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"DATAGROUP Netherlands (formerly Valid Managed Services) remains the same partner, but with more capabilities."
Since June 2026, Valid Managed Services has been part of the German company DATAGROUP. For customers and prospects, this primarily means greater clout, says Managing Director Roy van de Kamp (photo). The same trusted team and customer-focused approach, complemented by the scale, international services, and specialized offerings of a major European IT service provider.
“For customers, nothing changes in terms of who we are, but what we can offer does,” says Roy van de Kamp. “Valid Managed Services remains the same trusted partner: local, personal, with short lines of communication, and Dutch-language service where needed. At the same time, customers gain access to DATAGROUP’s scale, expertise, and innovative strength. This allows us to support them more comprehensively, for example in the areas of security, compliance, multi-cloud, sovereign cloud solutions, international services, and digital transformation.”
The acquisition comes at a time when the demands on IT services are changing rapidly. Organizations are seeking not only stable management but also demonstrable resilience, scalability, cost control, and support in navigating changing laws and regulations. “By combining Valid Managed Services’ local customer knowledge with DATAGROUP’s scale and specialized services, we’re creating a partner that remains close to its customers while becoming stronger and broader in terms of expertise,” says Van de Kamp.
Cultural Fit
He is positive about the acquisition by DATAGROUP, which was finalized in early June. “Culturally speaking, it’s a very good match. From the very first meeting, we had a good feeling on both sides.”
Valid is an IT company based in Eindhoven with two divisions: consulting (particularly in the areas of change management and data-driven work) and managed services. Van de Kamp is responsible for the latter business unit, which employs approximately 200 people. “We have a strong presence in the industrial sector. In addition, our clients include business and financial service providers as well as housing associations. We speak their language and understand the technology like no one else. With these types of companies, it’s crucial to take immediate action when production or service delivery comes to a standstill.”
Valid Managed Services has now been fully acquired. “We see that the Dutch MSP market is consolidating and that customers are placing increasingly higher demands on security, compliance, scalability, and international support. We weren’t looking to sell, but in DATAGROUP we saw a partner that aligns well with both our culture and our ambition. Scale enables larger investments and accelerates the development of services that directly benefit customers.” As a result, the two companies quickly reached an agreement.
German Thoroughness
“DATAGROUP is an IT service provider with approximately 4,000 employees and revenue of about 600 million euros, with the ambition to grow further in Europe,” says Van de Kamp. “They are strong in the Mittelstand (companies with 250 to 10,000 employees). That’s comparable to our target audience. What’s particularly relevant for our customers is that DATAGROUP invests in security, compliance, multi-cloud, sovereign cloud solutions, and AI. Think of an in-house SOC, compliance services related to regulations such as NIS2 and DORA, AI applications via Almato, and specialized cloud solutions for environments with high security and compliance requirements. This allows us not only to relieve clients of operational burdens but also to help them with risk reduction, data sovereignty, and digital acceleration.”
A key offering is CORBOX, which stands for “Corporate IT out of the box.” “This is a modular service portfolio that allows customers to select exactly the IT services that fit their situation, ranging from workstations, service desk, and networking to hybrid cloud, security, compliance, and application management. For Dutch customers, it’s particularly relevant that DATAGROUP offers proven building blocks that we can combine locally with our own customer knowledge and service organization.”
DATAGROUP also holds high partner statuses with companies such as SAP, Microsoft, VMware by Broadcom, and Fortinet. “They are a VMware by Broadcom Pinnacle Partner, a status that’s rare in the Netherlands. So that’s appealing to many companies.”
In a sense, it’s a truly German company, Van de Kamp observes. “The German ‘Gründlichkeit’ definitely applies. They are precise, thorough, and patient. I don’t experience another common stereotype (that German companies are hierarchical) at all. There are certainly cultural differences, but that’s only a good thing. The most important thing is that we share the same vision of what good IT service should look like. We believe in the importance of customer intimacy.”
Comprehensive Solutions
According to him, one of the major advantages of the acquisition is that it allows us to better serve companies with an international presence. “If customers want it, we can now support them with a multilingual service desk, all based in Europe. That’s particularly valuable for companies that operate in multiple countries or whose employees speak different languages.”
From the perspective of sovereignty, the acquisition is also beneficial, says Van de Kamp. “We’re seeing that the importance of sovereignty is becoming an increasingly prominent topic in the boardroom. Organizations want to know where their data is stored, which laws and regulations govern it, and how dependent they are on non-European technology or services. DATAGROUP has made a very conscious decision not to offshore to countries like India, but to stay close to the customer. It works with sovereign solutions that are of high quality. A concrete example of this is the DATAGROUP Defense Cloud: a cloud solution hosted in Germany for environments with very high security and compliance requirements, including defense, aerospace, government agencies, and organizations with critical infrastructure. In this way, DATAGROUP demonstrates that it doesn’t just talk about sovereignty, but also has concrete solutions available for it.”
Philosophy Remains Unchanged
Van de Kamp emphasizes that customers will continue to work with the same people, the same short lines of communication, and the same customer-focused service organization. “Our philosophy remains unchanged: we’ll stay close to our customers and maintain the personal approach they’ve come to expect from us. Anyone who wants to be assisted by our service desk in Dutch will continue to be assisted in Dutch. The change is mainly behind the scenes: we’re gaining access to more expertise, greater scale, and a broader service portfolio.”
“We’re still doing what we’re good at, serving the same industries,” he continues. “But in addition, we’re making more and more services available to the Dutch market. For example, ‘compliance as a service.’ Through this, we provide highly targeted assistance to customers dealing with DORA or NIS2.”
“No, we’re definitely not leaving Eindhoven,” he adds. What will change in the long term, however, is the brand name. “We’re starting the rebranding process from Valid Managed Services to DATAGROUP. That transition will take place in 2027. Until then, we’ll continue to operate under the name Valid Managed Services, with the addition of ‘a DATAGROUP company.’ This way, we make it clear that we’re part of DATAGROUP, while customers and employees can gradually get used to the new situation.” The local presence, customer relationships, and service approach will remain unchanged. Valid’s consulting division is not included in this acquisition, so nothing will change for that business unit. “We will certainly collaborate strategically,” Van de Kamp anticipates.
The managing director of Valid Managed Services will now take on the role of “Division Director, European Expansion.” He is pleased with this development. “It’s a wonderful challenge that I’m really looking forward to. I’ve had a long career at Vodafone, holding several international positions. That experience will come in handy now that I’m focusing on European growth. I know the various markets quite well.”
He is clear about the overarching goal. “We want to become even more relevant to our customers. By combining our trusted customer intimacy with DATAGROUP’s scale, investment capacity, and specialized services, we can better help organizations with digital transformation, security, compliance, and international growth. We remain the same partner, close to our customers, but with more capabilities. That is the essence of this acquisition.”
