AI continues to drive technology investment while adding new layers of complexity around cloud consumption, software licencing, governance, security, and cost management. As organisations scale AI, particularly agentic AI, success depends not only on adopting new technologies, but also on managing increasingly complex technology environments.
At the same time, the IT landscape is becoming more fragmented, spanning multi-cloud environments, a growing number of software vendors, and increasingly complex licencing and consumption models. This rising complexity is a key driver of demand for independent expertise and lifecycle management.
Against these market dynamics, SoftwareOne used its Capital Markets Day 2026 to showcase how it is positioning the business for the future. The event focused on the company's strategy through 2030, highlighting the strengths of the combined SoftwareOne and Crayon business, and demonstrating how cloud and AI are increasing demand for its core capabilities.
"We can clearly say that we operate as one organisation and the scale and reach of the combined business are strengthening our customers, partners, and our vendor relationships," said SoftwareOne Co-CEO Raphael Erb. "We have created a business of unmatched scale, reach, and expertise."
Every major technology shift creates new challenges for customers, from software licencing and cloud adoption to data, security, governance, and AI. While technologies change, the need for expertise, optimisation, and guidance remains constant.
"Each phase of the technology journey creates complexity, and each phase continues to exist across our customer base today," said Co-CEO Melissa Mulholland. "In an AI era, these fundamentals must be in place to deliver the full potential."
AI is further increasing demand for governance, cost optimisation, security, and visibility, capabilities that have long been at the core of SoftwareOne's business.
To meet this growing demand, scale, and reach are critical. Today the combined company operates in about 70 countries, serves more than 70,000 direct customers, and reaches more than 200,000 additional customers through its channel ecosystem.
SoftwareOne also highlighted its channel business, which extends the company's reach through a network of partners and complements its direct sales model across cloud, software, and AI.
The channel business further extends SoftwareOne's reach through a network of partners and complements its direct sales model across cloud, software, and AI.
The company emphasised that scale is not only about geographic reach and customer access, but also about talent and capabilities.
"We believe that scalable success is driven by the right combination of a strong, human-centric culture and investment in the capabilities required for our next phase of growth," said Chief Human Resources Officer Nina Janorschke.
At the centre of SoftwareOne's strategy is a customer lifecycle approach called "optimise to innovate."
"This creates a recurring customer lifecycle,” said Erb. “Optimise costs, reinvest savings into transformation, and then operate the new environment efficiently."
The model begins by helping customers optimise software, cloud, and AI spending through sourcing, licencing, and cost management. These savings can then be reinvested into innovation across cloud, data, and AI. Finally, SoftwareOne helps customers operate and secure those environments through managed services.
The result is a recurring lifecycle that creates ongoing opportunities for optimisation, modernisation, and innovation, allowing customers to focus on what they do best.
“We operate with a global go-to-market, serve customers across all industries, and embed AI into everything we deliver,” said COO Oliver Berchtold.
The strength of SoftwareOne's partnership with Microsoft was also reflected in the participation of Nicole Dezen, Corporate Vice President and Chief Partner Officer at Microsoft, who travelled from Seattle to Zurich to join the event.
During a discussion with Mulholland, Dezen spoke about the growing importance of partners as organisations look to adopt AI and navigate increasingly complex technology environments.
"What partners do is you really bring our tech to life. You translate all of the technology and the tools into business outcomes," said Dezen. "You scale it in every industry, every geography, and every customer segment. And so, you are absolutely an extension of Microsoft and you play a critical role that we will never play ourselves."
Dezen also highlighted SoftwareOne as an example of what Microsoft calls a Frontier Firm, organisations that apply technology internally before helping customers do the same.
"SoftwareOne is the example I often turn to publicly," said Dezen. "One of the things I'm so pleased about when I look at what SoftwareOne has done is you've really embraced the belief behind why customer zero matters, integrated technology internally in order to give the entire SoftwareOne organisation that expertise, that credibility, and that insight."
During Capital Markets Day, SoftwareOne introduced its ambitions through 2030, including high single-digit revenue growth, EBITDA margin above 28%, cash conversion above 60%, and a dividend payout target of 30-50% of net profit.
SoftwareOne CFO Hanspeter Schraner reiterated the company’s commitment to delivering attractive shareholder returns.
“This is reflected in a balanced and disciplined capital allocation approach: investing in growth, returning capital through dividends, and maintaining a strong balance sheet,” Schraner said. “Our foundation is solid, the integration is delivering, and the business is building real momentum.
Underlying those ambitions is a clear conviction: cloud and AI adoption will continue to drive technology spend while increasing demand for optimisation, governance, and advisory services. According to Gartner, end-customer technology spending could reach $4.8 trillion by 2030, creating opportunities across both software transactions and services.
Summarising SoftwareOne's perspective on navigating technology shifts, Mulholland said: "We are used to change. We thrive in it."
Explore key insights from Capital Markets Day 2026 and learn more about SoftwareOne’s strategy through 2030.
Explore key insights from Capital Markets Day 2026 and learn more about SoftwareOne’s strategy through 2030.
