Danish software company conquers Nordic capitals in three years

Systematic wins contract with Finnish libraries worth EUR 3.6 million as part of the company's goal to supply software solutions to the major libraries in Nordic capitals.

In 2022, Systematic set itself the goal of bringing its library solution, Cicero, to the major libraries in the Nordic region and Northern Europe. Cicero underpins Denmark's national library system and was therefore already in use in Copenhagen, Tórshavn and Nuuk.

Systematic had just secured a contract with Oslo, and attention was turned to Stockholm, Hamburg and Helsinki.

"It was quite ambitious. To break into new markets, we targeted the large, innovative libraries in the capitals. It was an advantage that we could demonstrate a library system that was widely adopted and working well across all of Denmark to prospective customers. Now, three years later, we have reached our first goal, and more libraries are steadily coming on board," says Jakob Ilum Damsgaard, Director of Systematic's Library division.

Strong demand for replacing ageing systems

In 2023, Oslo's 22 Deichman libraries went live with Cicero — an implementation in which nearly two million lending materials and 500,000 borrower profiles were migrated in a single night, without users noticing a thing. In October 2024, Systematic won a contract with Stockholm's City Library and its 40 branches, worth SEK 100 million. In parallel, Bücherhallen Hamburg, with 32 public libraries, chose to replace its 30-year-old system with Cicero.

Most recently, Systematic has signed a contract with the Helmet libraries in the Helsinki region, worth EUR 3.6 million — approximately DKK 27 million.

The agreement covers more than 60 library branches and over 1.2 million citizens.

With Helsinki, Systematic can tick off the major capital city libraries across the Nordic region.

Like many other large European city libraries, Helmet needs to replace an ageing system that has technically reached the end of its lifecycle. In a procurement process conducted as a competitive dialogue with four suppliers, the choice fell on Cicero.

"Helmet is one of the largest and most advanced library consortia in the world, and developing services for our customers is our top priority. We therefore use a range of technologies and processes that improve the availability and use of our collection. The choice of Systematic as the supplier of our new library system stems from a desire to invest in data security and the protection of our customers' privacy," says Virva Hiiri, Director of Library Network Services at Helsinki City Library.

European development and security in focus

The new solution makes it possible to integrate more closely with national data infrastructure. According to Virva Hiiri, Helmet will become the first library consortium in Finland to connect Cicero to the national Population Information System, so that users' addresses are updated automatically when they move.

Across European countries, there is a growing focus on data security and digital sovereignty when procuring solutions for critical public infrastructure. According to Jakob Ilum Damsgaard, this also plays a role when libraries choose a new system.

"Libraries handle data on millions of citizens. It matters where that data resides and who has access to it. Cicero is a European-developed and hosted solution with a high level of information security, and customers are placing increasing value on that," says Jakob Ilum Damsgaard.

Systematic, which also supplies defence software to NATO and electronic patient record systems to Danish hospitals, holds CMMI Level 5 appraisal and ISO 27001 certification.

Shared development across libraries

A key part of the explanation for Cicero's success is that the system has been developed as a shared solution, in close collaboration with librarians. When one library has a new feature developed, it is typically made available to all other customers.

"This means that the libraries in Helsinki can benefit from the experiences and developments that have taken place in Copenhagen, Hamburg, Oslo and Stockholm. And vice versa. It is a digital community that is continuously being expanded," explains Jakob Ilum Damsgaard.

The system currently handles more than 12 million unique users per year and approximately seven million loans daily.

With contracts in several Nordic capitals, Systematic is now turning its attention to the rest of North-Western Europe. In Germany, the company sees a market where several large libraries need to replace ageing systems.

"We have proved that the Danish model can scale. Now it is about taking the next step and expanding Cicero further across North-Western Europe," says Jakob Ilum Damsgaard.