Members & Milestones/ German-Baltic Chamber of Commerce's quarterly newsletter -Baltic Business Quarterly/ Summer 2026

AS Datel celebrated its 35th anniversary at the end of 2025. This milestone marks the journey of a company founded in 1990 – even before the restoration of Estonia’s independence – at a time when the World Wide Web was emerging and personal computers were becoming accessible to a broader audience. Datel’s story is closely intertwined with the development of Estonia’s digital state and represents a long-term, engineering-driven growth path that now increasingly looks toward international markets.

Datel has been a member of the German-Baltic Chamber of Commerce for many years, and Germany has been a strategic partner for the company throughout most of its history. One of Datel’s earliest and most important partners was Siemens. The collaboration began in a rather bold way: the founders of the newly established Estonian company sent a letter to Siemens headquarters stating that four engineers had founded an IT company called AS Datel and had chosen Siemens as their primary partner. After some initial surprise, Siemens responded positively. The partnership began in 1991. Solutions originally developed in cooperation with Siemens Nixdorf still form an important part of Datel’s business.

Engineers, experience and systemic thinking
Datel employs professionals who have been with the company for more than 30 years – essentially since its founding. Their expertise spans large-scale data systems, map-based and geospatial solutions, highly reliable and secure IT infrastructures, as well as professional audio and video technologies. This continuity has built a strong knowledge base and an engineering culture that remains the backbone of the company.
In the 1990s, the IT industry was characterized by an “all-in-one” approach. Siemens-Nixdorf catalogues at the time included not only computers but also computer desks, safes and presentation equipment. Following a similar philosophy, Datel built partnerships with leading technology providers and offered customers integrated solutions.
One of the most important events in the IT world during the 1990s was the annual CEBIT trade fair in Hannover. Datel’s Chairman and CEO Urmas Kõlli recalls that at the centre of the vast exhibition complex stood an Oktoberfest-style networking area where intensive business discussions and relationship-building took place – a format that has few direct equivalents today.

From IT Systems to the foundations of a digital state
In its early years, a significant part of Datel’s business involved selling desktop computers and installing operating systems. Today, the company has over 35 years of experience in building IT systems, including data centres, server and backup infrastructure, networks and workplace solutions ranging from individual workstations to large-scale organizational environments. Datel provides daily IT support to both public and private sector clients and assists organizations in implementing the requirements of the European Union’s latest cybersecurity directive, NIS2.
Software development has also been a core activity for the company. The first public IT procurement in Estonia after the restoration of independence – the national land information system – was won by Datel in cooperation with Siemens. This project marked the beginning of Datel’s long-term contribution to the development of Estonia’s digital state.
Over the years, Datel’s teams have developed more than 400 information systems, including the national spatial planning register, Estonia’s 3D digital twin for e-construction, and the national tourism information system. The company’s expertise in geoinformation systems, real-time data processing, and spatial data analysis and visualization has also received international recognition, including multiple awards in the U.S.

International markets and a view from space
Since 2016, Datel has expanded its research and development activities into the field of space technologies. In cooperation with universities and the European Space Agency, the company develops solutions based on radar satellite remote sensing data, including elevation models and early warning systems.
The Sille.Space service, launched in 2018, enables the detection of millimetre-scale ground movements affecting buildings, infrastructure and other structures worldwide. The service is used, among other applications, to monitor port areas and railway infrastructure.
In 2024, Datel launched the Catanova service, which helps European municipalities detect unregistered or illegal constructions using satellite data. The service relies heavily on machine learning and AI technologies.
Beyond Europe, Datel began cooperation in 2025 with the African company Digital Afrique Telecom to introduce a cloud-based open-source electronic land cadastre system to African countries. The system builds on Datel’s experience in developing Estonia’s e-cadastre and digital state infrastructure, and includes tools for detecting illegal mining activities. This initiative forms part of the company’s strategy to export Estonia’s digital governance success story to international markets. Datel’s work in Africa is supported by the company’s extensive experience in developing digital solutions during the transition of Eastern European economies in the 1990s and continuing through the present day.

Looking Ahead
Thirty-five years after its founding, Datel combines long-standing engineering expertise with a legacy of contributing to Estonia’s digital state and the ambition to operate globally. Looking forward, the company’s strength remains its ability to develop complex, reliable and socially impactful technological solutions.
Looking back, one of the key factors behind Datel’s success and its rapid adoption of European business and engineering culture was the strong cooperation with Siemens Group companies that began already at the company’s founding.

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