Danish Sitecore continue growth
Monday, march 1, 2004
The Danish producer of Content Management Systems, Sitecore A/S, is preparing to expand into the Swedish market. During the past few months the company has received a growing number of Swedish enquiries about its system. Recently Sitecore A/S has signed agreements with a large number of Swedish partners which shows great promise for the future of Sitecore in Sweden.
11 new Swedish Partners in just four months and a continuously growing number of enquiries from potential Swedish customers. Already experiencing a growth rate of more than 20% per month during the last two years, Sitecore are now preparing their entry into Sweden.
The endeavour comes now, as Sitecore has been conscious for a while that Sweden does not have any direct competition to the company's unique, development platform CMS system. Sitecore has also experienced that existing customers in Sweden have been a catalyst for the growing interest in the company's system. Even though Sitecore has not previously done any specific marketing in Sweden, the company is getting daily enquiries from potential Swedish customers and partners. "We have great expectations for our partnership with Sitecore. The Swedish market is traditionally dominated by 'Box Content Management' systems, but with Sitecore we also have the opportunity to offer our customers a platform that is created to allow further development to match the customer's needs. We are convinced that Sitecore will achieve a significant position on the Swedish market within a short time," Said Per Jauring, CEO of the new Swedish partner, Creuna.
Kasper Kjærbye Larsen, Vice President of Sitecore, has the same perception. He believes that the enquiries after the Danish system have increased steadily since one of Sweden's major enterprises chose Sitecore. This has created a resonance on the market.
"We have experienced that, amongst others, our foremost Swedish customer Perstorp has given us a good reputation in Sweden. Rumours about our system have spread like rings in the water, and that doesn't just apply to potential customers - we have also experienced a greater commitment from both newer and established Swedish partners," said Kasper Kjærbye Larsen.
In 2003 Perstorp decided to use Sitecore's system after the major chemical company had performed an extensive comparison of a number of different CM systems. Sitecore was the clear winner of the tests, and with Perstorp's order there followed 62 of the company's sub-divisions'. Since then a number of other important Swedish customers including the 'Christian Democrat Party' and the 'States Maritime Museums in Stockholm' have chosen Sitecore as their strategic solution.
Mature Market
Kasper Kjærbye Larsen emphasised, however, that it wasn't simply the level of awareness that had created this new venture, The Swedish market has, like the Danish, matured. Until now, many businesses have been satisfied with a more limited solution, but their requirements have changed so much that they are ready to implement the next generation of CMS. And it is on that turf that Sitecore is a significant player.
"The Swedish market has matured, and customers are becoming better at employing the Internet as a medium. In other words, the demand for solutions that are not 'pure' content management, but are also a development platform that can interface and integrate to fit a customer's specific requirements," said Kasper Kjærbye Larsen, who expects considerable progress on the Swedish market.
Easy pursuit of solid partners
The quest for solid and dedicated solution partners has not been difficult. The list of new arrivals grows every day and amongst the latest additions are established consulting groups such as KSG, Creuna and Interfolio. The latter previously developed their own CMS but have now switched to providing Sitecore. Already in January this year Sitecore have signed seven new Partners, and more are waiting 'in the wings'.
Besides the new Swedish partners, Sitecore has also extended their cooperation with two of their existing partners, Framfab and Teleca, who will also offer Sitecore to their Swedish customers from this point forward. Both partners have extensive experience with the Swedish market
Even though Sitecore consider the Swedish market as a focus area, they will not immediately follow the venture with a Swedish office. A Swedish speaking employee is already based in Sitecore's Danish office, and the success with the existing Swedish customers indicates that Sitecore is already equipped for the undertaking.
Swedish Partners
Ireo Advertising agency, http://www.ireo.se
Michael Seifert
Administrerende direktør, Sitecore
Telefon: 70 23 66 60
Mobil: 28 10 33 31
e-mail: ms@Sitecore.net
About Sitecore
Sitecore A/S have, since 1999, produced the content management system; Sitecore. The company have a well established portfolio of Solution Partners worldwide and an extensive network of certified Sitecore developers. We are a leading provider of innovative CMS software and associated products.
The Sitecore system is entirely based on Microsoft's .NET technology and the Worldwide Web Consortium's Open Internet standards. Sitecore is an ideal choice for integrating and Internet-enabling IT systems within an organisation.
Our partner network services a broad spectrum of successful businesses in 41 countries worldwide. Amongst those are some of Northern Europe's biggest Enterprises, such as ABN Amro, F.L. Smidth, J. Lauritzen, Experian, Nilfisk-Advance, NKT Cables, Perstorp, Telenor along with a large number of public organisations and municipalities, for example Copenhagen, Frederiksberg and Nuuk.