Device-as-a-Service Startup Fleet Expands into Germany

Fleet, Germany, device-as-a-service

French Device-as-a-Service startup Fleet has expanded into Germany, aiming to optimize the lifecycle of workplace equipment for companies and startups there.

Already operating in France and Spain, Fleet’s expansion into Germany marks another milestone in its growth journey, EU Startups reported Thursday (Sept. 14). The company was founded in France in 2019, entered Spain in 2022 and generated a double-digit million turnover last year.

“Having already made life easier for over 1,000 founders, CTOs and IT managers in France and Spain, our German customers can now also benefit from our comprehensive offering,” Fleet Deutschland said in a Thursday post on LinkedIn.

Fleet offers computers, phones, tablets, accessories and office furniture, according to the EU Startups report, providing services such as management, maintenance, exchange, repair, insurance, user management and mobile device management (MDM) from a single platform.

Fleet serves companies and startups with five to 500 employees, particularly those with limited or no IT departments, the report said, charging them a fixed monthly subscription model that bundles together these services.

Co-founder and CEO Alexandre Berriche envisions Fleet becoming the leading office operating system for small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and startups in Europe, per the report. The expansion into Germany is a significant step towards this goal, as the country boasts a broad-based SMB sector and a thriving startup ecosystem.

Fleet aims to optimize the entire lifecycle of workplace equipment, simplifying complex processes and allowing businesses to focus on their core activities, according to the report. The company renews its clients’ equipment every three years.

Germany presents a significant opportunity for Fleet, as the country is the largest and most developed market for Device-as-a-Service in Europe, per the report.

For businesses that need hardware, using a Hardware-as-a-Service model rather than owning the products enables lower monthly operating expenses, greater flexibility and assurance that the hardware will always be up-to-date, according to another company in the space, Berlin-based FinTech topi.

“The as-a-service models that have long been established for software will also become the standard for hardware,” topi co-founders Estelle Merle and Charlotte Pallua said last August.

Last year, the FinTech raised $45 million in a second equity investment round for its platform, a nod to the burgeoning trend.