The IT industry is diverse - from local system integrators to global software corporations. Which metrics are typical, which values are good or critical? A benchmark guide for the IT industry in the DACH region.
Note: The benchmark values in this article are reference values for orientation. IT companies differ significantly by segment, business model, and growth phase.
Market Overview
Germany - ICT Industry (Bitkom 2024)
According to Bitkom:
| Metric |
Value |
| Total ICT revenue |
~224 billion EUR (2024, forecast) |
| IT segment |
~152 billion EUR |
| Software |
~46 billion EUR (+9.4%) |
| Digital sector employees |
~1.37 million |
The digital industry is thus the largest industrial employer in Germany, ahead of the automotive industry and mechanical engineering.
Segments
| Segment |
Share |
Characteristics |
| IT Services |
~35% |
Consulting, integration, outsourcing |
| Software |
~30% |
Standard, custom, SaaS |
| Hardware |
~20% |
Trade, distribution |
| Telecom Services |
~15% |
Infrastructure, managed services |
Key Metrics by Segment
Software / SaaS
Return on Sales:
| Type |
Weak |
Average |
Good |
| Standard software |
<10% |
15-25% |
>30% |
| SaaS |
Negative (growth phase) |
0-15% |
>20% |
| Custom software |
<5% |
8-15% |
>20% |
SaaS-specific Metrics:
| Metric |
Weak |
Average |
Good |
| MRR Growth (YoY) |
<15% |
20-40% |
>50% |
| Net Revenue Retention |
<100% |
100-110% |
>120% |
| CAC Payback |
>24 months |
12-18 months |
<12 months |
| LTV/CAC |
<2x |
3x |
>4x |
| Gross Margin |
<60% |
70-80% |
>80% |
IT Services / Consulting
Return on Sales:
| Type |
Weak |
Average |
Good |
| IT Consulting |
<5% |
8-15% |
>18% |
| System integration |
<3% |
5-10% |
>12% |
| Managed Services |
<5% |
8-12% |
>15% |
Utilization:
| Metric |
Weak |
Average |
Good |
| Utilization (billable) |
<65% |
70-80% |
>85% |
| Hourly rate (median) |
<90 EUR |
100-140 EUR |
>160 EUR |
System Integrators / Resellers
Return on Sales:
| Type |
Weak |
Average |
Good |
| Hardware trade |
<1% |
2-4% |
>5% |
| System integrator (mixed) |
<2% |
4-7% |
>10% |
| VAR (Value Added) |
<3% |
5-8% |
>10% |
Service Share:
| Service Share |
Assessment |
| <20% |
Dependent on hardware margins |
| 20-40% |
Development potential |
| 40-60% |
Healthy mix |
| >60% |
Services-driven, more stable |
General Key Metrics
| Segment |
Weak |
Average |
Good |
| Software |
<20% |
30-45% |
>50% |
| IT Services |
<15% |
25-35% |
>40% |
| System Integrator |
<10% |
20-30% |
>35% |
Industry characteristic: IT companies are often less capital-intensive, therefore higher equity ratios are possible.
Personnel Expense Ratio
| Segment |
Low |
Typical |
High |
| Software |
30-40% |
40-55% |
>60% |
| IT Consulting |
55-65% |
65-75% |
>80% |
| System Integrator |
15-25% |
25-35% |
>40% |
Revenue per Employee
| Segment |
Weak |
Average |
Good |
| Software |
<150,000 EUR |
180-250,000 EUR |
>300,000 EUR |
| IT Consulting |
<100,000 EUR |
120-160,000 EUR |
>180,000 EUR |
| System Integrator |
<200,000 EUR |
250-400,000 EUR |
>500,000 EUR |
IT-Specific Metrics
Recurring Revenue
| Share |
Assessment |
| <20% |
Project-driven, volatile |
| 20-40% |
Basic foundation present |
| 40-60% |
Stable foundation |
| >60% |
Very stable, predictable |
Customer Concentration
| Top Customer Share |
Assessment |
| >30% |
Critical concentration risk |
| 15-30% |
Elevated risk |
| 5-15% |
Acceptable |
| <5% |
Well diversified |
Employee Metrics
| Metric |
Typical IT |
| Turnover |
10-18% p.a. |
| Time-to-Hire |
2-4 months |
| Cost per Hire |
15-25,000 EUR |
| Training days p.a. |
5-10 days |
Growth Profiles
Bootstrapped vs. VC-funded
| Metric |
Bootstrapped |
VC-funded |
| Growth |
10-30% p.a. |
50-100%+ p.a. |
| Profitability |
Positive |
Often negative |
| Equity Ratio |
High |
Varies |
| Burn Rate |
Low |
High |
Lifecycle Phases
| Phase |
Characteristics |
Typical Margins |
| Startup |
<10 employees, negative EBIT |
Negative |
| Growth |
10-50 employees, growth >30% |
0-10% |
| Scale-up |
50-200 employees, building structure |
5-15% |
| Mature |
>200 employees, focus on efficiency |
10-20% |
Risk Factors
Structural Risks
| Risk |
Impact |
| Skills shortage |
Growth brake, cost driver |
| Technology shift |
Devaluation of existing expertise |
| Customer concentration |
Existential risk if lost |
| Contract cancellations |
Revenue drops |
| Security incidents |
Reputation, liability |
| Signal |
Interpretation |
| Declining recurring revenue |
Customer loss, churn |
| Falling margins with growth |
Price pressure, scaling problems |
| High turnover |
Culture problems, overload |
| Key person dependency |
Succession risk |
| Delayed product releases |
Development problems |
| Technical debt |
High refactoring costs |
Yellow Flags
| Signal |
Monitor |
| Margin pressure from competition |
Industry standard, trend matters |
| Slow growth |
Market maturity or problem? |
| High investments |
R&D or desperation? |
Sub-Segment Benchmarks
Managed Service Providers (MSP)
| Metric |
Weak |
Normal |
Good |
| MRR per Endpoint |
<15 EUR |
20-35 EUR |
>50 EUR |
| Technician : Customers |
>1:80 |
1:50-80 |
<1:50 |
| Service Desk Costs |
>20% revenue |
12-18% |
<12% |
Custom Software Developers
| Metric |
Weak |
Normal |
Good |
| Project margin |
<20% |
30-40% |
>45% |
| Follow-up orders |
<30% |
50-70% |
>80% |
| Fixed-price share |
>80% (risky) |
40-60% |
<40% |
SaaS Companies
| Metric |
Seed |
Series A |
Series B+ |
| ARR |
<500k EUR |
1-5 million EUR |
>5 million EUR |
| Growth Rate |
>100% |
50-100% |
30-50% |
| Burn Multiple |
<2x |
<1.5x |
<1x |
Valuation Multiples
Transaction Multiples
| Segment |
EV/Revenue |
EV/EBITDA |
| SaaS (growing) |
5-15x |
n/a |
| SaaS (profitable) |
3-8x |
15-25x |
| IT Services |
0.8-1.5x |
6-10x |
| System Integrator |
0.4-0.8x |
5-8x |
Influencing Factors
| Factor |
Impact on Multiple |
| Recurring Revenue |
++ |
| Growth >30% |
+ |
| Profitability |
+ |
| Customer concentration |
- |
| Key-Person Risk |
- |
| Technical debt |
- |
Regional Characteristics
Germany
- Largest IT market in the DACH region
- Strong mid-market IT
- High data protection requirements
- Skills shortage most severe
Austria
- Smaller, more concentrated market
- Proximity to Germany (customers, competition)
- Strong nearshore position
Switzerland
- Highest price level
- Banking IT as focus
- Quality-oriented
- Multilingualism as requirement
Trends 2026
Growth Drivers
- Cloud migration
- AI/ML integration
- Cybersecurity
- SME digitalization
- Sustainability IT
Challenges
- Margin compression
- Talent war
- Technology shifts
- Consolidation
- Vendor concentration
Conclusion
The IT industry shows extremely different metrics depending on the segment. A SaaS company with 10% EBIT margin is excellent, a system integrator with the same value is also excellent - but for completely different reasons.
For analyzing IT companies, important points:
1. Choose the right segment benchmark
2. Consider recurring revenue as stability indicator
3. Evaluate growth vs. profitability contextually
4. Consider the talent situation
Future viability depends heavily on positioning in cloud, AI, and security - companies with legacy focus will come under pressure.
Analyze IT Companies: Firmium provides financial metrics and industry comparisons for your IT industry analysis.