Stronger together: empower and Strategy Compass join forces

Cologne, Germany, March 20, 2024 

empower, a leading provider of add-ins for professional document creation and sharing in Microsoft 365, has successfully completed the acquisition of Strategy Compass. Strategy Compass is the developer of the renowned PowerPoint add-in QuickSlide based in Düsseldorf, Germany. With this strategic move, empower and Strategy Compass join forces to offer their customers a holistic end-to-end solution that combines software, services, and design.

Both companies were founded in 2009 with the same vision of making PowerPoint easier to use. Since then, both companies have made a lot of progress.

From PowerPoint add-in to complete solution: streamlining the entire document creation process

This year, both companies celebrate their 15th anniversaries and look back on a successful history. Originally, the focus was on PowerPoint, but since then there has been considerable development.

empower has expanded its portfolio to include all Microsoft Office applications and has continuously optimized its technology. The launch of the new empower^® AI Assistant marks another milestone in the Cologne-based company's success story.

In addition to the popular QuickSlide PowerPoint add-in, Strategy Compass has developed a comprehensive set of content and enablement services. These services enable customers to realize the full potential of the software solutions. After all, day-to-day business isn’t just about software – it’s also about consistently implementing content objectives and the brand across all departments, empowering employees worldwide to create professional documents that build trust.

empower founders and managing directors: Fabian Willebrand (l.) and Stephan Kuhnert (r.)

Stephan Kuhnert, co-founder and co-CEO of empower, commented on the acquisition: “We are excited to welcome Strategy Compass to the empower family. By combining our software with Strategy Compass’ outstanding services, we can offer our customers exactly what they’re looking for: a partner that holistically optimizes document creation in Microsoft 365. We share the same vision, values, and passion for Microsoft 365.”

Following the merger, empower has more than 130 employees and serves more than 1,200 clients, including 50 percent of the DAX companies. The services and expertise of Strategy Compass will be combined under the empower umbrella to form a new, even stronger portfolio.

“The merger is an important step for us into the future. Over the past 15 years, we’ve built a unique offering for our customers. Together with empower, we can now take this to a new level and offer our customers inspiring solutions and a high development speed for the entire Microsoft Office suite,” said Achim Sztuka, founder and long-time CEO of Strategy Compass.

Focus on the web: joining forces to advance Web add-ins

Improving and expanding the web offering is at the heart of empower’s endeavors. As a Microsoft 365 expert, empower addresses key market needs to provide customers with a new level of efficiency and independence. empower already offers web add-ins for PowerPoint, Word, Outlook, and Excel, and will optimize and expand these with increased resources thanks to the synergy effects of the merger. This includes the empower^® AI Assistant, which seamlessly integrates OpenAI into PowerPoint, Word and Outlook, rounding out the empower portfolio.

About empower GmbH

Headquartered in Cologne, Germany, empower is an expert in professional document creation and distribution with more than 130 employees. Founded in 2009, the company offers a suite of Microsoft Office add-ins that make working with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook easier. The suite includes a central library for all documents and templates, central management of email signatures, design-compliant formatting, and many productivity tools that are available to all users online and offline. It can be hosted on-premises or in the cloud and is compatible with Office 365, Office for Windows, Office for Mac, Office Online, and Microsoft Teams. With more than 3 million users, empower^® is one of the leading solutions on the market.