Insight into Systematic 2012

Page 6

How to make your IT projecT a

success – no matter who you are

systematic’s employees wIll never be bored

Page 24

standard products save

time andmoney

Page 18

systematic’s accounts

room forforward ThInkIng

Page 10

2 I Systematic

counTrIes use systematic’s soluTIons

insight into systematic 2012

Publisher: Systematic A/S© Systematic A/S.

All rights reserved.

This magazine is updated in January 2012. Most of the factual information relates to the financial year 2010/2011 (1 October 2010 – 30 September 2011). Systematic’s actual annual report for 2010/11 is presented in a separate publication that is available on request, or in electronic format as a download from www.systematic.com.

Photos: Casper Tybjerg (front page, p. 3, 7), Chili foto & arkiv (p. 4-5, 20), Colourbox (p. 8-9, 10-11, 22-23), Systematic (p. 12-13, 21, 24, 26-27), Courtesy of Vestas Wind Systems A/S (p. 14-15), Getty Images (s. 16-17)

contents

Page 4Introduction to Systematic

Page 6How to make your IT project a success

Page 8, 12, 16 og 22Behind our values

Page 10Room for forward-thinking

Page 14How can we help you?

Page 18 Standard products save time and money – and annoyance

Page 24If Systematic’s employees are bored, they only have themselves to blame

Page 26Not a task defence forces can or should tackle alone

This printed matter is marked with the The Nordic Eco Label 111-111.

43for systematic, it is all about making complIcaTed ThIngs sImple

”

”

How to make your it Project a success Page 6

room for forward- tHinkingPage 10

How can we HelP you? Page 14

cusTomers In

Systematic I 3

An ocean of code has flowed across computer screens since Systematic was founded back in 1985. Our first customer was the Royal Danish Navy, and it was not long before we were delivering IT solutions to the other branches of the defence forces – initially in Denmark and then (over the years) in many other countries. We now supply advanced command and control products as well as interoperability and communication products to customers in about 40 countries.

In 2000, we added a new string to our bow in the form of IT products for the healthcare sector. Today, we sell one of the most comprehensive clinical information system solutions on the market, which is currently in widespread use in Denmark and attracting a good deal of interest in many other countries.

Over the years, our customer base has naturally expanded. We now develop software and system solutions for customers in a wide range of fields, from emergency response and intelligence services, to the financial sector, the energy industry, logistics, agriculture and more.

What our customers share is a commitment to using compu-ter systems in their everyday operations to improve and raise the efficiency of their work processes in order to boost their own profits – and those of their customers. They depend on IT solutions to provide them with a reliable overview of the information available, and to make it easier to take mission- critical decisions. When it comes to defence and healthcare, these are decisions that can be literally a matter of life and

death. So another trait shared by our customers is that they place very high demands on their IT solutions.

Over and above high quality, our customers expect to receive their IT solutions on time and at the agreed price. Consequently, our customers belong to the ever-increasing group of businesses that also measure software companies on their maturity, because they neither can nor will accept IT projects that go off track or miss their deadlines.

Even though our customers are active in many different fields, what we do is actually quite narrowly focused. As we see it, our role is to make complicated things simple, to continue develop-ment of the solutions that our customers already know and trust, and to do everything a little better – and to constantly challenge existing work processes and technologies.

Everything we do at Systematic is expressed in our four brand values: Simplicity. Trust. Performance. Forward-thinking. In this magazine, we expand on these themes and present examples of how Systematic’s 419 skilled employees in Denmark, the United Kingdom, the United States and Finland go the extra mile every day to live up to our high level of ambition.

Preface

Michael Holm

Michael Holm, President and CEO

4 I Systematic

it-solutions tHat make it easier to make decIsIons in demandingsituations

Systematic’s 419 employees in Denmark, the United Kingdom, the United States and Finland know that their efforts make a difference. Every single day, thousands of people depend on the work they do. These people use IT solutions from Systematic to make decisions – often in demanding or even life-threatening situations.

Systematic has more than 25 years of experience in efficient project management, which is often the key to the success-ful outcome of a project. This is backed by solid experience in the development and integration of complex IT systems. Over the years, in addition to these purely professional skills, the company has also built up a deep pool of insight into the defence sector and the healthcare industry.

Against this background, we have developed a range of standard products for both these fields, which are explained in more detail on pages 18-19.

HealtHcare

Columna, the clinical information system from Systematic, allows doctors, nurses and medical secretaries to perform the vast majority of their clinical, planning and patient administration registrations in a single solution.

defence

Systematic supplies reliable and user-friendly IT solutions for the defence industry that provide a clear overview of the situation and ensure that different military systems can exchange electronic information securely and unambiguously.

Systematic I 5

Systematic is the largest privately owned software and system provider in Denmark. Systematic’s head office is located in Aarhus, where the majority of our software development work takes place, and the company also has an office in Copenhagen.

In the United Kingdom, Systematic has offices in Camberley and Sleaford. Our Camberley office is involved in numerous British projects and plays an active role in sales and services in many parts of the world, while the Sleaford office is the skills centre for the Group’s activities in the field of Electronic Warfare.

The American office in Fairfax, close to Washington, handles sales and development assignments in North and South America.

The Systematic office in Finland takes care of the company’s business in Finland and the Baltic States. It is also the skills centre for vehicle-based defence systems.

tHe largest Privately owned software and system comPany in denmark

founded in 1985 by michael Holm419 employeescustomers in 43 countriescmmi-certified to level 5

intelligence and national security

Police forces and intelligence services use Systematic solutions and services in emergency response setups and surveillance systems, and to protect critical infrastructure.

integration services

Systematic is an expert in classic system integration solutions and in developing fully customised solutions in close collaboration with individual customers.

6 I Systematic

How to make yourIT projecT

a successa good working relationship between supplier and customer, and the supplier having a high level of project management experience, are crucial to the success of any it project

If you have never participated in an IT project, you may find it hard to understand why such projects so often crash and burn.

Even though Denmark is an international leader in applying new technology in the public sector, Danish state-run IT projects are no more successful than their counterparts in many other countries. According to a report prepared for the Danish government (“Professionalisation of the work on state-run IT projects”, 2010), the average budget overrun on major state IT projects that run into difficulties is 40 per cent, while the average time-related overrun amounts to 75 per cent.

The same report presents constructive suggestions for how to prevent overruns in time and expenditure. In this context, professionalisation, project management, risk management and close dialogue with suppliers are top of the list.

focus on delivery capabilityFor more than 25 years, Systematic has enjoyed good, successful working relationships with public sector customers that actually account for 80 per cent of the company’s turnover. We are now noticing an increasing demand from both public sector organisa-tions and private sector companies for delivery capabilities that they can consider credible.

“We are currently sensing increasing focus on both delivery capability and the ability to bring IT projects to a successful conclusion,” explains Flemming Bent Thomsen, Vice President at Systematic.

During the past financial year, Systematic delivered 95 per cent of all project milestones on time. This impressive result is attributable to no-compromise focus on quality and process improvements. Sy-stematic is actually one of about 200 companies worldwide to have

Systematic I 7

received certification to Level 5 – the highest level – according to CMMI (Capability Maturity Model Integration), the internationally recognised maturity model. Systematic is also certified in ac-cordance with the ISO 9001:2000 standard and the military AQAP 2110 and 150 standards.

constructive working relationshipsReliable project management is one thing – the approach to working relationships with customers is quite another. Systematic has always focused on maintaining a pragmatic and constructive dialogue with its customers.

“The most important factor in the working relationship with our customers is to maintain constant focus on meeting each customer’s specific business needs. If the world changes, we change with it – and we work closely with the customer to come up with the ideal solution,” explains Flemming Bent Thomsen.

Milestones delivered on time

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Flemming Bent ThomsenVice president, Systematic

greater maturity meansImproved

delivery caPability

good advice when choosing a supplier for your it solution

Choose a supplier that can document top-level delivery capability

Make sure to stay involved as far as possible in the development process

Find a supplier that can appreciate the ins and outs of your business, and that understands your needs

we are currently sensing

IncreasIng focus on

delivery caPability ”

”

8 I Systematic

Systematic’s mission is to deliver IT solutions that make it simpler for users to make crucial decisions in demanding situations. Briefly put: “Simplifying critical decision making”.

Such solutions must be able to function 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and they must have the capacity to handle huge amounts of data. They are to provide users with precisely the tools and the over-view they need to make the right decisions – regardless of whether the users in question are soldiers, doctors, nurses or civil servants.

wHat does simPlicity mean to systematic?

Pragmatic working relationships

simple organisationno bureaucracyfocus on the goal

Bent Hansen, Chairman of the Regional Council of Central Denmark Region, at Systematic’s 25th anniversary celebrations in August 2010

a working relationship that creates value “We haven’t spent our money on constant bickering and pushing paper back and forth. We’ve been part of a working relationship in which we kept focused on the goal and concentrated on generating the results we wanted to achieve.”

For many years, Systematic has been working with Region Midtjylland (Central Denmark Region) on the development of a modern and fully integrated clinical information system.

simPlicity Is The ulTImaTe soPHistication

”

”

simPlicity

Systematic I 9

That is why “Simplicity” is a keyword for Systematic. The soluti-ons must be quick, simple and efficient to use. At the same time, they must be able to communicate flawlessly with other systems, and they must have interfaces that users find logical and intuitive.

“Simplicity” also refers to the way we work. We place great emphasis on maintaining straightforward, open and pragmatic working relationships with our customers and partners. This makes demands on the way we organise our own operation,

of course. Here, too, the key concept is “simplicity”. Systematic runs a flat and flexible organisation to ensure that we always have the capacity to adapt quickly to changes in the scope and/or nature of our assignments.

beHind our values:

room for forward-ThInkIngas a privately owned and financially robust company, systematic has the opportunity to think and act from a long-term perspective

10 I Systematic

Other IT companies have also racked up more than 25 years in the business it is quite unusual in this age of mergers and acquisitions that the principal shareholder and the President and CEO have remained unchanged since the company was founded.

It is no accident that the company has remained in private hands.

“As the company is owned by just the three of us, and we are all committed to the well-being of the company, there is no suggestion of thinking in terms of short-term returns,” explains Michael Holm, President and CEO. “We can adopt the long-term view and take risks if we choose to. We can cultivate long-term relationships with our customers and partners, we can focus on quality in all areas, and we can invest in innovation and product development at our own expense – all because we firmly believe that it will pay off in the long run.”

Being able to keep the company under private ownership is largely dependent on the financial status of the business. For this very reason, Systematic has always given high priority to healthy finances. The annual accounts for 2010/2011 show that the company has no bank debt and is extremely solvent, with bank deposits totalling EUR 7.9 million at the end of the financial year. At that same time, Systematic’s equity amounted to EUR 14.3 million.

The internationally recognised credit assessment company D&B has given Systematic its AAA rating – the highest D&B rating available – and one only achieved by four per cent of all companies.

The accounts for the financial year 2010/2011 show a slight increase in turnover (EUR 50.0 million compared to EUR 48.4 million in the previous year), and a slight increase in operating profits (EUR 5.1 million compared to EUR 4.8 million in 2009/2010). The latter result corresponds to a profit ratio of 10.2 per cent.

Two business areas in particular – Integration Services and Intelligence & National Security – are showing growth with a good influx of new customers, especially as regards system solutions and services for the public sector. Turnover here has doubled over the past three years, which means that these two business areas now account for about 40 per cent of the company’s total turnover.

The Healthcare business area generated turnover 18 percent higher compared to the previous year, while the flow of orders for Defence has been hard hit by the reductions in defence budgets throughout the world, partly because many countries are currently participating in international operations.

Systematic is budgeting with a combination of higher turnover and stable earnings for the financial year 2011/2012.

Systematic I 11

read systematic’s annual report for more information

The Systematic accounts for the financial year 2009/2010 reveal a turnover of EUR 50.0 million compared to EUR 48.4 million the previous year.

The company’s operating profit totalled EUR 5.1 million compared to EUR 4.8 million in 2008/2009.

The company’s profit ratio is 10.2 per cent.

For additional information, read the full annual report for the financial year 2010/2011, which you can download from www.systematic.com.

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trustTrust is the second of Systematic’s four brand values and describes the “handshake” feeling we want customers to experience when they choose to do business with Systematic.

Customer trust in Systematic and our systems and deliveries is nothing short of crucial. Our solutions have put thousands of users all over the world in a position to make the right decisions at the right moments.

Trust is something you build up gradually by doing things properly. This is what Systematic has been doing for more than 25 years.

We have always focused on high quality, both as regards customised system development and our own products. Our employees are some of the most highly skilled software and system engineers in the market.

tHe moment

TrusT In sysTemaTIc

Is losT, systematic is lost

wHat does trust mean to systematic?

High qualitydata you can rely onProducts that have been

thoroughly tried and tested in real life

a deal is a dealdelivery reliability

12 I Systematic

– tHis is a rating, tHat only

4 per cenT of all

comPanies in tHe world manage

to acHieve

d&b Has given systematic tHe HigHest credit

rating available

trustbeHind our

values:

Combined with our Level 5 CMMI-certified processes, this ensures solutions of the highest quality.

In addition, we place great emphasis on running in-depth pre-delivery tests that reflect real-life situations as closely as possible. This kind of testing normally accounts for about 12 % of the time devoted to the development assignment.

From a purely commercial perspective, we have always abided by the terms of the contracts we have entered into, and we have never given up. This has also applied on the – fortunately few – occasions when the man-hours we had allowed for in a fixed-price contract were exceeded by more than an acceptable degree because the assignment turned out to be more complicated than it originally appeared. In such cases we have taken our knocks and “chalked them up to experience”. We are committed to ensuring that our customers receive the agreed delivery on time and at the agreed price.

Systematic I 13

Gauri Varma Heise Test Manager at Systematic

systematic on software testing

“When testing IT solutions, we always put ourselves in the position of the users and draw inspiration from the way they actually work. The closer we can come to real-life use, the better the tests we can perform and the more efficient the solutions we can create.”

14 I Systematic

Systematic is probably best known as a supplier of advanced command and control systems to the defence industry, and clinical information systems to the healthcare sector. In Denmark, we have also built up a reputation in recent years for successfully completing a range of special projects for customers from both public and private sectors.

“We integrate IT systems and build solutions that support work processes across systems and organisational boundaries. In other words, we deliver integration services that not only utilise and build on the value of the customer’s existing systems, but also take into account the customer’s strategy and future needs,” explains Morten Granum, Vice President at Systematic.

Morten Granum adds that Systematic’s understanding of its customers’ businesses plays a key role in the company’s growing success.

“We are good at understanding other people’s businesses. This helps us in our working relationships with our customers, ensuring that we establish the framework correctly with regard to their needs and objectives,” says Morten Granum, who highlights the working relationship in one of the company’s recent projects as an example. In this case, Systematic was involved in the process as early as the requirements specification phase and could therefore provide input that helped to boost the quality of the solution. The project was centred on an analysis tool designed to assist wind turbine manufacturers’ service technicians by continuously monitoring wind turbines at sites all over the world. The objective is to maintain high uptime and reduce maintenance costs by proactively performing maintenance before the kinds of faults that cause operational shut-downs even arise.

more examplesOther specific development projects include a solution for “e-nettet”, a collaborative set-up for more than 130 organisations

How can we help you?

no matter whether customers are in the market for new, customised it solutions or for having their existing setups optimised, they have

come to the right place when they choose systematic

Systematic I 15

Thomas FredenslundDirector in The Danish Ministry of Taxation

an understanding for how things are done

“The Danish Ministry of Taxation has encountered Systematic as a competent, constructive and well-focused working partner. Systematic is a company that has shown a good ability to put itself in our shoes, and to understand the specific challenges and needs that our development projects involve.”

in the Danish financial sector. Here, Systematic has helped to simply the flow of paperwork in connection with real estate deals and loan financing, and contributed to the infrastructure – in the form of integration and shared processes, for example – between the numerous financial parties involved.

In conjunction with The Danish Ministry of Taxation, Systematic has developed a new list system to keep track of goods and services traded across international borders within the EU. The system is linked to the pan-European VIES system (VAT Information Exchange System), which co-ordinates data from the different EU member states and plays an important role in the battle to stop VAT fraud.

Systematic has also worked closely with the Danish National Labour Market Authority to streamline Jobnet, the biggest job portal in Denmark. The existing system has been simplified so as to reduce maintenance costs and improve user satisfaction.

Performancesystematic is one of only

15 euroPean comPanies to Have acHieved cmmI level 5 cerTIfIcaTIon

worldwide, only

237 companIes Have been awarded tHis level of certification

16 I Systematic

In the world of business, competition has become tough everywhere – and particularly in the IT sector. When customers compare quotations from potential suppliers, they naturally focus on each supplier’s ability to deliver on time and at the agreed price and quality. Many people recognise the relationship between price and quality – but not everyone realises how important it is to assess this relationship on the basis of overall service life costs as well as maintenance costs. At Systematic, we have always main-tained that you have to pay for quality – but it’s cheaper in the long run.

Making ongoing improvements to the quality of our solutions and processes has been an integral part of our everyday activities since 1992, when we started to work on the basis of the ISO 9001 regulations. Later, we moved up to the next level by applying the internationally recognised Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI). We did so because it takes a high level of maturity to develop operationally reliable and future-proof mission-critical systems, where there is simply no room for errors in critical software, and where the system must be flexible enough to

wHat does Performance mean to systematic?

delivering on time, within budget and at the agreed quality

solutions distinguished by high uptime

solutions with low service life costs and low maintenance costs

the desire to make a difference

a result-oriented culture

PerformancebeHind our

values:

Systematic I 17

accommodate changes to the organisation’s needs. Since 2005, we have been certified to the fifth and highest level of CMMI, and the results speak for themselves. During the past financial year, we delivered 93 per cent of all milestones on time.

Our determination to generate better results in all areas is also the driving force behind our decision to mix CMMI with the principles of agile development. While CMMI helps us to apply an exceptional level of discipline – including close monitoring of all development processes – implementing agile processes provides us with impressive flexibility and a remarkable capacity to adapt. We always make sure to involve our customers actively in all phases of the development process, for example by giving them the opportunity to adjust their requirements underway if a different setup makes more sense. This means we can ensure that – in close collaboration with our customers – we cover users’ actual needs better and more economically, ensuring that we provide them with solutions that can be considered future-proof.

good news for the defence and healthcare sectors:

systematic supplies user-friendly solutions that have been thoroughly tested, trialled in real life, and are available for immediate delivery

standard Products

18 I Systematic

Customers in the defence industry and in the healthcare sector can look forward to lower costs on their future IT systems purchases. Rather than spending time, energy and precious funds on one-off, bespoke solutions, they can now buy off-the-shelf products that will cover the majority of their users’ requirements – and which can relatively quickly be adapted to accommodate all needs.

sitaware and iris“We have developed the IRIS and SitaWare software suites for the defence industry. IRIS allows different military systems to communicate with each other, while SitaWare is a standardised command and control system,” says Andrew Graham, Senior Vice President at Systematic.

SitaWare is currently used in 11 countries, and is helping to make it possible for multiple nations to collaborate on joint missions. For example,

SitaWare is in use in Kosovo and Afghanistan. IRIS is used in about 40 countries in all parts of the world.

“We have noted that customers are increasingly focusing on price, life cycle costs and risk. Previously, customers from the defence industry and healthcare sector could spend 3–5 years developing their own bespoke systems – with no guarantee that these systems would actually meet their needs. Today, however, they are much more keen on user-friendly solutions that have been thoroughly tested and trialled in real life – and are available for immediate delivery,” explains Andrew Graham.

columnaIn the field of healthcare IT solutions, Systematic has collated years of expe-rience into a fully integrated clinical information system with the capacity to make big improvements in patient safety and to increase efficiency in hospitals.

save TIme and money

– and annoyance

standard Products

Systematic I 19

“On the basis of a close working relationship with the Central Denmark Region, we have developed Columna, an ultra-modern clinical information system that allows doctors, nurses and other healthcare personnel to handle the vast majority of their clinical, planning and patient administration registrations in a single, integrated product,” says Anders Goul Nielsen, Vice President at Systematic.

Columna has already been fully implemented in more than half the hospitals in Central Denmark Region. The remaining hospitals will follow in the course of 2012.

Partners with local knowledgeSystematic’s products are based on open platforms, which allow customers to ask their implementation partners to develop the solutions even further.

At the same time, our products serve as catalysts for the increased internationalisation of Systematic’s business operations. Via a network of sales partners, which already includes a number of recognised system developers, we can reach even more customers. Our partner strategy likewise underpins our growth ambitions and reinforces the flexibility of our business model.

20 I Systematic

systematic’s Products for tHe HealtHcare sectorHealthcare IT will play an increasingly important role over the coming years, with challenges piling up for healthcare services all over the world. Ageing populations, increasing expectations, and constant development in treatment options are all making high demands on renewal, co-ordination and prioritisation. It is no easy task to find financially viable development paths while simultaneously delivering high quality and fully cohesive patient treatments regardless of the various boundaries that stem from different levels of authority and forms of ownership.

Healthcare IT has to be able to support the clinical work, hospital operations and management tasks of all the parties involved. In particular, these systems have to make the day-to-day work of healthcare personnel easier as well as more efficient.

With the Columna clinical information system, Systematic is at the very forefront of such development. Whereas most of the

With IRIS, Systematic was the first company to launch a commercial software product designed to facilitate military interoperability – i.e. the unambiguous exchange of electronic information between different military systems. Today, IRIS is the de facto standard within NATO for handling military data exchange protocols, and is built into command and control systems all over the world. As a result, the software products in the IRIS suite are a great help in international missions that involve defence forces from many different countries working together – often in disparate locations.

The software in the SitaWare suite constitutes a fully scalable command and control solution, designed to cover most needs right off the shelf. On account of its open architecture and compliance with international standards for interoperability, SitaWare can quickly be integrated with other systems and specialist

technologies. SitaWare can also be adapted to meet any special requirements that customers may have, and to operate seamlessly with their existing configurations.

The SitaWare suite includes products intended for different command levels, from the individual soldier to the uppermost reaches of the chain of command. It matches the requirements from the defence forces of today. These forces are almost always involved in multinational operations – from peace-keeping as-signments to battle campaigns, and from crisis control to quelling civil unrest. All forces that take part in operations of this kind must be able to exchange data efficiently, irrespective of origin and equipment. The system used must make it possible to exchange orders and reports quickly using complex multinational command structures, and be able to deal with different sets of rules and regulations in different places and at different times.

sitawareSystematic’s SitaWare product suite consists of a range of command and control products targeted to meet the specific needs of different levels within defence organisations.

iris The Systematic IRIS product suite consists of a range of interoperability and communication products that have become the de facto standard in NATO defence organisations for handling numerous different military data exchange formats.

systematic’ s Products for tHe defence industry

Systematic I 21

solutions currently available around the world tend to focus on payment flows connected with the individual patient, and with administrative processes, the Systematic solution takes things to the next level. Columna combines all these functions with a clear focus on clinical work and patient safety. In addition to the numerous journal entries made by healthcare personnel about their patients, the system can also handle bookings for operations and outpatient consultations, documentation of medication, blood test results, discharge letters and the communication of reports to national registers.

Columna is scalable with regard to functionality, the fields in which it can be used and the way it can be deployed. At the same time, the product is based on international stan-dards and open architecture, making it ideal for integration into – and interaction with – other systems.

facts about systematic columna in central denmark region

Used in all hospitals units in the region

9,500 different users over the course of a day

5.5 million people are registered in Columna, of whom 720,000 are patients with registered data

Registration of 3,300 admitted patients and 10,000 outpatients per day

Access to 18,500 patient records per day

35-40,000 sets of laboratory results per day – up to 6,500 per hour in busy periods

28,000 administrations of medication per day

forward –tHinking

wHat does forward-tHinking mean to systematic?

anticipating our customers’ needs

future-proofing our products developing our own skills using the very latest

technologies

A company such as Systematic has to adopt a forward-thinking attitude and must constantly challenge existing ways of doing things. Our determination to stay at least two steps ahead at all times is expressed in priorities such as research into new technologies, constant improvement of all software processes and aggressive skills development.

More and more often, our development assignments are based on long-term working relationships with our customers targeted at optimising their system portfolios – either fully or in part. This means maintaining close dialogue with each customer, working together to pinpoint exactly the needs and challenges they are most likely to encounter in the future. Against this background, we identify the most viable solutions from both functional and financial perspectives.

The same applies with regard to Systematic products. The core ideas in our product strategy – standards, simplicity and

22 I Systematic

Martin Bever, Lt Col, British Liaison Officer (Digitisation) France

interoperability

“Systematic’s specialists have been working with us as we prepare for Exercise FLANDRES, which takes place in June 2011. They have provided expert advice on how British Forces using BCIP might interoperate with the French SICF command and control system.

Their in-depth knowledge of interoperability has been critical in our planning in order to reduce risk of failure, and we will be using Systematic’s C2 software during the actual exercise to create a MIP gateway which will allow the UK and French systems to exchange operational data.”

Exercise FLANDRES will test the effectiveness of a UK Brigade working with a French Brigade as part of a French Division. The exercise will demonstrate the interoperability currently achievable and will undoubtedly inform work leading towards the establishment of a Combined Joint Expeditionary Force envisaged in the agreement between Prime Minister Cameron and President Sarkozy in November 2010.

forward –tHinking

beHind our values:

scalability – contribute to ensuring that our products satisfy the commercial needs of our customers, both now and in the future. In practice, this means that we base our products on international standards and open architecture that facilitates integration and co- existence with other systems. Likewise, we put a great deal of effort into making our product scaleable so that they can function efficiently in a wider context than the one for which they were originally intended.

research and development projectsForward-thinking is also a consistent theme in the research and development projects that Systematic takes on in conjunction with the business community, educational bodies and other public sector institutions. Systematic is currently working on a number of such projects, including one centred on developing a special IT tool to assist medical staff in treating blood clots, and one linked with the development of Galileo – the European GPS navigation system.

Systematic I 23

systematic’s employees wIll never be bored for systematic it’s all about being one step ahead the whole time. that’s why we are on the offensive with competency development

24 I Systematic

Systematic is known for its ability to deliver high-quality, innovative IT solutions on time. If anyone thinks this is something the company has accomplished by our staff just sitting in front of computer screens, munching pizza and slurping Coke, they are sorely mistaken.

“We believe the best ideas are developed in cooperation with our customers, and this requires that our staff can understand each individual customer’s business as well as being able to communicate in terms that the customer understands,” explains Janne Hallum, Systematic’s director for People, Culture & Communication.

This is why business know-how and customer focus are high on the Systematic agenda. Directly after new members of staff begin working here, they are enrolled in a customer relations course. Both here and at monthly meetings with senior management, there is a focus on business development as well as good customer relations.

Many of Systematic’s customer relationships have proved to be of a long-term nature, which has given the company a detailed insight into these customers’ business procedures, needs and ways of thinking.

Systematic has built up and acquired substantial knowledge in the defence and healthcare industries in particular, and has even hired people with this kind of background to ensure Systematic in-house knowledge in these specialist fields. Seven percent of all our employees fall into this category.

in-house knowledge sharingIn addition to understanding customers’ needs, it is imperative that we have competent and knowledgeable employees. As a result, Systematic is not afraid to invest both time and money in our staff – even at the risk of these employees then becoming more attractive to other companies.

74% of our staff work witH software develoPment. 7% are domaIn specIalIsTs and 19% are employed In sTaff funcTIons. 59% of our software develoPers Have a master´s degree or a PH.d. 22% have a bachelor of engIneerIng degree and 19% have a dIploma In advanced compuTer sTudIes, or oTher sImIlar qualIfIcaTIons. on average, tHey Have worked for systematic for 12 years. tHeir average age is 37 years. sysTemaTes Take an average of 4.5 Days off work each year due To Illness

Systematic I 25

“We have a motto that says ‘it is better to educate people and risk they leave than do nothing and they stay,’” explains Janne Hallum.

As of October 2011, Systematic software developers had a total of 584 individual certifications. Of these, the biggest portion lies in heavyweight technological certifications for Microsoft, Java and Oracle or certification within project leadership such as Management Professional, Prince 2 and Scrum.

Systematic’s approach to competency development includes in-house knowledge-sharing networks that support the knowledge-sharing process, build new knowledge based on roles, technologies or processes. They include an architect network, a network for programming languages and a test network.

74% of our staff work witH software develoPment. 7% are domaIn specIalIsTs and 19% are employed In sTaff funcTIons. 59% of our software develoPers Have a master´s degree or a PH.d. 22% have a bachelor of engIneerIng degree and 19% have a dIploma In advanced compuTer sTudIes, or oTher sImIlar qualIfIcaTIons. on average, tHey Have worked for systematic for 12 years. tHeir average age is 37 years. sysTemaTes Take an average of 4.5 Days off work each year due To Illness

systematic currenTly ranks number

on tHe list of attractive danIsh employers wIThIn I.T.

7Source: Great Place To Work© 2011

Tage Lund Senior Sales Engineer, Systematic

systematic as a work place

”As long as you demonstrate initiative and drive as well as providing results, you can pretty much make your own decision about what kind of career path you want in Systematic. I’ve been here for a total of 14 years, beginning as a programmer. Now I help our sales staff with the more technical aspects of product sales. This also involves advising our customers, and helping make sure Systematic solutions meet their needs.”

26 I Systematic

not a task tHe defence forces can or sHouldTackle alone

systematic backs aid and support organisations for soldiers

The Danish defence forces have been a Systematic customer ever since 1985. That is one reason why we as a company consider it a natural step to provide backing for aid and support organisations that work with soldiers’ needs.

“Our support is given from a good heart, based on a philosophy that we have a duty to contribute where there is a special need within our particular customer segment. And when the Danish defence forces are among our biggest customers, yes, it’s entirely natural that we contribute to the work being done in that area,” points out Michael Holm.

“We deliver some of the best software set-ups to Afghanistan, but unfortunately there are also many soldiers who return home

we Have a natural duty

To help soldIerswHo can

no longer be on tHe

front line

”

”Michael Holm

President and CEO, Systematic

Systematic I 27

with physical and psychological trauma. We have a duty to help them – both as a nation and as a responsible company, because this is not a task the Danish defence forces can or should tackle alone. This task should be accomplished by society and business pulling together,” says Michael Holm.

The organisations that Systematic supports include the independent Danish Soldiers’ Grant Foundation, which helps soldiers who have suffered physical or psychological trauma after an international tour of duty as well as helping bereaved relatives of those who sadly lost their lives. Systematic provides the Foundation’s administration with office space in the company’s Copenhagen office, free of charge.

Systematic is also a regular contributor to the association SSOP – Støt Soldater & Pårørende (Support Soldiers and Relatives), and we were honoured to host a lunch after the annual Anders Lassen Foundation award of grants presented to soldiers.

Last but not least, we have established jobs within Systematic that are earmarked for defence forces personnel who have been wounded. These military personnel will work on testing the advanced Battle Management System software that Systematic produces for use in both HQ set-ups and on the front line.

“These soldiers have practical knowledge from the field and from battle, and we can put this to good use in our business. In return, we can provide them with training as IT testers – a skill that can be used throughout the IT industry. We hope this means we can play a part of getting wounded veterans back into the job market,” says Michael Holm.

DES3

89 M

agaz

in 2

009-

10 U

K

united states of america

5875 Trinity Parkway, Suite 130

Centreville

Virginia 20120

Tel +1 703 385 7522

finland

Finlaysoninkuja 19

33210 Tampere

Tel +358 207 463 870

denmark

Søren Frichs Vej 39

8000 Aarhus C

Tel +45 8943 2000

Landgreven 3

1301 København K

Tel +45 8943 2000

united kingdom

The Coliseum

Riverside Way

Camberley, Surrey

GU15 3YL

Tel +44 1276 675533

Kesteven Business Centre

2 Kesteven Street

Sleaford, Lincolnshire

NG34 7DT

Tel +44 1529 303322

Performance forward-tHinking

SIMPLICITY

USA

Denmark

* Sweden Finland

*Australia

* Opens in 2012

United Kingdom