprises (KMU) in the Free State of Thuringia on digital transformation of work and business models. Founded in 2020 and operated by a consortium of four Thuringian institutions - Ernst-Abbe-Hochschule Jena, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Technische Universität Ilmenau, and Arbeit und Leben Thüringen e.V. - ZeTT serves company management, works councils, and employees through workshops, joint concept development, model projects, and direct advisory engagements. Approximately 15 staff coordinate program delivery across Jena-based locations, including the JenTower headquarters and partner university sites.

The center's service portfolio spans business change management, digital works council advisory, technology deployment consulting on AR/VR/AI applications, e-learning modules for HR and healthy work, smart robotics consulting for agile production, mobile work and coworking advisory, and ergonomic workplace programs (ERGOthek, ERGObox). Research products include the ZeTT-Radar, a quarterly survey instrument capturing digitalization trends from approximately 700 Thuringian companies, and demonstrator facilities such as the Lern- und Future-Store at EAH Jena and Training-Reality environments. By the end of its 2023-2026 funding cycle, ZeTT reports 950 delivered consultations, 56 model company partnerships, 8 qualification concepts developed, and 672 qualification participants.

ZeTT operates under a non-commercial revenue model: all services are provided at no cost to eligible Thuringian SMEs, works councils, and employees. The center is entirely funded through the federal "Zukunftszentren" program by the Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales (BMAS) and the European Union via the European Social Fund Plus (ESF Plus), with co-financing from the Thüringer Ministerium für Soziales, Gesundheit, Arbeit und Familie. Marketing and outreach are conducted through the center's blog, video case studies, LinkedIn, YouTube, the ZeTT-Radar publication series, and regional events including the annual Strategieforum Digitale Transformation.

Name

ZeTT - Das Zukunftszentrum Thüringens

Legal name

ZeTT - Zentrum Digitale Transformation Thüringen

Website

https://zett-thueringen.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ZeTT is a government-funded consortium project in Thuringia, Germany, providing free digital transformation consulting, training, and qualification services to regional small and medium enterprises. It operates through four partner academic institutions under the federal Zukunftszentren program since 2020.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital Transformation Consulting

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services (541611), Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (54), Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Digital & Technology Transformation Consulting (BPAHACAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Operations & Process Improvement Consulting (BPAHACAB), Business Process & Digital Transformation Consulting (BPAEAAAD), Emerging Tech (IoT, Blockchain, AR/VR, Edge) Consulting (BPAHAEAL)

Keywords

• Digital transformation consulting
• Workforce qualification services
• SME digitalization support
• Change management advisory
• Future of work consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Jena

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Government and EU Funding: The center is entirely funded through government grants. The project 'Zentrum Digitale Transformation Thüringen (ZeTT+)' is funded by the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (BMAS) and the European Union through the European Social Fund Plus (ESF Plus), with co-financing from the Thuringian Ministry for Social Affairs, Health, Labor and Family.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

ZeTT provides free consulting, qualification, and applied research services to small and medium enterprises (KMU) in Thuringia covering digital transformation of work and business models. Its portfolio includes change management consulting, digital works council advisory, technology advisory on AR/VR/AI, e-learning modules, demonstrator facilities such as the Lern- und Future Store and Training-Reality, ergonomic workplace programs (ERGOthek, ERGObox), smart robotics consultation, mobile work advisory, and the quarterly ZeTT-Radar company survey.

Product overview

ZeTT (Zentrum Digitale Transformation Thüringen) is a consortium-based consulting and advisory service center funded by the German Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and ESF Plus. It is not a single software product but rather a portfolio of free consulting, qualification, and analysis services for SMEs in Thuringia. The offerings include Business Change Management, Digital Works Council Work, Technology Advisory (AR, VR, AI), E-Learning modules, the Lern und Future Store demonstrator, Mobile Work & Coworking advisory, Smart Robotics consultation, Training-Reality solutions, and research services like the ZeTT-Radar quarterly survey. The consortium comprises Ernst-Abbe-Hochschule Jena, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Technische Universität Ilmenau, and Arbeit und Leben Thüringen.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ZeTT-Radar Quarterly Business Survey

Quantifiable outcome

• 950 consultations delivered to Thuringian companies (2023-2026)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Ernst-Abbe-Hochschule JenacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEAH Jena is the host institution for ZeTT and contributes expertise in business administration, digital retail (Lern- und Future-Store), and applied research. Project leadership Prof. Dr. Heike Kraußlach is based here.
• Friedrich-Schiller-Universität JenacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFSU Jena contributes the labor, industry, and economic sociology department which leads the accompanying research (ZeTT-Radar) and quarterly company surveys. Project leadership Prof. Dr. Klaus Dörre is based here.
• Technische Universität IlmenaucoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTU Ilmenau contributes expertise in manufacturing technology and smart robotics applications for agile production environments.
• Arbeit und Leben Thüringen e.V.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWork and Life Thuringia is a key implementation partner that delivers workshop programs and has its own workshop platform (workshop.arbeitundleben-thueringen.de). Contributes adult education expertise.
• Institut der Wirtschaft Thüringens (IWT)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInstitute of Thuringian Economy participates in discussions on digital work and contributes industry perspective.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Bitkom Servicegesellschaft: Bitkom's consulting arm providing SME-focused digital transformation advisory, training, and qualification with partial thematic overlap to ZeTT's services (AI, mobile work, digital tools). Comparable target segment but commercially funded rather than grant-funded.

Direct peers

• Zukunftszentrum West (Köln/Bonn): Western-German Zukunftszentrum operating under BMAS / ESF Plus, delivering free consulting on digital transformation, AI, and work design to SMEs. Functions as a near-direct structural peer to ZeTT within the same national program family.
• Zukunftszentrum Sachsen: Sister Zukunftszentrum in Saxony, also part of the national ESF Plus / BMAS Zukunftszentren program, providing free change-management and digital transformation advisory to regional SMEs. Operationally identical model to ZeTT, differing mainly by federal state.
• Zukunftszentrum Nord: Northern-German consortium Zukunftszentrum delivering free SME digitalization advisory under the same federal program as ZeTT. Directly comparable funding structure, service catalog, and target customer segment.
• Mittelstand-Digital Zentrum Magdeburg: Federal-state-funded Mittelstand digitalization center also operating under German public programs (BMWi/BMAS) to deliver free consulting, demonstrators, and qualification to SMEs. Highly comparable mandate and target audience, making it a near-direct counterpart of ZeTT in Saxony-Anhalt.
• Mittelstand-Digital Zentrum Berlin: Berlin-based Mittelstand-Digital center providing free consulting, AI/automation demos, and qualification to SMEs in the capital region. Comparable public-funding model, demonstrator facilities, and SME-first approach to ZeTT.

Regional players

• Industrie- und Handelskammer (IHK) Ostthüringen zu Gera: Thuringian chamber of commerce and industry covering the same regional SME audience, with digitalization advisory, training, and qualification services that intersect ZeTT's portfolio. Regional peer rather than direct competitor due to broader industry mandate.
• Handwerkskammer Erfurt (Thuringian Crafts Chamber): Regional chamber of crafts serving the same Thuringian SME customer base as ZeTT, with overlapping advisory and qualification offerings around digitalization. Comparable audience and geographic scope, though broader mandate beyond digital transformation.

Broad incumbents

• Fraunhofer IAO: Large Fraunhofer institute conducting applied research and consulting on work design, production technology, and digital transformation — a much broader academic-incumbent equivalent of ZeTT's areas (robotics, AR/VR, change management) at national and international scale.

Others

• Arbeit und Leben Thüringen e.V. Already a ZeTT consortium partner, but also relevant as a peer in the broader adult-education and labor-policy ecosystem in Thuringia. Shares the workshop delivery channel and qualification concepts that underpin ZeTT's go-to-market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCw2MQFT9nsLSAknqFaeZIkg
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/zett-thueringen

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ZeTT - Das Zukunftszentrum Thüringens