Dresden-based Communardo Group grows in Switzerland and Albania

Dresden. If you want to help others with their office work, you need a height-adjustable desk yourself. The software experts from the Dresden-based Communardo group of companies work between wooden ceiling supports and sound-absorbing windows on Kleiststraße near the Trachenberge streetcar station. Colorful carpets, seating niches, a table tennis table in the hallway - and yet most employees only come into the company one to three days a week, says Managing Director Dirk Röhrborn. They take advantage of the home office offer - just like their customers.

With 330 employees, the Dresden-based Communardo group of companies is one of the largest in Dresden and in the Silicon Saxony industry association. The software industry has conquered many office floors in its vicinity: Kiwigrid, which specializes in programs for the energy transition, is based in the same building. It is not far to the brick building with the offices of Telekom MMS, from which Communardo emerged as a spin-off in 2001.

Co-founder and CEO Dirk Röhrborn studied in Dresden, but also used the time after reunification to study in the UK. Today, he mainly establishes contacts in other European countries in search of the next growth opportunities.

Saxony buy companies in Swabia

Around 150 Communardo employees work at the group's Dresden headquarters. Röhrborn prefers to speak of a group of companies that now has ten locations. Some were built up from Dresden, some were acquired.

Communardo announced its latest purchase in mid-December: the Dresden-based company strengthened its "software portfolio" with the acquisition of Swiss company Mibex. Communardo employees also work on screens in Schwäbisch Hall, Heilbronn and Vienna, networked with the Dresden teams.

Communardo has had a subsidiary in Albania's capital Tirana for a good five years. "Back then, it was very difficult to find software developers," says Röhrborn. Other companies in his sector looked around in Bulgaria or India, but Röhrborn was won over by the concept and personality of an Albanian expert. There is still a "spirit of optimism" in Albania. He has found hard-working young people there who want to achieve something.

According to Röhrborn, the location in Albania was founded "not so much to save money". It was about talent. Today, a dozen employees work for Communardo Software Sh. p. k. in Tirana, and the site is set to grow further. The colleagues speak English in the joint teams, and last year some of them came to Dresden for the summer party.

Personal relationships and trust" are also important for software experts, says the company boss. With team days and workshops, he creates opportunities for home office workers to meet up occasionally. This is particularly important for new employees. Once they have got to know each other, they can also work well together via video conference.

Most employees in Dresden are in the office one to three days a week. - Dirk Röhrborn, Managing Director Communardo Dresden

Communardo primarily offers companies software for the digital workplace. The Dresden-based company specializes in communication and collaboration. They help companies to introduce Microsoft Teams or Atlassian Confluence, for example. "It's not just about tools, but about changing the way we work," says Röhrborn. "We train the users." Communardo increasingly sees itself as a consulting company. The addition of software was therefore recently removed from the Dresden-based company's name.

Corona allowed business with companies to grow

Since its foundation, the company has been working on the digitalization of the office workplace. However, this market has been growing rapidly since around 2010 and Corona has "really ignited the booster". Thanks primarily to trading in software, Communardo's annual turnover exceeds 100 million euros.

The Dresden-based group is one of the largest partners of the originally Australian software provider Atlassian and wants to become one of its top 5 players in Europe. A subsidiary develops customized apps based on Atlassian for around 4,000 corporate customers.

During trips to the USA a few years ago, Röhrborn sensed that a wave of mergers was imminent in the software industry. "We didn't want to join just anywhere, we wanted to be one of the leaders in the market," says the company founder.

In order to acquire companies in Swabia and Switzerland from Dresden, he looked for co-investors. In recent years, the Munich-based investment firm Prom12 has contributed to the acquisitions as the main shareholder. A few months ago, funds from the Swiss investment company Bregal invested in Communardo Holding GmbH "to drive expansion in Europe".

Communardo is also currently feeling "the difficult market situation in Germany", says Röhrborn. The biggest customers come from the automotive industry and are now finding it more difficult. "We are not growing as quickly as planned, but we are growing," says the Communardo boss.

SZ