Ashampoo Office

Name: Ashampoo Office
Author: Ashampoo Office

Desktop office software distributed from Germany

GermanyEU Ownership reviewed, controller unresolvedHigh non-EU dependency

Visit website ashampoo.com

Scope verdict

Ownership reviewed, controller unresolved

The official current extract for Oldenburg HRA 3618 names Ashampoo GmbH & Co. KG, Rastede, with HILCHNER & BOGENA Beteiligungs GmbH (HRB 4490) as general partner and Ashampoo Beteiligungs GmbH & Co. KG (HRA 4209) as limited partner with a 25,000 euro registered contribution. A current official search identifies HRA 4209 as CRASH Beteiligungs GmbH & Co. KG, with Ashampoo Beteiligungs in its history. The holding's partners and the general partner's ultimate owners were not obtained, so control remains unresolved. The imprint lists VAT DE204940257. German law and the Oldenburg venue appear in the terms.

How we classify services

Operational dependency warning

Relies heavily on non-European providers

Current public evidence shows 6 non-European infrastructure or email dependencies across 5 providers: Amazon CloudFront, Amazon Web Services, Cloudflare, Google, Microsoft. The reviewed operational path is therefore not entirely European.

Review dependencies ↓

Ashampoo Office 9 is a proprietary Windows office suite for documents, spreadsheets and presentations, based on SoftMaker technology. Document editing is local, with Microsoft Office format support and no compulsory cloud document store.

Ashampoo GmbH & Co. KG operates the product business. An official register extract identifies its general partner and holding partnership, but the reviewed chain does not reach verified ultimate voting control. Local editing also does not mean permanent offline operation: activation and repeated licence checks require an internet connection.

Pricing

The reviewed EUR licence selector offers Office 9 for a promotional one-time 20 euro against a 90 euro reference price, without future major upgrades. A separate Office Sub & Save subscription is 25 euro/year and includes upgrades. The product allows up to five household PCs; commercial use requires one licence per installation. A 30-day trial and money-back offer are advertised. Promotions and checkout tax treatment should be checked for the selected offer.

Headquarters: Germany
Legal region: EU
Ownership and control: Ownership reviewed, controller unresolvedPublic sources were checked, but they did not establish the ultimate controller. The listing stays searchable, but is not counted or recommended as European-controlled until that evidence is verified.
Owner or controller: Ashampoo GmbH & Co. KG; holding partnership identified, ultimate control unresolved (Germany)
Ownership checked: 2026-09-15
Evidence: Official register: HRA 3618 current extract and HRA 4209 current holding identity ↗Company legal identity and general partner ↗Office 9 product-specific licence ↗
Infrastructure and email path: Reviewed details below ↓
Best for: Home and small-office users wanting local document editing
Website: ashampoo.com
Replaces: Microsoft Office

Infrastructure and email path

Verified operational dependencies, shown separately from ownership and from the service's core data hosting.

Public website

Amazon Web Services

US-controlled cloud

Observed: www.ashampoo.com resolves to 35.157.35.28 and 18.194.94.125. The privacy notice also names AWS EMEA for IT infrastructure; this is not an Office-document hosting claim.
Evidence: Primary evidence reviewed 15 September 2026 ↗

Why this matters

This public website route ends on Amazon Web Services, whose European seller is wholly owned by Amazon.com, Inc. An EU region can provide European data residency but remains under US ultimate ownership. DNS does not reveal the AWS region, the core service's host, or use of the separately operated AWS European Sovereign Cloud.

AWS ownership record ↗Sovereign Cloud distinction ↗

Supporting services

Microsoft Azure / Google Cloud / AWS

Non-European provider

Observed: Privacy policy names these providers for company IT infrastructure, with EU processing claimed subject to legal-access exceptions. Office files are normally local; account, shop and licence-server data are separate.
Evidence: Primary evidence reviewed 15 September 2026 ↗

Why this matters

The published disclosure lists Microsoft Azure / Google Cloud / AWS for supporting services. Depending on the function, account or customer data may reach this non-European provider. See the source for the documented scope.

Public website

Amazon CloudFront

Non-European provider

Observed: Privacy policy names the content delivery service for web assets.
Evidence: Primary evidence reviewed 15 September 2026 ↗

Why this matters

Public DNS routes website visits through Amazon CloudFront. Visitor IP addresses and request metadata can reach this non-European provider; this does not identify the core service's data location.

Payment processing

Cleverbridge storefront

Provider control not verified

Observed: shop.ashampoo.com is a CNAME for ashampoo-s.cleverbridge.com behind Cloudflare. This establishes a checkout dependency; the exact seller/payment terms for a completed order were not inspected.
Evidence: Primary evidence reviewed 15 September 2026 ↗

Public website

Cloudflare

Non-European provider

Observed: Shop edge resolves to 104.16.242.229 and 104.16.243.229, separate from local document editing.
Evidence: Primary evidence reviewed 15 September 2026 ↗

Why this matters

Public DNS routes website visits through Cloudflare. Visitor IP addresses and request metadata can reach this non-European provider; this does not identify the core service's data location.

Incoming business email

Microsoft 365

Non-European provider

Observed: MX 50 ashampoo-com.mail.protection.outlook.com
Evidence: Current daily MX lookup ↗

Why this matters

Published MX records route incoming business email through Microsoft 365. Correspondent details and message content can therefore enter this non-European provider's systems; MX does not reveal the configured storage region.

Authorised outbound email

Microsoft 365 / Atlassian / Zendesk

Non-European provider

Observed: SPF authorizes spf.protection.outlook.com, _spf.atlassian.net and mail.zendesk.com, alongside Ashampoo's mailings domain.
Evidence: Primary evidence reviewed 15 September 2026 ↗

Why this matters

This domain authorises Microsoft 365 / Atlassian / Zendesk to send email. If active, recipient details and message content can be processed by this non-European provider. SPF does not reveal its configured storage region.

Supporting services

Zendesk / Sentry / Trustpilot

Provider control not verified

Observed: The privacy policy names support, error and review services. Provider roles do not establish Ashampoo ownership; the provider-control mix is not uniform.
Evidence: Primary evidence reviewed 15 September 2026 ↗

App distribution

SoftMaker

Provider control not verified

Observed: SoftMaker's official support forum identifies itself as developer and Ashampoo as a reseller of a special edition. This historical OEM evidence does not prove either company owns the other.
Evidence: Primary evidence reviewed 15 September 2026 ↗

Domain and email check

ashampoo.com

Current public DNS records show who manages this domain, which systems handle incoming business email, and selected published service signals. Refreshed daily.

Updated daily

Domain nameservers

ns-1110.awsdns-10.org
ns-2007.awsdns-58.co.uk
ns-381.awsdns-47.com
ns-673.awsdns-20.net

Incoming business email

50 ashampoo-com.mail.protection.outlook.com

Mail handled by: Microsoft 365 Non-European provider

Additional service signals

Published SPF, DKIM and discovery records can reveal configured links to major platforms beyond incoming mail.

Mail-client discovery

Microsoft 365

Non-European provider

CNAME autodiscover → autodiscover.outlook.com

The standard Outlook discovery name routes mail-client setup to Microsoft 365. This is stronger evidence of tenant configuration than an old verification token, but does not reveal mailbox storage location.

Current DNS record ↗Provider setup guide ↗

Mail-signing setup

Microsoft 365

Non-European provider

CNAME selector1._domainkey → selector1-ashampoo-com._domainkey.ashampoo.onmicrosoft.com · selector2._domainkey → selector2-ashampoo-com._domainkey.ashampoo.onmicrosoft.com

A provider-specific DKIM record is published for Microsoft 365. This shows configured mail-signing infrastructure, but not that every message currently uses it.

Current DNS record ↗Provider setup guide ↗

Sender authorisation

Microsoft 365

Non-European provider

SPF include:spf.protection.outlook.com

Microsoft 365 is authorised to send email for this domain. The SPF entry can be unused or stale and does not reveal the configured data region.

Current DNS record ↗Provider setup guide ↗

This is a targeted check, not a complete zone inventory. Generic Google and Microsoft verification tokens are ignored because they do not prove product use or a data flow. DNS normally cannot list arbitrary subdomains or customer-chosen DKIM selectors, including Salesforce selectors. Missing signals are not proof that a provider is unused.

DNS checked: 2026-10-18 05:54 UTC

What this means

The requirements specify Windows 10/11, internet activation and periodic online licence verification. The privacy policy says activation sends the key, checksum, product code, version and language, and retains website-security IP addresses for seven days. Company IT uses Microsoft, AWS and Google Cloud; website delivery, support and reviews introduce further providers. Live DNS identifies AWS, a Cleverbridge/Cloudflare shop, Microsoft 365 and authorized Atlassian/Zendesk mail. These are account, licensing and commerce dependencies, not evidence that Office documents are uploaded. A complete licence-data backup/retention schedule and the exact checkout seller terms remain unverified. The separately marketed AI Assistant's processors are not assigned to Office 9 without product-specific evidence.

Public DNS records identify visible providers and routes, not every backend location or private data-region setting.

Infrastructure checked: 2026-09-15