The market for IT system houses and telecommunications is undergoing change – technologically, structurally and in terms of personnel. The need for hybrid infrastructures, cloud solutions, IT security, connectivity and digital transformation is constantly increasing – while at the same time complexity is growing, there is a severe shortage of skilled workers and consolidation pressure.

Medium-sized providers are increasingly caught between customer loyalty and scaling pressure. Often historically grown, locally anchored and technologically savvy, they nevertheless lack the resources to make the leap to new service models or standardized platform architectures. Owners are faced with the question: Do I remain organic, do I specialize – or do I strategically integrate my company into a larger structure? M&A is increasingly part of this decision.

starkpartners has been supporting medium-sized IT system houses, managed service providers, network service providers, cloud architects, telecommunications providers and IT security companies through change processes for many years – whether in the course of succession, growth or repositioning. We know the dynamics of project-oriented service models, the challenges of recurring revenues (MRR) and the importance of personal customer loyalty in the IT sector.

We understand how IT architectures are developed, managed and scaled. We speak the language of firewall concepts, SD-WAN, Microsoft 365, ERP integrations or cloud migration – and at the same time also the language of lifetime achievement, workforce and responsibility. Our strength lies in the combination of technological understanding and strategic clarity – not in buzzwords, but in entrepreneurial thinking.

The M&A market for IT system houses and telecommunications providers is highly active. Strategic buyers – from supra-regional system houses to telco groups and software companies – are specifically looking for regionally anchored service providers with technological focus, customer loyalty and service competence. Private equity investors are also focusing on buy-and-build strategies to bundle fragmentation and drive standardization.

Companies with managed services offerings, infrastructure expertise, IT security focus or specialization in industry solutions (e.g. healthcare, industry, public sector) are particularly in demand. Anyone who is able to combine IT projects with service contracts and scale them independently is clearly positioning themselves in the market. M&A is becoming the bridge between owner-managed proximity and entrepreneurial development.