From research roots to STACKFORCE GmbH
The story of STACKFORCE begins in 2002, when Prof. Dr.-Ing. Axel Sikora founded the Steinbeis Transfer Center for Design and Networking (stzedn). This was followed by the establishment of further institutions: the Steinbeis Research Institute for Wireless Communication (sfidk) in 2005 and the Steinbeis Innovation Center for Embedded Design and Networking (sizedn) in 2007.
In 2011, when Prof. Dr. Sikora moved to Offenburg University of Applied Sciences, research and transfer activities were separated both organizationally and physically. The stzedn evolved into an independent organization focusing on design and engineering services — laying the foundation for today’s STACKFORCE GmbH.
While research activities continued within the research institute, STACKFORCE took over the implementation of individual customer projects and began building standardized embedded software solutions based on accumulated research expertise.
Key milestones in STACKFORCE’s journey
A major milestone was reached in 2010 with the successful licensing of the Wireless M‑Bus stack to Texas Instruments — STACKFORCE’s first licensee and a decisive step toward scalable solutions for device manufacturers.
Further important milestones followed:
- In 2015, an assignment from Semtech to develop and maintain the official LoRaWAN stack for end nodes
- In 2020, the invitation to become a founding member of the mioty alliance
As a relatively small company, STACKFORCE is proud of these achievements, which mark significant steps in its development.
Enabling successful IoT connectivity
STACKFORCE’s core mission is to support device manufacturers and system integrators with expertise on the integration, adaptation, and application of wireless communication technologies. This knowledge is delivered through development and consulting projects as well as standardized software products.
In a short video interview, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Axel Sikora shares insights into the early days of STACKFORCE, key milestones, and the values that continue to shape the company.
