From a modest Belgian startup to a fast-scaling European tech player, Dstny is transforming how small and mid-sized businesses communicate in an increasingly digital, AI-driven world. In this in-depth conversation, CEO and co-founder Daan De Wever shares how strategic acquisitions, a bold shift to software, and a clear focus on AI innovation are shaping the company’s future.
Dstny, a leading European provider of cloud-based business communication tools, has grown from a small Brussels-based startup into a major player in the cloud communications industry. Their suite of services includes everything from mobile-first telephony and omnichannel customer engagement platforms to business analytics and deep integrations with tools like Microsoft Teams and various CRMs. With a clear focus on making business communication seamless and efficient, Dstny serves companies looking to enhance connectivity and productivity in the office, on the road, or from remote locations.
Daan De Wever, co-founder and CEO of Dstny, reflects on the company’s decade-long buy-and-build strategy that began in 2016. “In the early years, it was all organic growth – typical, very Belgian”, he explains. “Positioned as an alternative to traditional telecom companies, we initially targeted medium-sized SMEs and quickly became involved in the evolution of cloud telephony, recognizing early on the crucial role this technology would play in business communication.”
The real shift began when De Wever and his team recognized the fragmented nature of the European communications market. “We saw a highly fragmented market across Europe, with very different levels of technology adoption in each country”, he says. This led Dstny to pursue a series of acquisitions, starting in the Netherlands and eventually expanding across the Benelux. As the company scaled, it realized the limitations of relying on third-party technology. “If we wanted to have a real technological impact – especially with the rise of AI – we had to develop our own core technology.”
“If we wanted to have a real technological impact – especially with the rise of AI – we had to develop our own core technology.”
This strategic pivot turned Dstny into a true technology company. They began building proprietary solutions and investing heavily in their own intellectual property. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic further accelerated these efforts, as demand for remote and hybrid work solutions surged. Major acquisitions in Scandinavia and the UK followed in 2021 and 2022, including the purchase of the UK’s Qunifi which significantly enhanced Dstny’s ability to integrate with workplace solutions like Microsoft Teams. “That’s when we really became a global leader in Microsoft Teams innovation”, De Wever says.
Turning fragmentation into repeatable innovation
When Dstny began its European expansion, the cloud communication market was highly fragmented – and according to CEO Daan De Wever, it still is. Private equity activity is currently leading to accelerated consolidation, but Dstny’s approach goes beyond acquiring companies. “Especially in how we approach integration and build our Dstny Operating System – we believe we’re building something that hasn’t been done before”, De Wever explains.
The company aims to make its integration process repeatable, allowing them to turn legacy operations into scalable, future-proof businesses. This repeatability is essential to Dstny’s vision. “It’s about taking over companies with legacy systems and being able to scale them sustainably”, De Wever says. “Acquisitions are just one part of the equation – the focus is on value creation across all areas of the organization.”
In recent years, Dstny has made a major pivot from traditional telecommunications to becoming a full-fledged software company. Key to this transformation has been the development of a digital offering for smaller SMEs, an often overlooked segment, which has seen strong success in Germany and is now expanding to other markets. “What we’re working on now is building an operating system that gives partners in any country the same experience”, says De Wever.
Innovation is the other critical driver of future value. Many current platforms are outdated, and De Wever stresses the importance of building on a unified layer that enables innovation at scale. “Every day brings something new in AI”, he says. “Our challenge is how to quickly identify valuable innovations, sometimes co-invest in them, and make them available to our 5 million users.” By creating a flexible system that allows for instant deployment of new tools, Dstny aims to streamline onboarding, deployment, and updates across any UCaaS platform. “We only have to innovate once”, De Wever concludes, “and we can deliver those innovations agnostically across any UCaaS platform in the world.”
"We only have to innovate once and we can deliver those innovations agnostically across any UCaaS platform in the world.”
The human side of integration and the power of focus
Integration at Dstny is approached with a clear understanding of its complexity and the central importance of people. He emphasizes that without a clear story and clarity around roles and expectations, integration efforts can quickly unravel. Early lessons taught the team the importance of leveling roles across countries. “You might bring together a marketing manager from Germany and one from France, but if one is junior and the other senior, that doesn’t work”, he explains. To solve this, Dstny built a strategic learning process grounded in transparency, well-defined skills, and rapid alignment.
To ensure strategic focus, the company has adopted a structured yet dynamic approach. “We operate in cadences”, De Wever explains. “Each business unit defines three strategic goals, one of which must align with the group’s priorities. We have three must-win battles in the coming years, the things that will really set us apart. The first is the roll-out of the One Dstny Operating System. It has to be consistent across all countries – offering the same technology journey and user experience. The second is Smart Flow, that slim innovation layer we can deploy on top of any phone system. It allows us to bring new features quickly and consistently. That’s a real differentiator for us. And third is the repeatability of our EasyBell brand. It’s our most digital, lightweight platform – launched in the Netherlands and available for free trial. We're now accelerating its rollout in France. If we can make that repeatable across markets, we can scale very effectively.”
Focus has become a cornerstone of Dstny’s strategy. “One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is about focus”, says Daan De Wever. “In the early years of rapid growth and hiring, we often said ‘yes’ to everything, trying to chase every opportunity. But over time, discipline and clarity have taken precedence. The real discipline is asking: ‘What are we going to stop?’ Not ‘what are we failing at?’, but ‘what do we actively choose to stop doing?’” This shift has allowed Dstny to free up resources and concentrate on what really drives value.
On the recent M&A Summit, Daan De Wever, spoke about transformation as a value lever in a buy & build strategy & integration
AI is reshaping communication – and Dstny is ready
For Dstny CEO Daan De Wever, artificial intelligence represents nothing short of a revolution. “In my personal view, AI agents represent the biggest innovation since the internet. I'm convinced of that”, he says. “The speed at which AI is evolving – especially in how people interact with it – is reshaping the very nature of work. Young engineers are now writing code entirely through automated speech-to-code interactions – just talking to a bot and getting phenomenal output in real time. It's incredible”, he explains. For De Wever, there’s no turning back: “AI is now embedded in how we work.”
“Just talking to a AI-bot and getting phenomenal output in real time. It's incredible.”
Dstny is approaching AI with deliberate intent, focusing not on being the product leader, but on ensuring accessibility. “We aim to make powerful AI-technology accessible to SMBs in a simple, user-friendly way”, De Wever notes. This vision has already started to take shape with the launch of Dstny’s AI Co-Pilot and AI Assistant in test markets like Sweden and the Netherlands. Rather than trying to build every tool in-house, Dstny plans to partner with the right providers to integrate the best technologies.
The broader implications for the communications industry are profound. Will AI impact the UCaaS and CPaaS industries? “Absolutely”, De Wever says, though he acknowledges adoption might unfold at different speeds across markets. From booking doctor’s appointments to managing sales calls, AI is transforming how people communicate and collaborate. “A salesperson on a train finishes a call, and when they get home, the conversation has been transcribed, sentiment analyzed, and logged into the CRM”, he offers as an example. Ultimately, Dstny’s role is to integrate these innovations seamlessly. “We see our role as bringing the best technologies together by partnering with the right technology providers.”
Further ambitions
Looking to the future, Dstny is laser-focused on shaping the next generation of hybrid communication. “Hybrid communication is still messy – companies are struggling with their tools”, De Wever notes. With rising customer expectations and the rapid advancement of AI, Dstny sees major opportunities ahead. While mergers and acquisitions remain a key part of their strategy, De Wever emphasizes thoughtful integration and long-term sustainability. “Acquisitions are a means, not the end goal. The goal is to make a meaningful impact with technology for our customers”, he says.
As Dstny continues to evolve, CEO Daan De Wever sees the company on the cusp of a new phase – one that could redefine its role in the future of work. “I believe we have the potential to transform into a true leader in the hybrid workspace – and we can build on that”, he says. From its humble beginnings in Belgium to operating in over 80 markets today, including growth in the U.S., Dstny is positioning itself as a global player in hybrid communication. “We’re now in a position to transform into hybrid work aggregators – helping people communicate in new ways”, De Wever adds.
At the heart of Dstny’s ambition is a commitment to value creation – not just for businesses, but for individuals. “If we can give people back time through our technology, that’s incredibly valuable”, the entrepreneur explains. For him, the mission goes beyond business metrics. “If using our technology results in someone having more euros in their bank account or more time in their day, then I think we’ve done a fantastic job.” Despite already serving around 5 million users, he believes the company has only scratched the surface: “There’s so much potential ahead of us. We must keep growing, and we must keep building a legacy – delivering real innovation, again and again.”
That growth is underpinned by strong financials and a focused operational strategy. Dstny has improved its gross margin from 53 percent in 2016 to nearly 70 percent today, thanks to embedding its own technology into the core business model. “The One Dstny transformation allowed us to improve our gross margin by 5 points in a single year – which is a huge step”, De Wever notes. Despite being private equity-backed and carrying debt, he emphasizes the company’s financial health and willingness to adapt. “We are far from perfect, and I don’t pretend otherwise. There’s still a lot of work to be done”, he admits. But with focus, discipline, and the right people driving impact, Dstny’s journey is far from over.
