30 years of virtual7 – This has nothing to do with luck
When Fettes Brot decided in the mid-90s that they were no longer just “Nordic by nature” and a little later musically summed up the German reluctance to make decisions with “Jein”, two young men from southern Germany had much more concrete plans. There was no “yes, uh, no” and no “maybe” either. The project was suddenly called web solution GbR, and the plan was to digitize the world. Well, realistically speaking, first of all the south of Germany. More precisely: Karlsruhe. And more precisely: Nursing homes in the region where the two young men worked. After all, you have to start somewhere.
New name – new luck!
So the first websites for nursing homes were created, backend development began and, together with curious customers, the then still young Internet bubble was blown up. One UEFA European Championship later, in 2000, both the German national team’s plans to defend their title and the dotcom bubble burst surprisingly quickly, but the desire to help shape the incipient digitalization in Germany remained unbroken. Only the name “web solution” suddenly no longer seemed quite right. A new one was needed: virtual7. Ingenious! To this day, nobody really knows exactly what this name means, and it doesn’t exist in German anyway – but perhaps that’s exactly what it means at a time when many things were new, experimental and not yet fully defined.
New millennium – new happiness!
The next two decades were then characterized by the development of technological expertise, growing projects and increasing professionalization. And not just for Fettes Brot, who went on tour with the German band Die Ärzte and suddenly started tearing up dance floors with songs like “Schwule Mädchen”. virtual7 also grew continuously, moving from one office that was too small to the next larger one and always keeping its finger on the digital pulse of the times.
New strategy – new luck!
The company developed into an established IT service provider, including as an Oracle Premium Partner, and supported digitalization projects in various industries. This phase is still well known to many – not least because it was already recounted in detail on the company’s 25th anniversary: the years of technological growth, platform solutions, increasingly complex systems and growing responsibility in large IT projects.
From 2018, however, a new direction began to emerge. virtual7 increasingly took on projects for public administration, and with each project it became clearer that digitalization means far more than just process optimization: it determines the government’s ability to act. Step by step, individual projects developed into a clear focus, which was consistently implemented in 2020: the strategic decision to focus exclusively on the digitization of public administration work exclusively. This fundamentally changed the role of the company – from a broad-based IT service provider with Oracle expertise to a specialized partner for government infrastructure, specialist processes and digital platforms used by millions of citizens.
New organizational form – new luck!
Parallel to this strategic focus, the organizational basis was also redesigned in the same year. After around 18 months of preparation, virtual7 2020 introduced the organizational form of responsiveness a role-centered, cluster-based model that is still a truly unique selling point for IT service providers. Since then, responsibilities have been more closely linked to roles than positions, decision-making paths have been significantly shorter, transparency has become part of everyday working life and traditional hierarchical levels have faded into the background. Many employees cite this structure as one of the most important reasons why collaboration works particularly well here: Decisions are comprehensible, personal responsibility is actively encouraged and appreciation is not just a buzzword, but is visible in daily interaction.
This organizational form also shapes the corporate culture. Despite continuous growth – more than 200 employees are now part of the international team – the goal remains to create an environment in which people can work closely together, share knowledge openly and take responsibility. While Fettes Brot have now ended their career with a worthy farewell and a best-of collection, the greatest “hits” at virtual7 are on a permanent loop, so to speak: transparency, respectful cooperation, creative freedom and a culture that enables growth without losing the team spirit.
None of this has anything to do with luck!
In recent years, the company has continued to develop: in addition to the successful implementation of major digitalization projects – keyword eFile, OASIS, basic pension – business consulting in particular has become increasingly important. virtual7 now not only implements projects, but is also increasingly involved in strategic transformation processes in public administration in an advisory capacity – where the foundations for a resilient, efficient and digitally capable state are being laid.
Thirty years after the first “web solution”, the development can be clearly read: from a small Internet project for “home” networks to the technological maturity phase as an established IT partner to a clearly focused organization with a social mission. I can’t look into the future, but if you ask me whether the company will still be needed in the next 30 years, I can say quite clearly: Yes. Uh, yes!
