Bechtle AG is a multinational technology company with a business model combining

information technology Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information technology system (I ...

services with the direct sale of hardware and

software Software is a set of computer programs and associated documentation and data. This is in contrast to hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. At the lowest programming level, executable code consists ...

IT products, as well as the operation and maintenance of IT infrastructure for industrial customers and public-sector clients. The Bechtle Group is headquartered in

Neckarsulm Neckarsulm () is a city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, near Heilbronn, and part of the district of Heilbronn. , Neckarsulm had 26,800 inhabitants. The name Neckarsulm derives from the city's location where the Neckar and Sulm rivers ...

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

, and organised into multiple parent and holding companies. The company has 70 locations in

german-speaking German ( ) is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian province of South Tyrol. It is also a ...

regions and trading companies in 14 European countries. A survey conducted by German industry publications Computerwoche and ChannelPartner ranks Bechtle as the largest business-to-business IT service provider by revenue in Germany in 2018.

History

Bechtle was first established in 1983 by former Heilbronn University students Klaus von Jan, Ralf Klenk and Gerhard Schick. Its first operations were set up in a small shop in Heilbronn. In 1995, the company reached a milestone with revenues exceeding 100 million German Mark (approx. €51 million as of January 2001) and began trading over the internet. At Bechtle's IPO on 30 March 2000, the stock was listed on the Neuer Markt segment of Germany's stock exchange Deutsche Börse, and has been listed on the TecDax since 2004. In 2012, revenues exceeded €2bn for the first time. In August 2018, Bechtle concluded a framework agreement with the Bundeswehr. From 24 September 2018, the share is listed in the MDAX in addition to the TecDAX. In mid-October 2018, Bechtle AG won a software tender from the EU Commission for the supply of software up to 2025 with a volume of 52 million euros per year. In November 2022, it was announced Bechtle had acquired the

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

-headquartered

cybersecurity Computer security, cybersecurity (cyber security), or information technology security (IT security) is the protection of computer systems and networks from attack by malicious actors that may result in unauthorized information disclosure, the ...

, managed IT and

cloud service Cloud computing is the on-demand availability of computer system resources, especially data storage (cloud storage) and computing power, without direct active management by the user. Large clouds often have functions distributed over multip ...

specialists, ACS Systems.

Organisation

Bechtle AG owns or has shares in some 100 companies. As the parent organisation, it provides centralised services to all subsidiaries including investor relations and corporate communications, human resources, quality and risk management, and corporate IT. The company's direct subsidiaries include: * Bechtle Logistik & Service GmbH, responsible for purchasing, warehouse and product management, marketing and related services * Bechtle Systemhaus Holding AG, responsible for all service business activities in Germany and Austria * Bechtle E-Commerce Holding AG, responsible for all e-commerce business under the Bechtle direct brand * Bechtle Managed Services AG, responsible for outsourcing services * Bechtle Holding Schweiz AG, responsible for all service and e-commerce business activities in Switzerland including the brands ARP and Comsoft direct

Business Segments and Portfolio

The group's activities are organised into two business segments under dedicated executive management: * The IT Systemhaus & Managed Services segment spans all service business activities with service units and specialised competence centres in Germany,

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

* The IT E-commerce segment covers a portfolio of some 70,000 IT products sold via online shops, catalogues and telesales under the brands ARP, Bechtle direct and Comsoft direct

References

External links

* * {{TecDAX companies Companies based in Baden-Württemberg Companies based in Neckarsulm International information technology consulting firms ICT service providers Information technology consulting firms of Germany Software companies of Germany Companies in the TecDAX Companies in the MDAX