How Communardo Is Scaling Across Europe as an Atlassian Platinum Solution Partner, Atlassian Marketplace Vendor and Microsoft Solutions Partner
15 Months of Partnership with BU
Fifteen months after the start of its partnership with BU Bregal Unternehmerkapital ("BU"), the Communardo Group looks back on a very successful first 15 months of its partnership with BU. During this period, the company has established key structural, organizational and operational foundations to further develop and scale its three core business areas internationally - Atlassian Professional Services, proprietary Atlassian Marketplace apps and Microsoft AI & Modern Work. Alongside building scalable structures, Communardo has made targeted and substantial investments in acquisitions to strengthen its market position across key European regions.
Today, the Communardo Group employs more than 480 people, operates from 21 locations across the DACH region, the Nordic countries, the Netherlands and Albania, and has successfully completed seven strategic acquisitions since the beginning of the partnership. The company has deliberately focused on sustainable growth, clear accountability and scalable delivery models, while maintaining its commitment to supporting customers with consistent quality standards combined with strong local proximity.
Starting Point: A Leading Atlassian Platinum Solution Partner in the DACH Region
At the time BU joined as a partner, Communardo was already one of the leading Atlassian Platinum Solution Partners in the DACH region. Founded in Dresden in 2001, the company supported enterprise, mid-sized and public-sector customers with Atlassian Professional Services, including strategic consulting, implementation, cloud migration and transformation, as well as managed services for complex Atlassian environments.
At that time, around 300 employees were primarily based in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. In addition to its strong services business, Communardo already had a growing Atlassian Marketplace product portfolio and established offerings in the Microsoft Modern Workspace. At the same time, the company had a clear ambition to further develop these three areas with greater focus, scalability and clear entrepreneurial responsibility.
Dirk Röhrborn, Group CEO & Co-Founder of Communardo:
"Our customers today expect Atlassian expertise that is available across regions and delivered with consistently high quality. At the same time, we wanted to develop our product and Microsoft businesses in a more focused way. The partnership with BU enabled us to set exactly the right structural course. The past 15 months show how powerful it is when strategic clarity, entrepreneurial freedom and operational excellence come together - and when you think internationally from Dresden onward."
Strategic Realignment: Building a Scalable Platform Structure
The first phase of the partnership focused on establishing a scalable operating model. The goal was to enable targeted growth while maintaining full organizational and operational control.
Communardo reorganized its top-level structure into legally independent entities with clear profit and loss responsibility:
- Communardo Group (Atlassian Professional Services)
- Communardo Products (Atlassian Marketplace Apps)
- Communardo Smart Work (Microsoft AI Business Solutions)
Each unit has its own leadership, clear governance and full P&L responsibility. In parallel, decision-making processes were further professionalized, and central functions such as finance, HR, integration and reporting were selectively expanded to efficiently support international growth and M&A activities. The new structure was deliberately designed to enable organic growth and an active buy-and-build strategy in parallel, while allowing multiple acquisitions to be integrated efficiently without operational friction.
Jan Schaller, Chairman of the Advisory Board:
"The legal and organizational separation of the business units creates clarity, speed and accountability - and is a key prerequisite for sustainable growth."
Communardo Group: Scaling Atlassian Professional Services as a Pan-European Platinum Solution Partner
The targeted expansion of the Atlassian services business across Europe represented the largest operational focus over the past 15 months.
In the DACH region, Communardo further strengthened its market leadership. The acquisition of celix reinforced the company’s presence in Austria and expanded its enterprise delivery capabilities. The acquisitions of ByteSource and SWNetwork significantly broadened the service portfolio. ByteSource contributed deep expertise in AWS cloud architectures, enterprise DevOps and complex cloud transformations, while SWNetwork strengthened capabilities in DevOps services and toolchain integration. These acquisitions in the DACH region followed a clear investment logic: strengthening enterprise capabilities, cloud expertise and scalable DevOps delivery.
As a result, Communardo is now able to deliver large-scale, international Atlassian programs for enterprise customers from a single source - from architecture and migration to implementation and managed services.
At the same time, Communardo expanded into additional European regions. In the Nordic countries, Communardo built a strong local presence through the acquisitions of Stretch Addera and the Atlassian business of Ambientia, achieving full coverage across Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. With the acquisition of Prepend in the Netherlands, Communardo also entered the Benelux region.
James Bradley, Head of International Partners and Alliances at Atlassian:
“Communardo has shown impressive progress as an Atlassian Platinum Solution Partner, expanding its presence across key European markets. We value partners who can support enterprise customers consistently at scale. As we continue to strengthen our partner-led go-to-market approach, we look forward to further deepening our collaboration with Communardo across Europe”
In addition, Communardo invested in the scalability of its delivery model. The ongoing development of an offshore delivery hub will enable more flexible and scalable delivery of Atlassian Professional Services going forward. Alongside acquisitions, the Atlassian services business also continued to grow organically, with additional customers, larger project volumes and increasing European reach.
Anje Hickey, CEO Atlassian Professional Services:
"When I joined at the beginning of the year, I encountered a highly qualified Atlassian team with deep expertise and a strong drive to shape the future. This strength provides the foundation for consistently advancing the integration of our acquisitions, further developing our business model in a future-proof way, and establishing robust governance structures suited to our expanded organization. As an Atlassian Platinum Solution Partner, we are actively shaping the next phase of our European growth story, with a clear focus on transformation, scalability and sustainable value for our customers."
Communardo Smart Work: Focus as a Microsoft AI Business Solutions and Copilot-prioritized Partner
Microsoft-based solutions were already part of Communardo’s offering prior to the partnership. With the establishment of Communardo Smart Work as a dedicated entity for the Microsoft AI Business Solutions portfolio, the business was deliberately set up as an independent unit to further increase focus, investment capacity and entrepreneurial speed.
Communardo Smart Work is one of the TOP Microsoft Solutions Partner in Copilot adoption in Germany, bundling existing capabilities in AI, Microsoft 365, Power Platform, collaboration and modern workplace services. The legal and organizational separation enables a clearer strategic direction, targeted capital allocation and an independent go-to-market approach for this business.
The focus is on further strengthening the existing market position, deepening delivery and consulting capabilities, and scaling Communardo Smart Work as a leading Microsoft AI and Modern Work specialist for enterprise customers.
Peter Geißler, CEO Communardo Smart Work:
"As a TOP Microsoft Copilot Partner, we already have a strong foundation today. The independent setup of Communardo Smart Work allows us to develop our AI and Modern Work business with even greater focus and to invest selectively in capabilities, partnerships and growth."
Communardo Products: Expanding the Global Atlassian Apps Business
Alongside the services business, Communardo Products has been further developed as an independent growth driver. The company develops and sells proprietary software solutions via the Atlassian Marketplace and is now one of the leading Atlassian Marketplace vendors worldwide.
With the acquisition of MIBEX, the product portfolio was strategically expanded to include a developer experience product line covering automation, DevOps workflows, developer productivity and compliance. In the next phase, the focus will increasingly shift to global scaling of the Atlassian Marketplace business - both organically and through targeted acquisitions in core areas such as knowledge management and developer experience, as well as in adjacent growth markets like IT Service Management (ITSM).
Feico Mol, CEO Communardo Products:
"We are transforming our Atlassian Marketplace business with the goal of becoming a leading global SaaS provider of Atlassian Marketplace apps. Our focus is on further expanding the portfolio through organic growth and targeted M&A initiatives in strategically relevant categories.”
Looking Ahead: Continued Growth with BU
Having established clear structures, regional presence and scalable delivery models, Communardo is now entering the next phase of development across its core businesses.
In the Atlassian services business, the focus is on further strengthening the established platforms in the DACH region, the Nordic countries and the Benelux region, while continuing to expand internationally - with a focus on enterprise capabilities, cross-regional delivery and selective additions aligned with the existing setup.
For Communardo Products, the next stage of development comes with a clear international perspective. Building on the current portfolio, the focus is on targeted scaling of the Atlassian Marketplace business, supported by organic growth and selected acquisitions in clearly defined core and adjacent markets.
Communardo Smart Work is also entering a new phase. Its independent positioning as a Microsoft Solutions and Managed Partner provides the foundation to further develop the Microsoft business in a focused manner and to selectively scale in relevant European markets.
What unites all three areas is clear: the foundations are in place. The focus is now shifting from building structures to targeted scaling, clear prioritization and sustainable growth.
Simon Lussi, Partner at BU Bregal Unternehmerkapital:
“The past 15 months have been characterized by both speed and substance. Communardo has scaled in parallel, executed targeted acquisitions and built the organizational foundations for further growth. This combination of execution strength and structural development provides a strong basis for entering the next phase in a focused and sustainable manner.”
About Bregal Unternehmerkapital
BU Bregal Unternehmerkapital (“BU”) is a leading investment firm with offices Zug, Munich, Amsterdam, Milan, and London. With more than €7 billion in assets under management, BU is the largest mid-cap investor headquartered in the DACH region. The funds advised by BU focus on investments in mid-sized companies across the DACH region and neighboring economies. With the mission to be the partner of choice for entrepreneurs and family-owned businesses, BU seeks to partner with market leaders and “hidden champions” with strong management teams and breakout potential. Since its founding in 2015, the funds advised by BU have invested in more than 160 companies, thereby creating over 11,000 jobs for a total of nearly 32,000 employees. As a strategic partner, BU helps entrepreneurs and families develop, internationalize, and digitize their businesses, while generating sustainable value on a responsible basis with the next generation in mind.
About Communardo
The Communardo Group is a leading provider of consulting services and solutions for the digital workplace. Its expertise spans modern work practices, agile processes, communication, and collaboration. The company helps organizations across industries become more efficient, automate processes, and improve employee satisfaction. Communardo advises clients, recommends suitable software solutions, and delivers intelligent implementations or custom app development.
Clients include large enterprises, mid-sized businesses, and public sector organizations. Communardo is an Atlassian Platinum Solution Partner and, through its subsidiary Communardo Smart Work GmbH, also a Microsoft Solutions Partner for Modern Work.
The Group currently employs more than 460 people across 21 locations in German-speaking countries, Scandinavia, the Netherlands and Albania. Communardo was founded in 2001 in Dresden.