After European IT giant Econocom announced acquiring a majority stake in the German company ICT, invidis spoke with Christoph Bläser, Head of Econocom Germany, about the deal, the rising importance of managed services, and Econocom’s next steps.
The ink has only just dried on the contract, and Econocom and ICT are already bidding together for a major European project worth hundreds of millions – as a consortium, for now, since the takeover still needs approval from the cartel office.
ICT is an independent company with around 40 million euros in annual revenue. On its own, it would have been too small to bid successfully for such pan-European projects. Econocom, on the other hand, can boost its rental and operations know-how by working with ICT, helping them go after more parts of the tender.
This is a great example of how even big companies rely on specialist knowledge. By investing in ICT, Econocom is bringing that expertise in-house and gaining access to some of Germany’s largest corporations.
Econocom and ICT have a great deal to learn from each other. “ICT brings many new skills to the Group, which our European sister companies can benefit from. Sharing best practices and building competence centers are part of Econocom’s DNA,” says Christoph Bläser, Head of Econocom Germany, in an interview with invidis.
Bläser sees the rental business as an exciting addition to Econocom’s leasing services. The company is already one of the market leaders in Europe in this area. “Although rental periods are shorter, it all comes down to smart lifecycle management of hardware – whether it’s a notebook or an LED screen,” he explains.
Strong demand for managed services
Econocom is experiencing growing demand for managed services like lifecycle management and refurbishment. Bläser notes, “In France, some public sector tenders already require a refurbishment rate of 20 percent. Managed services are the future.” He expects this trend to spread to Germany as well.
Econocom believes it is well positioned to meet the needs of corporate customers, fully aware that requirements can vary across European markets. “At Econocom, we rely on local entrepreneurs. That’s why it was important for us that the ICT management stays on board long-term. For Econocom, the employees in the market are the most valuable asset.”
Potential in ProAV and digital signage
With its fourth business pillar – Gather with Econocom / Econocom Audiovisual – the group aimed for an annual European turnover of 400 million euros in the medium term when it launched in December 2023. Thanks to the acquisition of ICT, the company is already moving toward 300 million euros per year.
Econocom’s total turnover in Germany – where it was previously barely present in the ProAV and digital signage market – has reached around 280 million euros. Of this, 200 million comes from new IT financing business, and 80 million from hardware sales and refurbishment. “We are probably one of the largest enterprise Apple dealers in Germany,” confirms Christoph Bläser.
With ICT, Econocom now aims to become the leading ProAV and digital signage provider in Germany. “The potential is huge,” says an enthusiastic Christoph Bläser.
