Project manager Mari Torkko at SC Software reflects on how to jump on the bandwagon of digitalization with industry-specific software products.
“Digitalization has been discussed for quite some time. However, I argue that in many organizations, we still too often find ourselves in a situation where applications are attempted to be implemented according to existing processes – what could be called more digitization than digitalization.”
Are you digitizing or digitalizing?
“If you search for a definition of digitalization on a search engine, you will surely find various explanations for the term. In short, digitization happens when an old way of doing things is transferred as it is into digital form. Digitalization, on the other hand, means changing your own actions. That is, changing your own operations to extract maximum value from the application you have acquired.”
“Digitalization means changing your own actions.”
Mari Torkko, Project Manager, SC Software
“So, actual digitalization happens only when processes are adapted to the model provided by digital tools to achieve added value, such as better efficiency. Technological development is the driver of digitalization – for example, instead of a customer sending emails to customer service and inquiring about their matter multiple times, a digital service portal enables secure communication and tracking of the process. This way, customer service avoids unnecessary service request overload, and customers receive better and faster service.”
The illusion of uniqueness can lead to resource wastage
“In the field of trade unions, where my own background lies, there has often been a tendency to develop custom applications. Based on my experience, the underlying reason is often the ‘illusion of uniqueness,’ where organizations imagine their own operations to be so exceptional that no suitable system can be found on the market. As a result, digitizing their existing processes is often chosen over jumping on the bandwagon of digitalization.”
“Although organizations in the same sector may differ in their processes, the question ultimately is whether the implementation of yet another custom application is still sensible or profitable. When plagued by the illusion of uniqueness, wasting resources becomes quite likely. The development projects are financially significant investments with their defining and approval testing phases that burden the buyer organization. Of course, it must be noted that a custom application can be the best solution in situations where a suitable alternative cannot be found in the market.”
Industry-specific software products and a strategic development partner provide opportunities for genuine digitalization
“When acquiring a software product, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel; you can easily adopt a set of functions that support typical processes in your industry. The pricing of products is usually based on the number of users, so it scales for organizations of any size, with predictable costs. Additionally, products usually get vendor-provided updates, without the need of digging into your own pockets every time an update is needed.”
“Choose a strategic partner that has enough expertise and understanding of your industry.”
Mari Torkko, Project Manager, SC Software
“Many organizations are still struggling with the lack of a change culture, as well as a shortage of skills and resources in their IT projects. That’s why it’s advisable to choose a strategic partner as a solution supplier who has enough expertise and understanding of your industry. Such a partner can support the development of your processes. You can then trust that with the help of a partner, you are among the digitalization pioneers, implementing the best practices of your industry.”
“Is the time ripe for digitalization and industry-specific software products?”
The Finnish software company SC Software Oy and private equity company Korona Invest have agreed on a transaction in which a fund managed by Korona Invest becomes the majority owner of SC Software. SC Software’s key individuals remain with the company in key leadership roles and as significant minority owners. The transaction provides SC Software resources to strengthen the company’s own high-productivity application development technology and to aim for significant growth.
The Finnish software company SC Software Oy and Finnish private equity company Korona Invest have agreed on a transaction in which a fund managed by Korona Invest becomes the majority owner of SC Software. SC Software’s key individuals remain with the company in key leadership roles and as significant minority owners. The investment from Korona Invest supports SC Software in strengthening the company’s leading position and in aiming for strong growth.
SC Software is a high-technology software company that delivers cloud-based vertical software and client-specific software solutions. The company uses its proprietary high-productivity application development platform in new products and solutions, which streamlines the software development process, improves quality, and enables a delivery methodology that is fast, intuitive and customer oriented. SC Software’s key focus areas today include strategic sourcing software, trade union solutions and core business systems. The cloud-based solutions are delivered via a SaaS model or to clients’ own private cloud.
Further strengthened by the partnership with Korona Invest, SC Software aims for strong growth:
“Our company operates from a very competitive position that is based on customer-oriented methodology, highly skilled experts, own technology enabling high quality, and a wealth of industry experience. The support from Korona Invest complements our capabilities, and we next aim to grow and strengthen our position in the market even faster. We also aim to expand our business to international markets”, says Olli Väätäinen, CEO of SC Software.
Korona Invest has backed the successful growth of numerous Finnish companies and brings along knowledge of developing companies in the software industry. Korona Invest strives to enable the execution of SC Software’s growth strategy by providing the company with the resources of a professional investor and active owner:
“SC Software possesses exceptional industry experience and understanding of its clients’ business, and the company is now taking significant steps towards its next phase of development. SC Software’s proprietary technology and committed software professionals provide a great premise for scalable growth, which we together will be targeting”, says Reeti Saarinen, Investment Director at Korona Invest.
SC Software has emerged as the successful bidder in the comprehensive sourcing solution procurement tender of the Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa (Hus) with its SC Sourcing Suite. At the time of this announcement, the decision on the appeal regarding the tender outcome is being processed by the Market Court.
Hus is the largest healthcare operator in Finland and is responsible for specialized healthcare services in the Uusimaa region. Hus’s special responsibility area has approximately 2.2 million residents, and it treats nearly 700,000 patients annually with its workforce of 27,000 employees.
Aiming to pioneer in national healthcare procurement
Hus is Finland’s largest procurement unit in the social and healthcare sector, and it also operates as a joint procurement unit for other social and healthcare customers, sourcing healthcare supplies, medical devices, equipment, and services. The total value of Hus’s acquisitions is approximately one billion euros per year.
Hus has consistently invested in the development of its sourcing operations, aiming to be a national pioneer in social and healthcare procurements. This includes genuinely considering the needs of their patients, leveraging their strong buyer position, acting agilely, embracing innovation, and promoting responsible and competitive markets. In recent years, the procurement unit has transitioned to a centralized category management model, consistently streamlined its procurements, improved sourcing and contract expertise, and launched a sustainability program for procurements.
“For us, the opportunity to work with Finland’s largest social and healthcare procurement unit Hus is a significant achievement! We hope that our collaboration will contribute to Hus’s goal of being a pioneer in national healthcare procurements,” says Tiina Vestman, Sales Director at SC Software.
SC Sourcing Suite evolves – now providing comprehensive support for joint procurement units
In addition to its own procurements, Hus extends its procurement operations to serve other social and healthcare procurement units. Hus continuously plans, prepares, and tenders approximately 500-700 procurements, essentially managing 500-700 projects lasting 3-24 months with its procurement organization.
A joint procurement unit must be able to systematically, timely, and efficiently fulfill the sourcing needs of multiple organizations while ensuring uninterrupted service production and cost-effectiveness. Clear operating models and data-driven management are essential in Hus’s procurement operations.
The SC Sourcing Suite procurement management solution has been tailored to meet the specific needs of joint procurement units, offering system support for project organization management, process guidance, and category management. The solution provides a unified platform for collection of information from internal and external sources, enabling data-driven management and continuous improvement. As decision-making and administrative work become more efficient, procurement productivity and cost savings increase.
SC Sourcing Suite challenges the market
SC Sourcing Suite enables strategic sourcing management, supporting goal setting and impact monitoring by using concrete metrics. Additionally, the system provides process support for collecting procurement needs, planning and preparation, category management, tendering, and supplier and contract management.
SC Sourcing Suite has been well received in the public sector market. In addition to winning the Hus tender, SC Software has also won the tender for the City of Espoo, the Western Uusimaa Wellbeing Services County, and the City of Tampere’s procurement systems in 2022 and 2023. Simultaneously, the company has invested in incorporating electronic tender management into the Sourcing Suite. The first delivery of electronic tender management solution is currently underway for the City of Tampere.
Further information:
Olli Väätäinen CEO olli.vaatainen@scsoftware.fi +358 50 557 8111
Tiina Vestman Vice President, Sales tiina.vestman@scsoftware.fi +358 50 561 4453
SC Software in brief
SC Software is a cloud-based SaaS company that delivers customer-specific software solutions as well as industry-specific software products. The company leverages its own high-productivity software development platform to automate much of the application’s manual coding. For customers, this is reflected in the better quality of the systems and the timeliness of deliveries.
SC Software was founded in 2014. The company’s turnover in 2021 reached 2.2 million euros. SC Software’s customers include the Industrial Union, Neova Group and VR Group.
Digitization is expected to be a solution to the tightening productivity expectations of business in all industries. Business systems are expected to have high performance, information security and usability, a flexible development project and implementation, but at a moderate cost.
Although progress is constantly taking place, the experiences of many IT buyers are still typical: ready-made SaaS products do not meet their needs, and the price and schedule of traditional software development projects are constantly stretched beyond the original estimates. Visibility into the development work is non-existent, which leads to expensive changes after the system is implemented. In addition, the quality of the end result is often disappointing for the customer.
Codelessness is rising – does it solve the problems of software development?
One of the emerging trends in software production is the Rapid Application Development (RAD) approach, which includes no-code or low-code application development platforms. With them, software is built with visual elements instead of writing code. Codeless methods are developing and maturing at a fast pace; a few years ago, e.g. Gartner talked about High Productivity Application Platform services (hpaPaas). However in their 2023 Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Low-Code Application Platforms report, Gartner updated the terminology, now talking about “Enterprise Low-Code platforms”.
Low-code/no-code platforms aim for rapid development and implementation of tailor-made applications. They do it by increasing the abstraction level of development and minimizing the amount of programming work. The platforms also aim to improve the fittingness of the final result by letting users build their applications themselves, without the intervention of a software company.
While completely code-free platforms are often aimed at citizen developers with no programming skills, low-code tools that require more technical knowledge are usually intended for professional use. On these enterprise low-code platforms, application code is generated, for example, based on a domain-specific models (DSM). The generated application can be developed further by coding manually. The purpose is to increase the productivity of professional developers, while giving freedom for wider customization of applications.
No-code/low-code platforms have also received criticism. Especially on no-code platforms, manual editing of the code is often very limited. That’s why they are mostly suitable for creating simple applications. The templates offered by the platforms cover the most common business processes, but they do not adapt to more versatile workflows, integrations or analytics. Platforms that often promise extreme speed and ease also often require more technical know-how than their marketing suggests.
Low-code and no-code platforms thus eliminate many problems of traditional software development by making it more intuitive, bringing in business experts as application builders and reducing the amount of programming. However, due to the shortcomings of the platforms, it is still common to implement more demanding business solutions together with professional software suppliers. However, the supplier can use enterprise low-code platforms successfully in their own operations, making its benefits available to the customer as well.
Automation and manual coding seamlessly combined in SC Software’s application production
Both traditional and codeless application development methods have their own pros and cons. At SC Software, we have approached the problem by choosing the best aspects of both ways and developing our own SoulGen software production platform around them. When the customer wants a certain kind of system, we model its information content, and generate a basic application based on that model. In the modeling, we use our self-defined domain-specific language (DSL), to which we have selected common application structures and functionalities that are found in all our systems. We proceed to develop the generated application manually according to the customer’s needs. Automating too far would take the end result further away from the customer’s needs.
Our SoulGen platform is comparable to enterprise low-code platforms, but instead of selling user licenses, we use it to increase our own productivity when building software. In this way, we standardize and speed up our software deliveries, which is reflected in the high quality of the solutions and in the holding project schedule and budget. At the same time, we are able to function as a comprehensive development partner that takes care of the systems’ information security, functionality, maintenance, environments and other technical stuff that customers usually don’t want to spend their time on.
A working application is generated from the model, and the development proceeds by coding manually.
It is easy to think of our technology only in terms of producing new tailor-made applications, but in practice it also works well for the renewal of legacy systems (see the project we delivered to Industrial Union), the implementation of large mission-critical systems, the expansion of existing systems or the rapid deployment of product innovations and go-to-market. In this way, we are able to have an agile operating model, where all these services belong to our offering.
The platform tackles the changing digital needs of organizations – now and in the future
Laura Fadjukoff’s diploma thesis – made in collaboration with SC Software – compared the effectiveness of domain-specific modeling and traditional programming in application development. As a result of the case study, it was found that generating an application from a model took up to 80% less total time compared to programming a similar application by hand. According to the study, working time was saved especially in creating the database, programming the application logic and editing the user interface. Although the study discussed just one case example, which as such cannot be generalized to every project, its results nevertheless give some indication of the time savings produced by our technology.
However, our own philosophy is not based on the pursuit of extreme speed, but on meeting the customer’s needs within the given limits. Our technology enables a larger part of the project budget to be used for so-called “higher value work” instead of routine coding, meaning e.g. refined processes and usability, extended device support or better reporting tools. In addition to saving time, we have also found other advantages of utilizing our platform:
We are able to make a more accurate estimate of the time and resources needed for a project. Therefore the budget and schedule estimates we give to our customers are correct in almost all of our deliveries.
Customers understands the application better when they see the visual model and the base application generated from it. Specifications can be refined at an early stage, which reduces the need for future fixes.
The code is always consistent and of high quality, as it has been tested in all our delivery projects. In addition, we are constantly developing the platform further.
We develop the delivered systems further with the same technology, and changes are quick to implement by editing the model.
The generated application is a standard system following a usual multitier architecture, which can be further developed using traditional methods. This way the customer avoids vendor lock-in.
Our SoulGen platform also offers many future possibilities. The operation of organizations requires more and more information-based decision making; therefore the critical data must be possible to combine, analyze, share, enrich and cleanse. We have recognized our technological capabilities to e.g. implement ready-made API interfaces and create customized masterdata management solutions, as well as various BI data warehouses and their user interfaces. In addition to the digitalization of core business processes, our technology supports the utilization of core data for different purposes – across system boundaries.
Customer satisfaction is pivotal
As said, all application development methods have their pros and cons. With SoulGen technology, we aim to reduce the bottlenecks of traditional and codeless methods, but even our platform is not suitable for the creation of any kind of application. Competent software developers are still a key asset for the development of our solutions as well as our own technology. Numerous successful deliveries and the positive feedback from our customers encourage us to move forward on this path. Technology is a tool for us, but our customers’ satisfaction is the most important measure of success.
Western Uusimaa Wellbeing Services County implements the SC Sourcing Suite solution. The customer estimates the total value of the contract period to be about 1.8 million euros.
The responsibility for organizing social- and healthcare and rescue services will be transferred from the municipalities to the wellbeing counties in the beginning of 2023 with the social- and healthcare reformation. Therefore, the procurement operations and the existing delivery contracts are also being transferred to the new wellbeing counties. Western Uusimaa is one of the first counties to tender a sourcing solution.
“The solution contributes to our goals”
“We are satisfied that the solution will be implemented”, comments Antti Pakkanen, project manager for procurement of the Western Uusimaa Wellbeing Services County. “We have many procurement specialists who transferred from the city of Espoo. They already have good experience with the system in question. Leading of procurement and its entire life cycle is central in modern procurement operations. To that extent, the solution contributes to our goals as well.”
SC Sourcing Suite is also seen to support the development of procurement activities and leading with knowledge:
“We expect strong support from the system for the preparation, execution and management of procurement in general”, Pakkanen continues. “The solution is also expected to provide new opportunities for the development of our sourcing processes; in our view, it meets the needs that we have become aware of. Leading with knowledge is central to that. We’ve had good cooperation with SC Software already in the preparation phase, and we expect it to continue in further development of the solution”, Pakkanen concludes.
SC Sourcing Suite supports management, sourcing activities and tendering
SC Sourcing Suite is a strategic sourcing solution, that offers different user roles a personalized and current view to the procurement portfolio, contract lifecycles and suppliers. In addition to operational support, the solution offer tools for leading in accordance with the national procurement strategy and the client organization’s own goals and processes.
“Our solution supports the best practices and operating models of strategic procurement management, that are also part of the Finnish government’s procurement goals. The solution offers support for the operational execution as well as the management of the overall procurement at the wellbeing county. It enables monitoring of purchases, reacting to deviations and making strategic decisions”, says SC Software’s sales director Tiina Vestman.
The supplier’s and purchaser’s portals included in SC Sourcing Suite increase cooperation between operators. Electronic tendering tools will be launched in the spring.
The City of Tampere develops its sourcing management. Photo: Laura Vanzo / Visit Tampere.
Announcement
7.11.2022 at 9.25 | SC Software Oy
SC Software won the bidding for the City of Tampere’s sourcing management and tendering system. The tendering service developed by SC Software will be launched on a wider market in the spring of 2023.
Sourcing is one of SC Software’s key business areas, for which the company has developed software solutions for a long time. The victory in the City of Tampere’s sourcing system tender strengthens the SC Sourcing Suite product family development. According to the customer’s estimate, the total value of the the entire contract period is approximately 600,000 euros.
“We are developing our sourcing management and the sourcing system offers the right tools for that. SC Sourcing Suite also supports the management of purchase needs and the entire lifecycle of sourcing, which offers new interesting opportunities for operational development. The sourcing system is tailored to meet our needs, and at the same time it enables the evaluation of our current processes and the possibility of making them more efficient”, says Kari Paju, CPO at the City of Tampere.
E-tendering as part of SC Sourcing Suite
SC Sourcing Suite is expanding with an electronic tendering service. In the future, procurement units can publish invitations to tender, and suppliers can participate in biddings through the portal. The new electronic tendering service will be introduced in spring 2023 at the same time with the system implementation for the City of Tampere.
“This is the last missing piece for the comprehensive sourcing management solution. The new e-tendering service will work smoothly together with Hilma and take into account the requirements of the coming eForms reform. It integrates to the sourcing system so that data no longer needs to be entered many times in various places. Special attention has also been paid to the service’s accessibility and information security”, says Tiina Vestman, Sales Director at SC Software.
Further information:
SC Software
Olli Väätäinen CEO olli.vaatainen@scsoftware.fi +358 50 557 8111
Tiina Vestman Vice President, Sales tiina.vestman@scsoftware.fi +358 50 561 4453
City of Tampere
Kari Paju CPO +358 40 554 6050
SC Software in brief
SC Software is a cloud-based SaaS company that delivers customer-specific software solutions as well as industry-specific software products. The company leverages its own high-productivity software development platform to automate much of the application’s manual coding. For customers, this is reflected in the better quality of the systems and the timeliness of deliveries.
SC Software was founded in 2014. The company’s turnover in 2021 reached 2.2 million euros. SC Software’s customers include the Industrial Union, Neova Group and VR Group.
The City of Espoo is a pioneer in the development of public procurement. Photo: Patrik Fagerström / the City of Espoo
Announcement
17.10.2022 at10.50 | SC Software Oy
SC Software has entered into a contract for the delivery of the strategic sourcing solution with the City of Espoo. The customer estimates the total value of the system to be a maximum of 1.8 million euros.
Sourcing is one of SC Software’s key business areas, in which the company has invested significantly, for example by developing the cloud-based SC Sourcing Suite solution. Public procurement organizations have begun to invest more and more in the development of procurement processes and strategic management.
“Many public administration organizations are struggling with data siloed in separate systems and documents, as well as solutions that do not adapt to their processes. Separate systems do not talk to each other and support for management is missing. The supply of procurement solutions on the market has also remained the same for a long time. In the public administration, there has been a need for a modern and comprehensive sourcing management system – we want to meet this need,” says Tiina Vestman, Sales Director at SC Software.
“We are very happy that we will get the SC Sourcing Suite solution to support our everyday lives and that we can continue the development of our sourcing with SC Software. Their system is great, agile and it also provides the keys to informed leading of sourcing. Based on our previous experience, SC Software has proven as a partner that brings added value to the customer on its own initiative. System implementation projects are not always perceived as a great treat amidst the busyness of everyday life, but this time we are looking forward to the implementation project with SC Software’s competent experts!”, says Pihla Hynynen, CPO at the City of Espoo.
SC Sourcing Suite supports the management of procurement operations
SC Sourcing Suite is a sourcing management system that offers a comprehensive, personalized situational picture of procurement projects, contract lifecycles and suppliers. Portals for suppliers and buyers increase cooperation between different operators within the procurement process.
In addition to operational support, the solution supports sourcing management in accordance with Finland’s National Public Procurement Strategy and the client organization’s own goals and processes.
Further information:
Olli Väätäinen CEO olli.vaatainen@scsoftware.fi +358 50 557 8111
SC Software in brief
SC Software is a cloud-based SaaS company that delivers customer-specific software solutions as well as industry-specific software products. The company leverages its own high-productivity software development platform to automate much of the application’s manual coding. For customers, this is reflected in the better quality of the systems and the timeliness of deliveries.
SC Software was founded in 2014. The company’s turnover in 2021 reached 2.2 million euros. SC Software’s customers include the Industrial Union, Neova Group and VR Group.
Petteri Vahla, CEO of eKeiretsu and Olli Väätäinen, CEO of SC Software
Announcement
2.8.2022 klo 08.00 | SC Software Oy
SC Software and eKeiretsu have made a business transaction for HankintaSampo and TyöllisyysSampo SaaS services. With the purchase, SC Software expands the range of its offering of sourcing solutions.
SC Software has acquired eKeiretsu Oy’s procurement business, which includes HankintaSampo and TyöllisyysSampo SaaS services. The business transaction was completed on August 1st, 2022.
“Sourcing is one of SC Software’s strategic business areas, which we will further strengthen with the business deal,” says SC Software’s CEO Olli Väätäinen.
“eKeiretsu has operated as a procurement software provider for a long time. In addition to this, eKeiretsu has developed a SaaS service platform for the area of business analytics, and the company has decided to focus on this area in the future. SC Software was a natural partner for us to transfer the procurement services to, and therefore secure the further development of these services,” says eKeiretsu’s CEO Petteri Vahla.
SC Software has long experience as a developer and supplier of procurement software solutions; the first procurement solution was delivered to VR Group in 2014. Since then, the product development of the SC Sourcing Suite has continued actively. HankintaSampo and TyöllisyysSampo -services will supplement SC Software’s current offering.
Olli Väätäinen and Tiina Vestman will exchange the title of CEO at SC Software. Vestman will continue in the company with customer relationships and sales. Photo: Emmi Virtanen
Press release
January 26, 2022 at 6:35 a.m. | SC Software Oy
Olli Väätäinen will start as the CEO of SC Software Oy in the beginning of February 2022. Väätäinen previously served as Solteq Plc’s CEO for almost five years. Led by the new CEO, SC Software is aiming to a significant leap in growth and opening of the international software market for its own products.
Olli Väätäinen, former CEO of Solteq Plc, will start as CEO of SC Software Oy on February 1, 2022. Väätäinen, who during his term led Solteq to significant growth, improved profitability and internationalization, is one of the best CEOs in the covid-time measured on the basis of earnings per share (Kauppalehti, June 4, 2021). Väätäinen has served as Chairman of the Board of SC Software since the company was founded.
“I started my career as an entrepreneur more than 30 years ago, developing and selling my own software. SC Software brings me back to my roots”, Väätäinen says. “Technology and especially the software business is my professional passion. SC Software’s technology is a significant competitive advantage, and it is great to lead forward a healthy company. We build better software tells the essential about this company”, concludes Väätäinen.
Automating software production is a competitive advantage
SC Software is a cloud-based SaaS company that delivers customer-specific software solutions as well as industry-specific software products. In software production, the company leverages its own high-productivity development platform that automates much of the applications’ manual coding. From the beginning, the company’s strategy has been to radically increase the efficiency of software production.
“Establishing and building a company from scratch was very inspiring and enjoyable challenge”, says Tiina Vestman, founder and current CEO of SC Software. “Together we have built state-of-the-art software production and got to work with great customers and projects”, Vestman continues.
In the coming years, the company intends to focus on growth and expansion into international markets. Vestman will continue as Vice President in Sales at SC Software.
“I told Olli already in the early days of this company that I will hit the puck at the end of the hockey rink, then you can continue building the game! As a person and with his experience, Olli is everything that we can hope for the company and its future. It’s good to continue from here under his leadership”, Vestman summarizes.
Further information:
Olli Väätäinen CEO olli.vaatainen@scsoftware.fi +358 50 557 8111
Tiina Vestman Vice President, Sales tiina.vestman@scsoftware.fi +358 50 561 4453
SC Software in brief
SC Software is a cloud-based SaaS company that delivers customer-specific software solutions as well as industry-specific software products. The company leverages its own high-productivity software development platform to automate much of the application’s manual coding. For customers, this is reflected in the better quality of the systems and the timeliness of deliveries.
SC Software (formerly SoulCore Oy) was founded in 2014. The company’s turnover in 2021 reached 2.2 million euros. SC Software’s customers include the City of Espoo, Industrial Union, Neova Group and VR Group.
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