Heidelberg expands digital biz with Crispy Mountain acquisition

In a view to strategically expand its digital business models, Heidelberg has acquired Mainz-based software developer, Crispy Mountain, who specialise in Keyline, a cloud-based management platform for print businesses

17 Jun 2019 | By Abhishek Muralidharan & Abhishek Muralidharan

Prof Dr Ulrich Hermann, member of the management board of lifecycle solutions and chief digital officer at Heidelberg, said, "The acquisition of Crispy Mountain is a further step in the rapid expansion of cloud-based digital applications that are billed on a usage basis. With Crispy Mountain's qualified team and innovative solutions, we are accelerating our developments around our new industry platform HEI.OS."

Keyline was introduced as a future-oriented management information system (MIS) for the printing industry, designed exclusively for operation in the cloud and for further development towards ecosystems.
According to Hermann, with the integration of the HEI.OS platform, printing companies will be able to obtain a large number of applications from an App Store. The application depicts all stages of the value chain of digital and offset print businesses.

“By connecting the existing Heidelberg software solutions around Prinect, the Heidelberg ID and the Heidelberg Assistant, the number of customers is set to grow rapidly,” added Hermann.

Jürgen Grimm, head of global software business at Heidelberg, said, "This is the first time that Heidelberg has offered its customers all Prinect modules on a subscription basis as software-as-a-service, since its market launch a year ago.”

The HEI.OS platform will be accessible to all manufacturers in the printing industry. According to Grimm, the platform will enable third-party suppliers to create tailor-made offers for printing companies.

Heidelberg is gradually converting the sale of individual software licenses to a usage-oriented subscription offering, thus, realigning its traditional software business to cloud technology.

“Crispy Mountain strengthens our team with key competencies in cloud technology and development processes, enabling us not only to deliver an innovative cloud-based and proven MIS application but also to secure our business plan on the road to the digital industry platform,” added Grimm.