Swisscom has announced it has bought Swiss ICT service provider Veltigroup along with its LAN expert, isentia and ITS. The move is a part of Swisscom’s strategy to expand its ICT portfolio for business customers and SMEs.
Veltigroup is based in Lausanne and has a strong presence in western Switzerland which is a French-speaking region. It offers a range of ICT services, from infrastructure to end-client services and solutions, and currently hires 480 people. The details of the transaction have not been disclosed.
According to Swisscom, the acquisition will help it reach out to business customers by offering them solutions tailored to their needs and Veltigroup will additionally bring its established network of partners and suppliers. The transaction will be effective at the beginning of 2015 and initially Veltigroup will continue to operate independently however during the first phase of integration Swisscom will incorporate DL Groupe into Veltigroup. Following this, during a second phase of the process, planned for 2016, Veltigoup will be integrated into the Enterprise Customers division of Swisscom.
The acquisition and integration will also affect the changes in the company’s management. Veltigroup’s CEO Nicolas Fulpius will become a member of the Swisscom’s Enterprise Customers division while Marco Simeoni and Pierre-Alain Racine, the founders of Veltigroup, will leave the company at the end of 2014. The integration process will be continued and led by Nicolas Fulpius and Philippe Beal (CTO).
“Digitalisation is presenting Swiss companies with new opportunities and challenges. We want to be there for our customers during this transition to a digital world in the best way possible. Thanks to the expertise and market presence of the Veltigroup and its individualised production processes, we can address customer needs and implement solutions faster and better than before,” says Christian Petit, Head of Enterprise Customers at Swisscom.
“In future, customers will have a comprehensive ICT provider offering a combination of local expertise and customer proximity from Veltigroup and the stability, security and innovative power of Swisscom that is unique in Switzerland,” says Nicolas Fulpius.