Why inovex chose Bern to launch its Swiss operations

We recently spoke with Thomas Diggelmann, Country Director of inovex Switzerland AG, the newly established Swiss subsidiary of German IT project house inovex GmbH. Founded over 25 years ago and headquartered in Karlsruhe, inovex employs around 500 specialists across eight German offices and has built a strong reputation in custom software development, Data & AI, and digital infrastructure for clients including Bosch, REWE, and ProSiebenSat.1. Thomas shared with us what brought inovex to Switzerland, and to Bern in particular.

Could you briefly introduce inovex Switzerland and outline your mission?

inovex Switzerland AG is an independent subsidiary of the German inovex Holding. Our mission is to help SMEs and larger organizations digitalize their core business through high-quality, bespoke solutions. Our core expertise spans custom software, Data & AI, modern IT infrastructure, and solutions for digital sovereignty and sovereign cloud environments. We target companies that prioritize quality and security over low-cost IT, organizations where standard off-the-shelf solutions simply fall short of what is needed.

What led you to choose Switzerland, and Bern specifically?

Switzerland offers high demand for innovative, secure, and premium IT services, which aligns perfectly with what inovex does. We chose Bern because of its unique combination of a strong local economy, excellent academic infrastructure, and the outstanding, pragmatic support we received from the local economic development agency. Bern’s academic ecosystem was actually a decisive factor. inovex has a long tradition of investing in R&D and collaborating with academic partners, and we saw an immediate opportunity to continue that here.

One thing we noticed early is that the Swiss market requires an even stronger upfront investment in trust than Germany. Swiss business culture places a premium on long-term relationships and close, personal collaboration, which resonates deeply with how inovex operates. We are building that trust by hiring well-connected local professionals from the start.

How do you plan to develop your activities in Switzerland?

Our immediate priorities are establishing a robust, independent local presence and actively acquiring Swiss projects. By 2028, we aim to reach CHF 2 million in revenue and create eight new jobs in the canton of Bern. We recently hired our first Swiss employee to lead the market entry and are currently seeking an Engagement Manager to support client-facing activities. In the longer term, we plan to recruit across the full IT value chain, consulting, design, and software development.

The German headquarters fully finances the Swiss subsidiary, which gives us strong foundations and real operational depth from day one. The model is straightforward: local market knowledge and customer proximity, backed by the scalability and implementation power of 500 specialists in Germany.

How did local authorities and economic development organizations support your establishment?

The support we received from the Bern Economic Development Agency, and specifically from Peter Kistler and GGBa, was exceptional. Their proactive consulting and ability to connect us rapidly with the right local experts for fiduciary services, recruitment, and board administration made our market entry highly efficient. When you are entering a market you have never operated in before, that kind of targeted, practical support makes an enormous difference. It is one of the reasons we were able to move as quickly as we did.