Benelux’s SAP full-service provider Aiden sets sail to become a top 3 European player

Utrecht-based SAP and Mendix consultancy and IT services provider Aiden has appointed a new managing director (MD) to expand its customer-focused offering and grow its team of 400 employees split between the Netherlands and Belgium focused on industries such as Retail & wholesale, discreet manufacturing, consumer products, professional services, and the public sector.

Theo van Zalen, now MD of Aiden and an IT veteran with three decades of experience in the IT sector, including at SAP, has the strategic ambition to propel Aiden to be among the top three SAP suppliers for SMEs in Europe.

Theo emphasizes the S/4HANA transition companies are currently planning or undergoing as a key area of focus for Aiden while stimulating wholesale companies to adopt SAP S/4HANA Public Cloud due to advantages such as best practices, scalability, management and maintenance by SAP, cost control, and more. Aiden’s own services include SAP consultancy and system integration (e.g., migrating from ECC to S/4HANA), technical support (e.g., system monitoring, operational and patch management), functional support (e.g., service desk), and licensing support (e.g., SAP-certified service center to support customers with information regarding direct and indirect SAP costs). Aiden also supports its customers with various SAP solutions, including SAP S/4HANA and S/4HANA Cloud, SAP BTP, SAP Analytics Cloud for Planning, and more.

In PAC’s view, Aiden’s SAP services and solutions are not a differentiator, but it’s ability to offer the entire SAP (cloud) solutions portfolio is significant. However, what stands out to PAC is the company’s strategic ambition to become a top three SAP player in Europe for SMEs. This ambitious goal needs to be backed by organic and inorganic growth that surpasses the Benelux borders.

Over the last year, the company has made acquisitions in Belgium with SAP specialist Nessi (Aiden’s first international acquisition) and its 35 employees joining Aiden at the beginning of 2023. Despite its size and only being founded seven years ago, Nessi has significant SAP experience supported by clients, including one of the largest retailers in Belgium, Colruyt, and other renowned names such as AG Real Estate and Cofinimmo. The two SAP specialists complement each other, with Nessi offering Aiden the ability to strengthen its services in the real estate domain while Aiden offers Nessi access to its Aiden Retail Management solutions. In April 2023, Aiden announced its second acquisition by adding Belgian SAP Business One specialist Vigor to the group, growing its Belgium operations to approximately 50 people. Vigor has been operating in the Belgian market for about a decade and adds significant value and experience by providing SAP solutions to over ninety SMEs in Belgium and winning three out of four SAP Business One awards 2022 (Customer Satisfaction, Outstanding Performance, and Net New Name Award 2022).

PAC is seeing positive signs with these acquisitions, but the bigger challenge will begin once Aiden expands beyond Dutch-speaking regions (the Netherlands and the acquired companies based in Flanders).

At the same time, Aiden’s competition is growing with similar-sized companies such as SAP expert Flexso (450 employees and offices in the Benelux and Austria) also set to make its mark with customers such as Ampleon (an NXP Semiconductors spin-off), Farys (a utilities company), and Borealis (a chemical company).

It is an interesting time in the SAP space with businesses of various sizes migrating to S/4HANA to accommodate their strategic business ambitions and customer expectations (growth, new products, and services, improved customer satisfaction, speed to market, etc.), with several IT providers investing in growing inorganically. A good example is SAP specialist SOA People, also with offices in the Netherlands, Belgium, and other European countries. In June 2023, SOA People acquired COZUMEVI, a leading SAP Gold Partner in Turkey. One of the objectives of SOA People is to leverage COZUMEVI as a nearshore platform for its international operations, such as SAP migration projects, 24/7 support, and R&D center. With the strong competition in the SAP space for SMEs, time will tell if Aiden can deliver on its top three European SAP services provider ambition. With its recent acquisitions and new leadership, the signs are promising.