Conscensia helps Systematic create the future of healthcare solutions in Denmark

Systematic is an international Danish IT company that develops secure and efficient software solutions within Defence, Healthcare, Digitization, Intelligence & National Security, Library & Learning and Renewables & Utilities.

Systematic’s Healthcare products contribute to a coherent healthcare system across hospitals, municipalities and citizens’ homes, from electronic patient and citizen records, patient monitoring and workflow solutions. As a software supplier to critical functions in society, Systematic has a strong focus on delivery reliability, functionality, compliance and security. Since 2005, Systematic has been CMMI-rated at level five, which is the highest possible level.

Both the government and citizens have high expectations of the healthcare sector in Denmark. Denmark has a high level of digitization, so we expect citizens to be met with a coherent system with one single medical record. Systematic’s vision and work with healthcare solutions started many years ago, and today Systematic meets the high product requirements through its current solutions and its ability to work methodically with the further development of well-functioning solutions.

The challenge

Back in 2011, Systematic Healthcare needed extra development capacity to continue developing IT healthcare solutions for e.g. Danish municipalities. The strategy was clear: Systematic wanted to create mixed nearshore development teams and partner with a sourcing supplier.

For Systematic and especially for Healthcare’s Cura product, nearshore outsourcing has become an essential part of the strategy. Heidi Pedersen, Group Senior Vice President of Systematic Healthcare Operations, explains: “Conscensia’s ability to build development teams with competent and professional developers has made nearshore outsourcing a true success for us.”

The solution – the power of mixed teams and knowledge sharing

Systematic’s Cura development teams work across borders with offices in Aarhus, Warsaw and Lviv. Each team is a mix of Danish and Polish developers – or Danish and Ukrainian developers. Heidi Pedersen says: “There is an incredibly close collaboration where the knowledge sharing is getting stronger. The mixed teams create a robust, dynamic and efficient work structure.” Although Systematic’s products are sold to the Danish healthcare system, all development is made in English, which works really well.

Systematics Healthcare Cura has 18 nearshore tech specialists based in Poland and Ukraine, divided into four different integrated teams. According to Heidi Pedersen, the mixed teams offer several advantages: knowledge sharing is optimal, scalability option is greater and the scaling speed is impressive. Most importantly, the solution is cost-effective.

Each of the four teams within Cura has their own area of expertise and works on different modules within the product. The developers are involved in all aspects – from design and development to maintenance. The teams are self-governing and they organize themselves how and who solves the tasks. Heidi Pedersen explains: “The teams are an essential part of having a product and continuing to develop our product. We have developers at different levels, including team leads, scrummasters, development (Java) and testers. They all have different roles in our product development unit.”

Collaboration under difficult conditions

The war in Ukraine hasn’t slowed down the quality or engagement of tech specialists. Quite the contrary. Systematic is still investing in Ukraine because they get a great results from their teams in Ukraine. Heidi Pedersen explains; “The development has continued at a top professional level, we have not experienced a drop in quality at all. They also meet all deadlines on the tasks we have agreed on. We see that the work gives the developers a sense of normality in a sometimes uncertain world. In short, they are truly professional.”

An important part of Systematic’s future

Nearshore development teams are today an integral part of Cura’s business model. With approximately one third of the Cura product developers located in Poland and Ukraine, Systematic has created a solid base for product development for the Danish healthcare system. “We are extremely satisfied with the IT competencies in both Poland and Ukraine. Conscensia ensures a good recruitment process, where we screen candidates ourselves, and together we have created a high success rate in finding the right developers quickly. Nearshore developers are not consultants, they are employees who are on an equal footing with our in-house developers in Systematic. They contribute with unique competencies and are integrated into our competence matrix on an equal footing with our Danish colleagues,” says Heidi Pedersen.

There is always a risk of losing knowledge in a company, but when knowledge is built up in the team, it reduces the loss of knowledge if a developer leaves the team. Heidi Pedersen continues; “We have a fantastic retention rate for our nearshore tech specialists. It is impressive that they have such great loyalty to Systematic and the product we develop together.”

According to Heidi Pedersen, freelance consultants and integrated teams cannot be compared at all. They are two very different things and therefore for different purposes. Systematic does not want to use foreign freelance consultants, but rather a team of tech specialists with a social community, which Conscensia creates in their Tech Hubs in Ukraine and Poland. Heidi Pedersen explains “Our engagement with Conscensia’s tech specialists is close to hiring ourselves. Working with Conscensia is extremely effective because it’s easy for me to integrate the team into Systematic’s culture when the team already has the sense of community. This is invaluable when collaboration is crucial to success.”

Heidi Pedersen will always make the same choice she made many years ago; “If I need to hire outside the country’s borders outside one of Systematic’s locations, it’s easier for me to use Conscensia because they have complete control of the location, work rules etc. in that country. I don’t have to deal with that. Some companies underestimate this aspect in terms of how much time it takes. Working with Conscensia allows me to focus on other important tasks. I am just as comfortable with Conscensia’s recruitments as when my local HR department in Aarhus hires employees.”

Today, Systematic has 30+ developers working from Conscensia’s Tech Hubs in Warsaw, Poland and Lviv, Ukraine.