TIMETOACT GROUP expands application performance monitoring and business service assurance with acquisition of OpenAdvice

TIMETOACT GROUP, a leading provider of IT services for medium-sized businesses, large corporations and public institutions in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, has acquired OpenAdvice IT Services GmbH, a proven specialist in application performance monitoring and business service assurance. The acquisition supports TIMETOACT GROUP’s ongoing expansion of its portfolio of high-quality consultancy services and specialist-managed services offerings. The existing partnership between the two companies via the IBM partner program is now being consolidated and expanded under the umbrella of TIMETOACT GROUP. Jeanette and Markus Fürst will continue to lead the OpenAdvice business and will become shareholders in TIMETOACT GROUP, while Christian Port will retire from the business. Both parties agreed not to disclose the details of the transaction.

TIMETOACT GROUP, headquartered in Cologne, currently comprises ten specialised IT companies with 16 locations across Germany, Austria and Switzerland: ARS, catworkx, CLOUDPILOTS, edcom, IPG, novaCapta, PKS, synaigy, TIMETOACT and X-INTEGRATE. With around 900 employees and a comprehensive portfolio of software and consulting services, the digitisation expert primarily concentrates on medium-sized and large companies from industry, finance and the services sector, as well as public institutions.

OpenAdvice is a consultant and service provider for the successful development of customer-specific solutions in the IT service operations area and specialises in application performance monitoring and business service assurance. Established in 2000, it today supports customers throughout Germany and Europe from its headquarters in Heusenstamm near Frankfurt.

As a full-service provider, OpenAdvice provides consulting and integration, software sales, support & maintenance, training and individual software development. Training courses and workshops round off the company’s in-house service portfolio, covering monitoring, reporting, and training courses on the IBM Netcool Suite and the Grafana ecosystem.

The previous shareholder of OpenAdvice, Markus Fürst, and sales manager, Jeanette Fürst, will continue to lead OpenAdvice as a business unit within TIMETOACT GROUP. The agreement was quickly reached during the bilateral decision-making process, during which significant synergy and growth potential were identified, particularly with TIMETOACT’s Business Applications division. For TIMETOACT GROUP, the transaction marks its third acquisition since funds advised by Equistone Partners Europe acquired a majority stake in the company in June 2021 and represents another important step in the group’s growth.

“Joining TIMETOACT GROUP will make us part of a major brand, allowing us to leverage multiple synergies moving forward. The services jointly used across the group will support our growth as a business, particularly when it comes to recruitment. For our customers, the diversified positioning of the TIMETOACT GROUP also offers many advantages and a significantly expanded service offering”, notes Markus Fürst, Founder and Director of OpenAdvice.

“I am particularly delighted to be able to utilise synergies with the wider TIMETOACT GROUP and to also make the group’s portfolio available for OpenAdvice customers. I also see joint growth prospects with our existing partners, IBM and GrafanaLabs, in our main application performance monitoring business,"  adds Jeanette Fürst, sales manager of OpenAdvice.

“The acquisition of OpenAdvice is an important step in the expansion of our managed services portfolio. OpenAdvice’s customers will also benefit from the fact that the TIMETOACT GROUP – one of the largest IBM platinum business partners in the DACH region – will give them access to the entire IBM product offering, coupled with our top-class services. Moreover, the Fürst husband and wife team have allowed us to bring two highly motivated managers on board. We are thrilled to be able to develop the TIMETOACT GROUP together”, says Frank Fuchs, Co-Director of the TIMETOACT GROUP.

Felix Binsack, Co-Director of the TIMETOACT GROUP, adds: “We are delighted to add Jeanette and Markus Fürst, two successful and extremely likeable entrepreneurs, to the group of shareholders of the TIMETOACT GROUP.”

Frank Fuchs, Christian Koch and Felix Luxen are responsible for the transaction on the part of the TIMETOACT GROUP. TIMETOACT GROUP was advised during this transaction by BDLV (Financial & Tax), de Angelis Rechtsanwälte (Legal) and P+P Pöllath & Partners (Legal). The OpenAdvice shareholders were advised during the transaction by v. KEUSSLER Rechtsanwälte (Legal) and Steuerberatung Ostle (Financial & Tax).