The story of Abacus begins in 1985 in a student apartment in St. Gallen: Thomas Köberl, Claudio Hintermann and Eliano Ramelli, all graduates of the University of St. Gallen (HSG), wanted to be self-employed after their studies and therefore founded Abacus Research AG.

The three founders started out small, and today, with a large team, they successfully compete against foreign providers. Abacus' customers include not only municipalities, real estate companies, HR departments and accountants, but also countless Swiss asset managers.

Swiss Solution for Swiss Companies

Even 40 years after its founding, Abacus continues to successfully compete with major international providers. In Switzerland, the company is the market leader in the field of integrated standard business software for SMEs with over 65,000 customers. According to Hintermann, this is due to its «Swissness»: Abacus is a Swiss company with Swiss solutions for Swiss companies.

The  Abacus Campus in Wittenbach, St. Gallen. (Image: zVg)

They are also faster at Abacus when it comes to implementing new requirements and legal changes. «Thanks to long-term reliability and innovations such as artificial intelligence for process optimization, our software is always one step ahead», says Hintermann.

Independence Remains Intact

Abacus has grown. The company has about 800 employees with locations throughout Switzerland.

Abacus is extremely successful: over the past eight years, the company has recorded double-digit percentage growth.

And the company has maintained its independence to this day: Last year, the four main shareholders of Abacus Research AG agreed not to relinquish their majority shareholding for the next ten years.

«Not Even in Our Wildest Dreams»

Did the three founders ever expect such success? No, says Köberl: «Not even in our wildest dreams would we have imagined it.»

However, the success is not solely down to their own efforts. «Above all, we owe this success to our employees, whose commitment and passion have made a decisive contribution to our history and have made the company what it is today. We can all be proud of this together,» emphasizes Köberl.

20 Percent of Employees Have Worked for Abacus for at least Ten Years. (Image: zVg)

Abacus' interest in its employees is also reflected in its corporate philosophy. The company focuses not only on economic sustainability, but also on ecological and social sustainability. «A visible sign of this philosophy is the loyalty of our employees: Around 20 percent of our team have been with Abacus for at least ten years,» notes Ramelli.

Eastern Switzerland, Not Zurich

Like the traditional corporate philosophy, one aspect has never changed: the headquarters. Since its foundation in 1985, Abacus has been based in Wittenbach, St. Gallen. A relocation to Zurich was never up for discussion. «Our roots are in Eastern Switzerland. A move to the greater Zurich area would mean losing many long-standing employees and valuable know-how,» says Köberl.

The anniversary is not only a reason to celebrate, but also an opportunity to look back on the company's history. Back in 2021, Hintermann commissioned Christoph Hugenschmitt to document the company's history. Hugenschmitt then wrote the book «Inside Abacus und die verrückte Geschichte der Schweizer IT-Branche», which was published in 2023.