Computable 100: From growth-driven to value-driven performance

Shift from ‘growth at all costs’ toward healthy and scalable growth, with artificial intelligence acting as a catalyst and private equity as an accelerator.

The Dutch IT sector continues to demonstrate strong structural resilience, despite a clear moderation in headline growth rates. According to the latest Computable 100 ranking compiled by CFI, the sector remains one of the strongest performers within the Dutch economy, underpinned by scalable business models, recurring revenues and continued demand for digitalisation.

A significant number of companies in the ranking have delivered sustained above-market revenue growth over multiple years. Structural outperformers such as AFAS Software, once again ranked number one, and Adyen continue to report double-digit growth, supported by strong product positioning and operational leverage.

Relative to other sectors, the Dutch IT market remains defensively positioned, with robust profitability, improving balance sheets and high productivity levels.

Ranking methodology

The Computable 100 ranks Dutch software and IT services companies based on four core KPIs:

• Revenue growth
• EBITDA margin
• Solvency
• Revenue per employee

The methodology prioritises financial quality and operational efficiency over absolute scale, allowing both large platforms and smaller, high-growth companies to rank prominently. Inclusion is limited to companies that provide verified financial data to CFI.

The 2025 edition is based on weighted financials for 2022–2024, with 2024 serving as the primary year for market analysis, as 2025 financials will only become available in 2026.

Market dynamics: Shift from growth-at-all-costs to profit-led scaling

Sector-wide revenue growth moderated to approximately 10% in 2024, compared to an exceptional ~20% in 2023. While this represents a deceleration, CFI characterises the growth level as structurally healthy and sustainable.

Importantly, lower growth has been offset by margin expansion. Average EBITDA margins increased to 15.2%, up from 14.1% in 2023, despite persistent macroeconomic uncertainty. This reflects:

• Increased focus on profitability over volume growth
• Improved cost discipline
• Realisation of scale benefits
• Integration of prior acquisitions

Companies with high levels of recurring revenue, particularly SaaS providers, continue to outperform on both growth and margin metrics. The Rule of 40 remains a key performance benchmark, with many companies rebalancing towards healthier score ranges as profitability improves.

Balance sheet strength and productivity improvements

Balance sheet quality across the sector improved further. Average solvency increased from 35.1% in 2023 to 38.8% in 2024, indicating reduced leverage and greater financial flexibility, even amid ongoing M&A activity.

Operational efficiency remains a key differentiator. Average revenue per employee increased to approximately EUR 260k, driven by automation, cloud adoption and AI-enabled tooling. Software, cloud and automation-focused companies continue to materially outperform traditional IT services providers on productivity metrics, reinforcing investor preference for IP-driven and scalable models.

Private Equity: Key driver of sector consolidation

Private Equity continues to play a central role in the Dutch ICT ecosystem. Eight of the top ten ranked companies are sponsor-backed; the only exceptions are AFAS Software (family-owned) and Adyen (listed).

Financial sponsors remain focused on:

• Scalable, recurring-revenue business models
• Buy-and-build strategies
• Operational professionalisation
• International expansion

The Netherlands frequently serves as a platform market for broader European expansion, supported by high cloud penetration and a mature digital infrastructure.

Many companies in the ranking are part of larger platforms backed by sponsors such as Main Capital Partners, Waterland, Strikwerda Investments, IceLake, and international funds including Hg Capital, Fortino, Keensight, Five Arrows and Volpi. Successful post-merger integration continues to drive structural improvements in EBITDA margins and solvency.

Segment view: Margin pressure in managed services

Within the managed services (MSP) segment, margins remain under pressure due to intense competition, pricing dynamics and labour cost inflation, with a limited number of positive outliers.

At the same time, demand is shifting toward integrated, end-to-end service models, driven by cloud migration, remote working, increasing cyber risk and AI readiness. This is accelerating the transition towards managed security services providers (MSSPs).

AI-enabled security, monitoring and automation solutions represent a key opportunity for differentiation and margin expansion, provided offerings are embedded and demonstrably value-accretive for customers.

Artificial intelligence as a strategic enabler, a dual-track strategy

AI adoption follows a dual-track strategy across the sector:

• External: AI functionality embedded in software products and AI advisory services supporting customer decision-making and productivity.
• Internal: Automation of support, ticketing, customer experience, development and sales processes.

Companies failing to invest in AI risk margin erosion and competitive disadvantage. Leading players are already leveraging AI to enhance productivity and scalability. AFAS, for example, introduced an AI assistant in 2024 to support its four-day workweek while maintaining high output levels.

Outlook: 2025 and beyond

Looking ahead, CFI expects accelerating deal activity in 2025, supported by improved financing conditions, increased confidence and the completion of prior integration phases.

Key themes for 2025 include:

• Higher M&A tempo, particularly sponsor-led buy-and-build
• Continued international expansion
• Increased focus on AI-driven value creation
• Selective growth favouring scalable, high-margin models

The market environment increasingly favours well-prepared assets with strong KPIs, clear strategic positioning and a balanced growth-versus-profitability profile.

For the complete Computable 100 ranking and full sector analysis, see the original publication on Computable.nl: Computable 100 – ict-sector robuust ondanks afkoelende groei