BCS strengthens industry leadership with strategic acquisition of Online Academie

With over 45 years of industry experience, BCS has been a trusted partner for companies of all sizes, offering a complete HR & Payroll solution encompassing absence and payroll management, flexible benefits, employee administration, and talent management amongst others. BCS, provides its HR and payrolling solutions and services to the SME market in the Netherlands and Belgium, servicing clients such as Decathlon, Vattenfall and Argenta, as well as local governments and academic hospitals.

Online Academie, based in Berlicum, the Netherlands, specializes in supporting companies in Learning & Development, catering to a diverse range of sectors, including governmental, accounting, healthcare, and industrial. This is facilitated via an in-house developed Learning Management System called ‘mijnLMS’. The SaaS platform provides an integrated learning portal for organizations to manage and automate training processes and offers central access to in-house and third-party learning resources. Customers include Baker Tilly, RSM Netherlands, Hanos, Gemeente Tilburg and Gemeente Arnhem.

The acquisition strategically positions BCS to leverage the expertise of Online Academie in meeting the learning & development demands both profit and non-profit clients. BCS’ recent expansion into Belgium and in the talent management segment, facilitated by the acquisition of epowerhr in November 2023, aligns seamlessly with Online Academie’s Learning Management System (LMS) solutions. This strategic product expansion enables BCS to offer end-to-end tracking and monitoring of employee development, creating strong cross-sell and upsell opportunities within the existing customer base. This acquisition reinforces BCS’ commitment to innovation, positioning the company as the comprehensive partner for HRM and payroll software needs. The addition of Online Academie’s expertise marks a pivotal step forward in delivering enhanced value to clients across various sectors.

Joep Eijkens, CEO of BCS, adds: “The acquisition fits well with BCS’ long-term strategy. Being able to offer a Learning Experience Platform is a great addition to our current range of HR solutions. It was a missing link within the employee journey. As talent management and employee learning & development is becoming one of the most important aspect within the employee journey, we are delighted that we can now fully support customers in offering these essential solutions to their employees.”

Charly Zwemstra, founder and CEO of Main Capital and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of BCS, concludes: “Since our strategic partnership with BCS in 2022 we have worked towards building a sustainable software group with a leading market position in the HR & payroll software market. The acquisition of Online Academie aligns seamlessly with BCS’ existing customer base and presents opportunities for cross-selling, both for the non-profit as well as the profit segments. We will continue to support BCS in its growth journey in gaining an even stronger foothold in the HR & payroll software industry.”