Lünendonk Study underlines q.beyond’s 2028 Strategy: AI orchestration and sector expertise in focus

Lünendonk Study underlines q.beyond’s 2028 Strategy: AI orchestration and sector expertise in focus

• Primary objective of increasing SME business value
• Cybersecurity, cloud transformation, and data/AI as most important investment focuses
• Current 2026 Lünendonk Study available as download at qbeyond.de

Cologne, 4 August 2026 – According to the latest Lünendonk Study “The IT Services Market in Germany 2026”, q.beyond AG is once again one of the 25 leading IT service providers in Germany. The findings of the study now published underline the course adopted by q.beyond: With its “2028 Strategy”, the IT service provider announced its transformation from a technology implementer into an AI orchestrator and integrator. The core objective here is always to boost business value and associated outcomes at medium-sized companies.

In this, q.beyond is building on increased sector expertise and, alongside its existing focus sectors such as retail and logistics, is expanding its commitment to high-growth markets such as healthcare and the energy sector.

Growth in AI, IT sovereignty, and resilience

In terms of technology, the new Lünendonk Study shows the greatest demand is still for q.beyond’s core competencies of cybersecurity, cloud transformation, and data/AI. The highest growth is reported for services in the fields of AI, IT sovereignty, and resilience. According to the study, for example, 91 percent of companies intend to take steps in the next two years to boost their security, resilience, and digital sovereignty. q.beyond has proprietary AI data centres meeting the highest security standards in Germany and therefore satisfies the security and data protection requirements even of companies operating critical infrastructures (KRITIS).

“Sovereignty is a topic that is also increasingly affecting IT sourcing”, comments Mario Zillmann, Senior Partner at Lünendonk & Hossenfelder. “CIOs are reviewing their sourcing models and, in response, IT service providers are positioning themselves as bridges between sovereignty requirements and technology suppliers.” Providers were developing from implementers into integrators and orchestrators. “By directing its business model towards becoming an AI orchestrator and integrator, q.beyond is heading in a good direction.”

AI as productivity lever

Thies Rixen, CEO of q.beyond AG, explains: “We enable our medium-sized corporate customers to deploy artificial intelligence as an effective lever to enhance their productivity and business value while at the same time keeping the costs of deploying AI under control.” According to Rixen, agents were already handling numerous tasks at companies. q.beyond adapted these agents to the requirements of the individual sector and also saw to their operation as a managed service. “In parallel, based on open source models we are also developing fixed-price AI solutions for our customers that are precisely tailored to their respective requirements.”

Fee models are evolving

The Lünendonk Study shows that artificial intelligence is also changing the fee and delivery models in place at IT service providers. Potentially lower project volumes and billable services were decreasing, while new contract models based more firmly on outcomes were emerging.

“We welcome this development towards outcome-based billing models”, adds Thies Rixen. “After it all, it links the use of AI and of IT solutions as a whole more closely to actual outcomes and thus to the growth in companies’ business value.”

For its 2026 study, Lünendonk surveyed 101 IT service providers and 206 user companies in Germany. q.beyond has made the complete Lünendonk study “The IT Services Market in Germany 2026” available for downloading free of charge at www.qbeyond.de/luenendonk-studie-2026.


About q.beyond
q.beyond is the leading IT partner for SMEs. We solve the technological challenges our European customers face and make their business models fit for the future. This way, we sustainably enhance our customers’ business value. We do so by implementing sovereign IT solutions and drawing on our proprietary, certified AI data centres. Our strong team of more than 1,000 specialists combines sector expertise with technical excellence. Core focuses of our activities include public and private clouds, operating business-critical applications based on Microsoft and SAP technologies, artificial intelligence, and IT security. Publicly listed, q.beyond is present across Germany and has locations in Latvia, Spain, India, and the USA.

Contact
q.beyond AG
Arne Thull
Head of Investor Relations/Mergers & Acquisitions
T +49 221 669-8724
invest@qbeyond.de
www.qbeyond.de