Uptime is further strengthening its foothold in the Polish market by acquiring a majority stake in Kraków-based software development company Vimanet. The move will double Uptime’s workforce in the region, will further grow its Polish and Central European client base, and serves as a testament to its dedication to overall growth in Poland.
“In 2020, we made our first step in the Polish market with the acquisition of Uptime Development, and it has shown us that the country and its culture are an excellent match for our strategy and our expansion plans. Therefore, we have been actively looking for new partners, and in Vimanet we have found a company that shares our values, that has a customer base and tech-portfolio that is well aligned with our aspirations, and a management team with similar ambitions to ours’,” said Eero Tohver, CEO of Uptime.
Tohver noted that Uptime, which now employs nearly 200 people, has been actively expanding in various European markets over the past seven years, and the recent investment is part of the company’s long-term growth strategy. “Over the past 30 years, we have grown to become one of the largest development companies in the region, and since 2015, we have been actively seeking opportunities to grow our customer base and staff in several markets. The results so far give us the confidence to continue on the same course,” he said.
Krzysztof Korbel, CEO of Vimanet, said that the merger with Uptime will create an opportunity to offer a more comprehensive and broader range of development services to both current and future clients and that being a part of a larger group will grant all specialists within its ranks the opportunity to participate in larger international projects. “We see that everyone benefits from joining forces. Our team will be able to collaborate with a large number of new and experienced colleagues, our clients will benefit from Uptime’s experience, and we will be able to offer a fresh perspective and complementary competencies both in Poland, as well as abroad,” he said.
According to Michał Jankowski, Head of Uptime Development, which joined Uptime Group in 2020, the expansion of Uptime’s presence in the Polish market is more than welcome. “We have seen strong growth over the past three years, and we have established good cooperation with the Estonian head office, as well as with all the other local offices. However, given the size of the European market and the new opportunities that continue to emerge, it is clear that there is still considerable room for growth,” he said.
Once the deal closes, Vimanet will continue to operate under its current management team, while having access to the support, expertise, and resources of both the Estonian head office, as well as all other local offices. The company, which will be rebranded as Uptime Solutions, will continue to operate from its Kraków office, will continue to serve its existing clients, and will continue to grow its market share both in Poland, as well as in other European markets.
Uptime, which has been operating in the Estonian market since 1992, expanded into Norway in 2015, Denmark in 2018, Poland in 2020, and acquired a majority stake in the Estonian software company Opus Online at the end of the same year. In all its markets, Uptime offers a full range of software development services to both local companies and international clients, focusing on technologies such as .NET, Node.js and React.js, Java, and PHP, among others.
“For us, crafting software solutions that perfectly meet the expectations of our clients has always been the top priority. And this isn’t changing now – we plan to continue on the same course, now just with an even bigger team and for the benefit of even more customers,” said Eero Tohver. “We will continue to look for expansion opportunities in Poland and elsewhere in Europe.”
