connectis and Softix merge and become SPIE ICS AG

Emmenbrücke, 8 January 2015 – Both ICT (Information and Communications Technology) companies, connectis and Softix, will trade under the name of SPIE ICS AG. The independent European leader in multi-technical services in the areas of energy and communications, SPIE group took over connectis and Softix in August 2014.

With around 410 employees, the merger of connectis and Softix creates one of the largest ICT service companies in Switzerland. The name SPIE ICS stands for Information & Communication Services, which is the company's core business.

"With an excellent line-up, the new SPIE ICS is a profitable company working in ground-breaking sectors. Its portfolio ranges from workspace, applications, communication services and data centers to consulting, managed services and cloud solutions. This wide range of services in Switzerland is the ideal complement to the international service package of the Group”, explains Philipp Lücke, CEO of the new SPIE ICS AG. "With SOFTIX we can significantly enhance our offering in customised ICT solutions in the health sector."

After the acquisition of Fleischhauer in Germany in 2014, the takeover of Infrastructure Services and Projects (IS&P) from telecoms operator KPN in 2013, the buyout of connectis allows SPIE to expand its European coverage of ICT expertise.

SPIE and connectis have worked with the same strategic partners in the past – for instance as Cisco gold partners or in European partnerships with Avaya and Microsoft. connectis and SPIE were both members of the Getronics Workspace Alliance (GWA).

Synergies and operational integration

SPIE ICS will benefit from synergies with SPIE, especially in hosted cloud services and forward-looking areas such as Smart city and e-fficient buildings or FTTH (Fibre to the Home). “In addition to organic growth, the company is not excluding the possibility of further expansion through acquisitions. Technology-based markets such as cloud services, managed services, workspace, Internet of Things (IoT) and IT consulting remain the focus”, adds Philipp Lücke.

The name change will have little impact on existing employees or customers. With SPIE ICS AG, the SPIE group is now active on the Swiss market with three companies: SPIE ICS AG, SPIE Schweiz AG and SPIE Suisse SA. Those entities have around 20 sites across Switzerland dealing with a wide range of multi-technical services in the areas of energy and communications.