While many German companies are still hesitant, Slalom is driving the cloud and AI transformation forward. With over 200 employees in Germany and a goal of reaching 500 in the DACH region, the AWS partner is positioning itself as a bridge between vision and operational excellence.
Cloud, Artificial Intelligence, and digital transformation are among the most frequently mentioned buzzwords in business today. Yet in many companies, there remains a significant gap between strategy papers and actual implementation. This is precisely where the international consulting firm Slalom sees its role. Denis Gassmann, President DACH at Slalom, describes the company as a bridge builder between technological vision and operational reality — with a strong focus on AWS, complex modernization projects, and comprehensive AI deployment.
When Slalom was founded 25 years ago in Seattle, cloud computing was still in its infancy. Today, the company is one of the most recognized consulting and implementation partners for Amazon Web Services (AWS). The connection to AWS dates back almost to the early days of the cloud provider. “We have been an AWS Partner for 16 years,” says Denis Gassmann. Over this time, a close collaboration has developed that now operates globally.
Slalom’s multiple “AWS Partner of the Year” awards — both in the US and globally — underscore the importance of this partnership. For Gassmann, however, this is less about collecting trophies and more about sending a signal to the market. Companies today want not only to purchase technology but above all guidance and implementation confidence. This is exactly where Slalom positions itself.
Internationally, the consulting firm is well established — with 53 offices in 12 countries. In Germany, by contrast, Slalom is still relatively young. The company has been officially active in the German market since 2022. Nevertheless, growth has been remarkably fast. Slalom now employs around 200 people in Germany, while simultaneously building its presence in Switzerland. The ambitions are significantly larger: In the coming years, the number of employees in the entire DACH region is expected to grow to around 500.
The timing seems favorable. Many German companies are still at the beginning of their cloud transformation. While corporations in the US or parts of Asia have already consistently modernized their IT landscapes, there is still hesitation in many places in Germany. Especially with complex migrations, many companies are cautious, says Gassmann. Security concerns, regulatory issues, and historically grown IT structures often slow down projects.
It is precisely in this environment that Slalom sees its strength. The company focuses primarily on demanding migration and modernization projects based on the AWS stack. This is not just about moving existing systems to the cloud. Rather, companies should fundamentally rethink their processes, make better use of data, and meaningfully integrate AI applications. The goal of modernization: to increase innovation power and — above all — speed, in order to remain internationally competitive.
“Business Transformation” is the guiding term for this. It refers to a holistic approach that does not view technology in isolation, but closely links it with business processes. Slalom’s approach: people-centric business transformation. In addition to classic consulting, Slalom therefore places a strong emphasis on topics such as AI Adoption and data strategies.
Projects in which companies want to integrate concrete AI applications into existing processes are currently in particularly high demand. One example is the collaboration with GTÜ, where Slalom supports AI-powered vehicle inspections. The Swiss chemical company Clariant also worked with Slalom on a generative AI platform for productivity and sales support.
The range of customers also shows Slalom’s focus: international large customers and larger mid-sized companies with global operations. References include Ströer and Scheidt & Bachmann — a company that is gradually transforming conservative business areas with the help of data and AI.
For many of these companies, international presence is now decisive, explains Gassmann. Especially German firms are looking for partners that combine global experience with local market knowledge. “We fill a gap there,” he says — referring to the combination of international reach, technical specialization, and local consulting expertise.
The development of the German AI market is also interesting. While generative AI has been discussed in nearly every boardroom since ChatGPT’s breakthrough, practical implementation is still in an early phase in many places. Companies struggle to scale AI with their existing IT landscapes. This is one reason why many experiment with pilot projects, but broad rollout often fails to materialize.
Nevertheless, Gassmann observes a clear shift. The willingness to talk is high, and market resonance is “excellent.” Many companies have now realized that AI is not just a topic for the future, but already unlocks efficiency potential today. The key now will be to develop robust business models and productive applications from individual experiments.
That AWS plays a central role in this is hardly surprising. Amazon is not only a technology partner of Slalom but also one of the consulting firm’s largest customers. This close connection provides direct access to new technologies and developments within the AWS ecosystem.
At the same time, the partner landscape itself is changing. Previously, many important awards were granted globally. AWS is now increasingly shifting parts of its partner programs to the regions, particularly around major Summit events. For companies like Slalom, this could create additional visibility in local markets — especially in Europe.
For the coming years, Gassmann sees one thing above all: continued enormous transformation pressure. The combination of cloud migration, data strategy, and AI deployment will shape companies in the long term. Those who tackle these issues too late risk competitive disadvantages.
Slalom wants to position itself as a pragmatic implementer — less as a pure strategy consultant and more as a partner that actually converts technological concepts into productive processes. In a market where many companies are still looking for orientation, this approach could become the decisive competitive advantage.
Cloud, Artificial Intelligence, and digital transformation are among the most frequently mentioned buzzwords in business today. Yet in many companies, there remains a significant gap between strategy papers and actual implementation. This is precisely where the international consulting firm Slalom sees its role. Denis Gassmann, President DACH at Slalom, describes the company as a bridge builder between technological vision and operational reality — with a strong focus on AWS, complex modernization projects, and comprehensive AI deployment.
When Slalom was founded 25 years ago in Seattle, cloud computing was still in its infancy. Today, the company is one of the most recognized consulting and implementation partners for Amazon Web Services (AWS). The connection to AWS dates back almost to the early days of the cloud provider. “We have been an AWS Partner for 16 years,” says Denis Gassmann. Over this time, a close collaboration has developed that now operates globally.
Slalom’s multiple “AWS Partner of the Year” awards — both in the US and globally — underscore the importance of this partnership. For Gassmann, however, this is less about collecting trophies and more about sending a signal to the market. Companies today want not only to purchase technology but above all guidance and implementation confidence. This is exactly where Slalom positions itself.
Internationally, the consulting firm is well established — with 53 offices in 12 countries. In Germany, by contrast, Slalom is still relatively young. The company has been officially active in the German market since 2022. Nevertheless, growth has been remarkably fast. Slalom now employs around 200 people in Germany, while simultaneously building its presence in Switzerland. The ambitions are significantly larger: In the coming years, the number of employees in the entire DACH region is expected to grow to around 500.
The timing seems favorable. Many German companies are still at the beginning of their cloud transformation. While corporations in the US or parts of Asia have already consistently modernized their IT landscapes, there is still hesitation in many places in Germany. Especially with complex migrations, many companies are cautious, says Gassmann. Security concerns, regulatory issues, and historically grown IT structures often slow down projects.
It is precisely in this environment that Slalom sees its strength. The company focuses primarily on demanding migration and modernization projects based on the AWS stack. This is not just about moving existing systems to the cloud. Rather, companies should fundamentally rethink their processes, make better use of data, and meaningfully integrate AI applications. The goal of modernization: to increase innovation power and — above all — speed, in order to remain internationally competitive.
“Business Transformation” is the guiding term for this. It refers to a holistic approach that does not view technology in isolation, but closely links it with business processes. Slalom’s approach: people-centric business transformation. In addition to classic consulting, Slalom therefore places a strong emphasis on topics such as AI Adoption and data strategies.
Projects in which companies want to integrate concrete AI applications into existing processes are currently in particularly high demand. One example is the collaboration with GTÜ, where Slalom supports AI-powered vehicle inspections. The Swiss chemical company Clariant also worked with Slalom on a generative AI platform for productivity and sales support.
The range of customers also shows Slalom’s focus: international large customers and larger mid-sized companies with global operations. References include Ströer and Scheidt & Bachmann — a company that is gradually transforming conservative business areas with the help of data and AI.
For many of these companies, international presence is now decisive, explains Gassmann. Especially German firms are looking for partners that combine global experience with local market knowledge. “We fill a gap there,” he says — referring to the combination of international reach, technical specialization, and local consulting expertise.
The development of the German AI market is also interesting. While generative AI has been discussed in nearly every boardroom since ChatGPT’s breakthrough, practical implementation is still in an early phase in many places. Companies struggle to scale AI with their existing IT landscapes. This is one reason why many experiment with pilot projects, but broad rollout often fails to materialize.
Nevertheless, Gassmann observes a clear shift. The willingness to talk is high, and market resonance is “excellent.” Many companies have now realized that AI is not just a topic for the future, but already unlocks efficiency potential today. The key now will be to develop robust business models and productive applications from individual experiments.
That AWS plays a central role in this is hardly surprising. Amazon is not only a technology partner of Slalom but also one of the consulting firm’s largest customers. This close connection provides direct access to new technologies and developments within the AWS ecosystem.
At the same time, the partner landscape itself is changing. Previously, many important awards were granted globally. AWS is now increasingly shifting parts of its partner programs to the regions, particularly around major Summit events. For companies like Slalom, this could create additional visibility in local markets — especially in Europe.
For the coming years, Gassmann sees one thing above all: continued enormous transformation pressure. The combination of cloud migration, data strategy, and AI deployment will shape companies in the long term. Those who tackle these issues too late risk competitive disadvantages.
Slalom wants to position itself as a pragmatic implementer — less as a pure strategy consultant and more as a partner that actually converts technological concepts into productive processes. In a market where many companies are still looking for orientation, this approach could become the decisive competitive advantage.
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Dr. Jakob Jung is Editor-in-Chief of Security Storage and Channel Germany. He has been working in IT journalism for more than 20 years. His career includes Computer Reseller News, Heise Resale, Informationweek, Techtarget (storage and data center) and ChannelBiz. He also freelances for numerous IT publications, including Computerwoche, Channelpartner, IT-Business, Storage-Insider and ZDnet. His main topics are channel, storage, security, data center, ERP and CRM.
Contact via Mail: jakob.jung@security-storage-und-channel-germany.de