About Computerwoche

Computerwoche

Computerwoche — the German weekly newspaper for CIOs and IT managers — was for nearly five decades the IT industry's Monday paper, published by the IDG Business Media GmbH (now Foundry) in Munich. First issued on 9 October 1974 as the German counterpart of the American Computerworld, the title presented the technical trends and the manufacturers' economic situation so that IT managers — especially in medium and large companies — could plan their investments: the analyses, the user reports, the industry news, the project reports, the personnel. The print edition was abolished in early 2023, the digital newspaper in October 2023; the brand continues digitally: the website, the newsletters, the podcasts.

Overview

Computerwoche serves the IT management: the CIOs, the IT managers, the digital officers — the investment planners. The investment-planning mission — the editorial's purpose — deserves its telling. "Technische Trends und wirtschaftliche Situation von Herstellern so darstellen, dass IT-Verantwortliche vor allem in mittleren und großen Unternehmen damit eine Handhabe für ihre Investitionsplanung erhalten" — presenting the technical trends and the manufacturers' economic situation so the IT managers gain the investment planning's handle. The analyses — the markets, the vendors — gave the depth: the decisions' basis. The user reports — the Anwenderberichte — shared the experience: the peers' lessons. The project reports — the implementations — documented the practice: the successes, the warnings. The personnel — the appointments — tracked the industry: the people. The mission's continuity — the digital products' journalism — serves the same readers: the CIOs' investment planning — the weekly's purpose, digitally continued. The weekly rhythm — every Monday, mainly by subscription — structured the IT year's rhythm for 49 years: the investment planning's companion.

The digital continuation — the computerwoche.de portal (current articles: the cyber-risk when the car factory becomes the armaments plant), the newsletters, the podcasts, the Foundry expert network — keeps the brand alive: the daily IT journalism. The 2009 award — the Deutsche Fachpresse's best online specialist medium in IT/Telecommunications/Electronics — documented the digital quality early. The focus — "digitale Produkte wie der Website, Newslettern und Podcasts" (digital products like the website, newsletters, and podcasts) — defines the present: the weekly's spirit, digitally.

History

Computerwoche — first issue 9 October 1974 — was founded as the German Computerworld: the IDG's German branch (Munich) publishing the weekly for the CIOs and IT managers. The editor-in-chief — Heinrich Vaske — and the Geschäftsführer — York von Heimburg — led the title through the IT decades: the mainframe era, the PC revolution, the internet, the cloud, the AI. The circulation — 28,306 sold, 54,742 distributed (Q3 2005) — documented the subscription newspaper's reach: the IT management's Monday reading.

The German IT press — the weekly's competitive context — deserves its telling. The 1974 founding — the mainframe era's dawn — launched the German IT journalism: the Computerwoche as the Computerworld's counterpart, the Munich newsroom. The decades — the PC revolution (the 1980s), the client-server (the 1990s), the internet (the 2000s), the cloud and mobile (the 2010s), the AI (the 2020s) — filled the Mondays: the trends, the vendors, the users. The subscription model — the mainly-subscription distribution — served the professionals: the IT managers' desks, not the kiosks. The 49-year run — the 1974 to 2023 — spanned the German IT's history: the weekly's archive as the industry's memory. The digital transition — the 2009 online award, the 2023 digital-only — completed the evolution: the Monday paper's spirit, the portal's currency. The "Heft gegen die Krise" — the 2009 crisis special — deserves its telling. The February 2009 XXL issue (390×300 mm, the magaziny layout, the higher-quality paper, the E-Paper) — the monothematic Computerwoche — broke the form: the unusual idea in difficult times. The concept — "ein Zeichen gegen das allgemeine Krisenlamento" (a sign against the general crisis lament) — distanced from the darkest-prognoses competition: the crisis not denied, the perspectives consciously different. The content — the backgrounds and strategies for crisis and anxiety management — left the IT terrain: the brain researchers, the psychologists, the human-rights activists, the economic sages, the statistics experts, the corporate researchers interviewed. The advertising — the attention-strong environment — sold the special: the crisis issue's business. The editorial's courage — Heinrich Vaske's concept — showed the weekly's range: the IT newspaper's societal voice. The 2023 discontinuation — the print abolished early in the year, the digital newspaper in October — ended the weekly: the focus shifting to the website, the newsletters, the podcasts. The IDG/Foundry ownership — the publishing house's story — deserves its telling. The International Data Group — the IT specialist publisher (the Computerworld's home) — founded the German branch: the Munich newsroom, the weekly. The IDG Communications Media AG — the German entity (the Computerzeitschrift list names it) — published the titles: the Computerwoche, the CIO. The Foundry rebrand — the 2022 IDG Communications' new name — modernized the identity: the tech-media brand. The Regent LP acquisition — the March 2025 private-equity takeover — continues the operation: the Munich newsroom, the digital products. The Munich base — the German branch's seat — houses the editorial: the IT journalism's Bavarian home. The brand family's continuity — the 1974 title, the 2026 portal — spans the ownership changes: the Computerwoche's name, the Foundry's digital strategy.

Coverage and Content

The editorial program follows the IT management's agenda. The trend coverage — the technical trends (the AI, the cloud, the cybersecurity) — gives the orientation: the investment planning's basis. The manufacturer coverage — the economic situation of the vendors — analyzes the market: the strategies, the results. The user-report coverage — the Anwenderberichte — shares the practice: the implementations, the lessons. The project coverage — the Projektberichte — documents the projects: the successes, the failures.

The industry-news coverage — the Branchennachrichten — reports the business: the M&A, the personnel, the strategies. The expert network — the current editorial model — deserves its telling. The "deutschsprachige Experten-Netzwerk von Foundry" (the Foundry's German-language expert network) — the "Lust mitzumachen? Jetzt bewerben!" (want to join? apply now!) — invites the practitioners: the CIOs, the CISOs, the architects. The expert articles — the cyber-risk's five check questions (the processes, the partners, the shared services, the incident isolation, the recovery readiness) — give the actionable: the checklists. The community journalism — the practitioners' voices — complements the editors': the newsroom and the network. The application model — the experts' self-selection — curates the quality: the Foundry's brand. The digital products' logic — the website, the newsletters, the podcasts — distributes the expertise: the IT management's inbox, daily. The newsletter and podcast coverage — the digital products — extend the reach: the inboxes, the ears.

Organization and Ownership

Computerwoche is published by the IDG Business Media GmbH, Munich (now Foundry, foundryco.com) — since March 2025 owned by Regent LP. The editor-in-chief — Heinrich Vaske — led the weekly; the Geschäftsführer — York von Heimburg — managed the business. The ISSN (print) — 0170-5121 — marks the bibliographic identity. The business model followed the subscription-newspaper pattern: the subscriptions (mainly), the advertising (the IT industry), the digital (the website, the newsletters).

The discontinuation — the 2023 print and digital-newspaper end — shifted the model: the website, the newsletters, the podcasts — the digital products' advertising and lead generation. The Foundry's expert network — the German-language network (the "Lust mitzumachen? Jetzt bewerben!") — crowdsources the expertise: the practitioners' articles. Detailed current staff and revenue figures are not publicly confirmed.

Digital Presence

The brand's digital home is computerwoche.de: the IT news, the analyses, the user reports — the weekly's digital continuation. The newsletters — the regular dispatches — reach the IT managers' inboxes: the curated news. The podcasts — the audio formats — serve the mobile: the IT topics. The Foundry expert network — the German-language network — publishes the practitioners: the expert articles.

The digital strategy follows the B2B logic: the website for the daily IT journalism — the trends, the analyses — the newsletters and podcasts for the push and the audio. As the IT management's historic weekly — the 1974-founded title, published by Foundry — Computerwoche remains the CIOs' brand: the investment planning's companion — since 2023 digital-only, daily on computerwoche.de.