It’s tough work being among the world’s best software developers

Apparently relaxed and laid-back: “We do not want to run after the others and constantly spend our time re-inventing the wheel. We constantly use our creativity to develop the absolute best.”

BY JACOB BENTHIEN

CRITICAL MISSION: When a decision cannot be changed once it has been made, it must be right. It must be based on the right data, delivered to the right place and the right person. Mission Critical IT solutions require the best brains in the software industry

In Denmark, the boastful ones come from Copenhagen, while people from Jutland are known for downplaying their abilities and achievements. So when Michael Holm, CEO of Systematic, Denmark’s largest privately owned software company, is asked whether revenue growth of approx. 30% and staff growth of more than 20% over the last 12 months is an expression of success, he answers:

“Well, you could perhaps say that. But we are in Jutland after all, and we do not indulge in adjectives so much here. We are more about making an effort each day to constantly improve ourselves. We have got to where we are today because we focus on what we are good at, a high degree of craftsmanship and a company culture where staff satisfaction is given pride of place. Quite simply, work should be fun, constantly challenging and engaging. The staff must feel and know that they make a difference.”

FATAL CONSEQUENCES

Systematic is among the world’s leading software companies, and among the very best regarding Mission Critical IT solutions. These are solutions which provide decision-makers with all the data necessary to make the decisions which must be right first time.

“When a decision-maker only has one shot at it, and the decision cannot be changed once it has been made, then it must be based on the right data, delivered to the right place, at the right time and to the right person. Quite simply, there is no room for error. At the same time, the systems must constantly work under all conditions,” says Michael Holm. “Such solutions require the best brains, and the best brains cannot deliver peak performance if they are not motivated.”

Systematic’s customers are the armed forces, national and international organisations, as well as health authorities in a large number of countries. Development of national security and intelligence systems is a relatively new business area which is seeing strong growth.

“The fact that the armed forces account for such a large part of our business – about 60% – is naturally due to the nature of the armed forces,” says Holm. “Wrong decisions based on incorrect or incomplete data can have fatal consequences. And since defence is increasingly based on international collaboration, it is of crucial importance to get different systems to communicate and act together so that the entire chain of command from top to bottom has the same, unambiguous picture to base decisions on.”

IDENTIFYING CUSTOMER NEEDS

Despite the close relation to the armed forces, few of Systematic’s staff have a military background. Michael Holm himself drew a number that exempted him from military service when he was a potential candidate for conscription, and so has no formal military background.

“We do however have an amazing insight into how military procedures function and are thus able to identify needs. I would go as far as to say that our staff in some areas know the armed forces’ procedures and routines better than the armed forces themselves. The same is true for our work in the healthcare sector which resembles the armed forces in so many ways regarding decision procedures. But then we do not employ doctors either. It is not us who treat the patients, but we must know what data the doctor needs to be able to make the right decision regarding treatment. And we spend a lot of time acquiring that domain knowledge.”

PREVENTING FRIENDLY FIRE

One of the products which has contributed to the company’s rapid growth is Systematic SitaWare, a product suite that provides IT solutions for command and control at all levels, from headquarters to vehicles to the individual soldier. It is an open platform that allows both Systematic and the company’s partners to develop applications for specific customer groups in various segments.

“SitaWare has already helped to prevent the problem of friendly fire because it gives the entire command structure an overview of everything involved. It helps to identify friend and foe, and prevents mistakes.”

The fact that Systematic has the armed forces as its largest customer is due to a coincidence, says Michael Holm. When he graduated as a computer scientist back in the 1980s, he happened to get stationed in France in association with the Danish Navy, just at the time when it had bought its first computers to use for surveillance of Danish waters. When he came home and started up a business with a partner, the first order was to service the surveillance system.

ONE STEP AHEAD

“And then it went from one project to the next,” he says. “But constantly with a focus on what we were good at. We have continuously obtained deeper insight into the parameters that characterise Mission Critical solutions, and have concentrated on that. It is a concentration where we use our energy and creativity for something other than constantly re-inventing the wheel. There are lots of basic things which already exist. We don’t spent our time on those, but instead develop things which constantly take us forward.”

“Everyone can claim to be in the IT industry. Anyone can go to the nearest computer store and buy a PC and then start playing and call it IT business. But you need to have craftsman-ship. A carpenter who cannot knock in a nail is not a carpenter. We decided from the start that we simply wanted to be the best, constantly a step ahead of everyone else. We have succeeded, and this helps us to continuously attract the very best staff.”

http://www.systematic.dk