News

Information technology in the Nordics

• February 26, 2021 26 Feb'21

  Nordic startups strive to fuel international e-commerce transformation

  Nordic startups are developing technology for retailers that want to improve the customer experience when buying online

• February 18, 2021 18 Feb'21

  Swedish police fined for unlawful use of facial-recognition app

  Sweden’s data watchdog has found that Swedish police failed to conduct the data protection checks required by law before using controversial facial-recognition tool

• February 18, 2021 18 Feb'21

  City of Helsinki adopts MyData principles to improve digital services

  Principles on the use of personal data for the benefit of society will guide Finnish capital’s ambitious digital plans

• February 18, 2021 18 Feb'21

  Fingerprints will help payment cards retain relevance

  Biometric payment cards using fingerprint technology could add billions to global banking revenues, says UBS

• February 17, 2021 17 Feb'21

  Finnish IT sector demand increases after months of decline

  IT sector in Finland sees small signs of recovery as demand increases after months of Covid-19-related decline

• February 17, 2021 17 Feb'21

  Swedish central bank extends digital currency project

  Sweden's central bank has extended its pilot of a digital currency for at least another year

• February 16, 2021 16 Feb'21

  TransferGo to harness Google-inspired tech capability

  Payments fintech TransferGo chooses cloud-native core banking platform to build a digital wallet and expand its services

• February 11, 2021 11 Feb'21

  Hacked Finnish therapy business collapses

  Vastaamo, the Finnish psychotherapy centre whose patients were blackmailed by a cyber criminal gang, has filed for bankruptcy

• February 11, 2021 11 Feb'21

  Nordic states launch joint drone development initiative

  Nordic Drone Initiative backed by 16 public and privately owned organisations in Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark to probe the efficient use of airspace for drones

• February 08, 2021 08 Feb'21

  Sweden to establish national cyber security centre

  Sweden becomes latest Nordic state to establish a national cyber security centre as the threat landscape grows

• February 05, 2021 05 Feb'21

  EncroChat: Appeal court finds ‘digital phone tapping’ admissible in criminal trials

  Appeal Court decides EncroChat-encrypted phone records can be used in criminal trials. Critics say the decision means phone tapping no longer has a ‘clear meaning in the digital age’

• February 05, 2021 05 Feb'21

  Denmark and Sweden to issue digital vaccine certificates

  Sweden and Denmark announce plans to develop digital certificates that prove people have been vaccinated against Covid-19

• February 02, 2021 02 Feb'21

  Nordic region provides autonomous vehicle test bed

  Nordic region has the suppliers, environment and appetite for pioneering the development of autonomous vehicles

• February 02, 2021 02 Feb'21

  Nordic countries dominate European online banking take-up

  Nordics dominate online banking take-up in Europe, but the UK is not far behind

• February 01, 2021 01 Feb'21

  ‘Victory for free speech and openness’ after tribunal confirms no territorial restrictions to FOIA

  Freedom of information tribunal rules that investigative journalists and others can use the Freedom of Information Act if they live outside the UK or are not British citizens

• January 27, 2021 27 Jan'21

  Grindr complaint results in €9.6m GDPR fine

  Norway’s data protection authority plans to apply a fine totalling 10% of LGBTQ+ dating app Grindr’s revenues over its data sharing practices

• January 15, 2021 15 Jan'21

  Nordic startups make advances in pet tech

  Nordic tech startups are looking to take pet tech mainstream following the acceleration of the industry during the current pandemic

• January 15, 2021 15 Jan'21

  Tech partnership to drive Finland’s quantum computing project

  Organisations in Finland are developing quantum computing capabilities through a state and private sector partnership

• January 11, 2021 11 Jan'21

  Jobs in fintech bounce back after brief lockdown lull

  Fintechs and payments companies need to make staff recruitment a priority as talent pool shrinks

• January 07, 2021 07 Jan'21

  Nordic digital innovation offers a proactive approach to mental health

  Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the need to support people suffering mental health issues – and digital technology can help

• January 05, 2021 05 Jan'21

  Huawei battles for market access in Nordics

  Chinese networking equipment supplier Huawei fights to retain access to potential 5G contracts across the Nordic region

• December 22, 2020 22 Dec'20

  Swedish central bank moves e-krona project to next stage

  Riksbank takes digital currency project to the next phase with Accenture building a platform to test the concept

• December 21, 2020 21 Dec'20

  Nordic CIO interview: Åsa Melvanius, Lund municipality

  For Åsa Melvanius, CDO at the Swedish municipality of Lund, created a “robot factory” that has saved the city more than 6,500 hours by automating routine processes

• December 21, 2020 21 Dec'20

  Top 10 enterprise IT in the Nordics stories of 2020

  Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 Nordic enterprise IT stories of 2020

• December 18, 2020 18 Dec'20

  Finnish government tables laws to protect data from cyber criminals

  Government is strengthening its legal framework to protect data from hackers in the wake of a massive breach at a psychotherapy centre

• December 18, 2020 18 Dec'20

  Prepare for bringing people back to the office with the Nordic tech startup blueprint

  Business can learn lessons from Nordic tech startups to prepare employees to return to the office after Covid restrictions

• December 17, 2020 17 Dec'20

  Danske Bank fights money laundering with AI

  Danske Bank is using artificial intelligence to help it prevent a repeat of the huge money laundering scandal that hit one of its operations in Estonia

• December 15, 2020 15 Dec'20

  Finland examines wider use of AI video camera technology

  Authorities in Helsinki will use artificial intelligence and video technologies to help them automate monitoring of crowds

• December 15, 2020 15 Dec'20

  Air purifier manufacturer creates IoT service in the cloud

  Sweden’s Blueair introduces new functionality for customers through a cloud-based internet of things platform

• December 10, 2020 10 Dec'20

  Data on Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine stolen in cyber attack

  The European Medicines Agency has launched a full investigation into an apparent security incident that has seen documents on the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine stolen

• November 23, 2020 23 Nov'20

  Amazon Swedish language site will expand reach of local retailers

  Amazon launches Swedish language website and promises to make more products available in the Nordic region

• November 23, 2020 23 Nov'20

  Finnish finance giant pilots fingerprint payments

  OP Financial introduces biometric security technology to enable higher-value payments to be made safely using contactless cards

• November 16, 2020 16 Nov'20

  Privacy advocates call for European probe into Palantir

  Dutch group SOMI is trying to raise awareness of Palantir’s data privacy practices and how it works with European government agencies

• November 13, 2020 13 Nov'20

  IT Priorities 2020: European IT budget share reflects home-working challenges brought by Covid

  European organisations are being forced to redivert more limited budgets during the pandemic

• November 11, 2020 11 Nov'20

  Norway has lowest physical cash use in the world, says report

  Norway claims to use less cash as a proportion of total spending than any other country across the globe, according to a study by its central bank

• November 09, 2020 09 Nov'20

  Tampere’s perfect storm triggers a startup revolution

  Previously a hub for Nokia and Microsoft, Finland’s second-largest city is capitalising on a wealth of technical knowhow to become the dark horse of the Nordic startup scene

• November 04, 2020 04 Nov'20

  Nordic countries to develop common digital system

  Common digital platform will help small and medium-sized enterprises across the Nordic region with data sharing

• November 02, 2020 02 Nov'20

  Finnish government rolls out digital projects to support SMEs

  Finland is set to create network of technology hubs that will support SMEs in the country, as well as create links across the EU

• October 28, 2020 28 Oct'20

  Finnish therapy centre accused of covering up cyber attack

  Private therapy practice Vastaamo faces questions over its security and business practices in the months leading up to one of the biggest data breaches in Finland’s history

• October 26, 2020 26 Oct'20

  Highly unusual hacking attack directly threatens therapy patients

  A hacker has directly contacted therapy patients to say their highly personal therapy notes will be put on the internet unless they pay the ransom

• October 26, 2020 26 Oct'20

  Cooperation between Norway’s security agencies planned following cyber attack on parliament

  Government seeks to develop enhanced national IT infrastructure with an embedded early warning system and defence shield to protect the IT systems of public and private organisations

• October 22, 2020 22 Oct'20

  Nordic countries in denial over IT industry equality

  Arriving in Denmark to find she was the only woman on a computer science master’s course was a shock to Plamena Cherneva

• October 22, 2020 22 Oct'20

  Nordic CIO Interview: Teemu Salmi, Stora Enso

  Working with startup communities helps to drive digital transformation at one of the world’s largest forest industry companies, Stora Enso

• October 19, 2020 19 Oct'20

  Estonian rude awakening spurs tech startup activity

  Money laundering scandal in Estonia has sparked tech startup activity in the Baltic country as banks look for answers

• September 30, 2020 30 Sep'20

  Norway leaves door open to Huawei

  Government gives telecoms companies responsibility to choose their equipment suppliers, which could include Huawei

• September 25, 2020 25 Sep'20

  Nordic CIO interview: Per Boström, Skanska

  The construction industry may be a slow starter when it comes to adopting digital technology, but it is reaping the benefits quickly, with Sweden’s Skanska focused on playing catch up, according to CIO Per Boström

• September 22, 2020 22 Sep'20

  Green Cargo extends Rimini contract to keep legacy SAP backend running

  Mainframe and SAP to provide systems of record, with real-time data for new digitisation initiatives, built on multi-cloud, RPA and low-code platforms

• September 17, 2020 17 Sep'20

  Swedish bank cuts branches and jobs, increases IT spend

  Swedish bank is increasing investment IT to improve digital banking as it reduces its branch network

• September 10, 2020 10 Sep'20

  Nordic CIO interview: Maria Lundberg, ICA Gruppen

  The CIO of Swedish retail giant ICA Gruppen, Maria Lundberg, who is overseeing the digitisation of four retail sectors, tells Computer Weekly about the challenges of providing shared IT services for localised needs

• September 08, 2020 08 Sep'20

  Nordic banks invest and innovate to keep digital rivals at bay

  Large traditional banks are accelerating their digital transformations as the regional fintech sector makes its presence felt

• September 01, 2020 01 Sep'20

  Norway’s corporates want government to support ‘herd immunity’ to cyber attack

  Leading business organisations in Norway call on government to play a more active role in improving and coordinating the country’s cyber defences

• August 25, 2020 25 Aug'20

  Nordic startups send a message to global investment community

  Early-stage tech companies across the world should set up Nordic operations earlier in their development journeys

• August 05, 2020 05 Aug'20

  Netherlands investigates innovative privacy technology SSI

  Dutch research organisation is looking into areas where self-sovereign identity technology could be used in society and business

• August 04, 2020 04 Aug'20

  Nordic enterprises look for SAP price reductions as they navigate Covid-19

  Businesses in the Nordics are using SAP Cloud Platform to address Covid-19 challenges and are also seeking price reductions

• August 03, 2020 03 Aug'20

  Private equity leads Nordic IT sector consolidation

  Private equity firms and industrial giants are triggering mergers and acquisitions in the Nordic tech sector as investment slows amid the Covid-19 pandemic

• August 03, 2020 03 Aug'20

  Estonian police and border services need better IT to block criminals from becoming e-residents

  Police and Border Guard Board of Estonia needs to improve its IT systems to stop criminals from becoming e-residents, says report

• July 30, 2020 30 Jul'20

  Finland government funds work on potential quantum leap

  Finland's government is committing money to the development of quantum computing technologies to potentially provide a giant leap for the nation's industries

• July 22, 2020 22 Jul'20

  New opportunities for Nordic startups post-Covid-19 as virtual offices become the norm

  As companies adjust to digital office life in the pandemic era, a host of Nordic startups are already helping them convert these short-term fixes into long-term strategy

• July 21, 2020 21 Jul'20

  BMW Group signs six-year HPC contract with eco-friendly Swedish colocation firm

  Motor manufacturer agrees to double-down on its use of EcoDataCenter's environmentally friendly colocation facilities

• July 21, 2020 21 Jul'20

  Santander consumer arm to automate further after Nordic project

  Time and cost savings achieved by RPA pilot were high and customer experience improved, says bank

• July 17, 2020 17 Jul'20

  Nordic CIO interview: Brede Nielsen, Avinor

  The Covid-19 pandemic put Avinor’s IT head at the centre of the airport operator's response

• July 15, 2020 15 Jul'20

  Huge declines in traditional outsourcing as Covid-19 puts a stop on deals

  Traditional IT outsourcing deals value plummets in the last quarter as contracts dry up amid Covid-19 disruption

• July 06, 2020 06 Jul'20

  Avinor creates contactless airport check-in for Norway

  Norwegian airport operator introduces touchless travel check-in to limit the potential spread of Covid-19

• July 03, 2020 03 Jul'20

  Bergen’s tech hub seeking to scale after positive start

  Norway's second largest city is building a tech ecosystem that is beginning its development with a focus on the city's industrial heritage

• June 29, 2020 29 Jun'20

  Lawyers learn of fresh US allegations against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange from press reports

  The US has filed an updated indictment against Julian Assange alleging that he conspired with hacking groups to obtain information for WikiLeaks. Defence and prosecution lawyers learned about it from press reports

• June 18, 2020 18 Jun'20

  Nordic business is leading open banking charge in Europe

  Nordic region has the right ingredients to prove open banking can benefit consumers, businesses and the economy

• June 18, 2020 18 Jun'20

  Datacentre investment boost as Norway’s government reinstates tax relief

  Government reinstates datacentre energy tax relief for cryptocurrency mining organisations after investments in the country’s datacentres drops

• June 17, 2020 17 Jun'20

  Amnesty identifies most privacy-invasive Covid-19 contact-tracing apps

  Bahrain’s ‘BeAware Bahrain’, Kuwait’s ‘Shlonik’ and Norway’s ‘Smittestopp’ are the most privacy-invasive contact-tracing apps, reveals Amnesty International study

• June 16, 2020 16 Jun'20

  Danske Bank begins process of creating autonomous development teams

  Danish bank begins the process of changing how thousands of its staff work as it attempts to be more responsive to digital demand

• June 16, 2020 16 Jun'20

  Norway’s contact-tracing app suspended over privacy concerns

  Norway has been given until 23 June to justify the location tracking of citizens who download its contract-tracing app

• June 11, 2020 11 Jun'20

  Tech firms respond to Nordic government calls

  Nordic firms are working with tech suppliers to help them get back up and running after Covid-19

• June 08, 2020 08 Jun'20

  Nordic CIO interview: Janne Puustinen, Valmet

  Janne Puustinen built Finnish industrial technology company Valmet’s entire IT organisation from scratch after a demerger

• June 03, 2020 03 Jun'20

  Lidl Finland speeds up with new local server racks

  Lidl brings server racks to its Finnish stores in a bid to improve connectivity and introduce new services to its customers

• May 20, 2020 20 May'20

  Coronavirus: Pandemic spurs QR code app upgrade at PayPal

  PayPal introduces QR code payment functionality to its mobile app to support social distancing

• May 18, 2020 18 May'20

  Swedish mining firm LKAB revamps data backup setup to support downtime avoidance goals

  State-owned Swedish mining company LKAB scooped the prize for Best Data Security and Data Protection Project at the Best of VMworld 2019 Europe User Awards. Here we run through what the project involved

• May 15, 2020 15 May'20

  Sweden’s Preem puts automation to the test

  Preem is automating software testing as part of a wider plan that includes the introduction of robotic process automation software

• May 12, 2020 12 May'20

  Opportunity in times of crisis for Nordic tech startups

  Nordic tech startups face some major challenges during the Covid-19 pandemic, but this could be the making of some of them

• May 07, 2020 07 May'20

  Finland’s postal service targets new revenue streams through digitisation

  Posti plans to use the new SisuID digital authentication method to accelerate business growth and opportunities

• May 06, 2020 06 May'20

  Sustainability credentials of underground datacentre in Norway lure green investment fund

  Norway’s Lefdal Mining Datacenter has designs on becoming Europe's largest server farm, and its green credentials have secured further investment to help it reach its goal

• May 05, 2020 05 May'20

  Coronavirus: Total outsourcing spending collapses in March

  IT spending plunged in March, drastically reducing increases that had been expected in the EMEA region

• May 04, 2020 04 May'20

  Nordic real estate sector becoming increasingly digital

  The Nordic real estate and construction industry is modernising through digital technology, with an injection of urgency amid global pandemic

• May 04, 2020 04 May'20

  Coronavirus: Do Indian companies still have an edge in Nordic outsourcing?

  Covid-19 lockdowns and social distancing have affected Nordic outsourcing strategies. Do Indian firms still have the upper hand?

• April 29, 2020 29 Apr'20

  Nordic CIO interview: Stefan Olowsson, Swedish Social Insurance Agency

  Stefan Olowsson, CIO at Sweden’s Försäkringskassan, helps to ensure social security payments run smoothly, which is a balancing act of innovation, data security and reliable delivery

• April 16, 2020 16 Apr'20

  Coronavirus: Nordic digital educators collaborate with authorities amid pandemic

  Nordic education technology startups are supporting education establishments in offering continued education during the Covid-19 crisis

• April 15, 2020 15 Apr'20

  Coronavirus: Nordic authorities use tech in fight against Covid-19

  Nordic government organisations are working with private technology firms in the region to support their efforts to contain the coronavirus

• April 09, 2020 09 Apr'20

  How Bolt plans to be more uber than Uber

  Overcoming competitors with brand names that have become part of the modern vernacular is a challenge Estonia-based Bolt has set itself as it takes on Uber

• April 06, 2020 06 Apr'20

  Coronavirus: Nordic tech startups face job cuts amid falling sales and a lack of funding

  Tech startups based in the Nordic region face difficult decisions as the Covid-19 pandemic leads to falling sales and investment

• April 01, 2020 01 Apr'20

  Swedbank to rebuild anti-money laundering systems after damning report

  Report finds that €36.7bn in transactions, all carrying a high risk for money laundering, were processed through the bank’s branch network in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania

• March 26, 2020 26 Mar'20

  Nordic fintechs urge financial literacy to be taken seriously before it’s too late

  Fintechs in the Nordic region hope to prevent more adults getting into financial difficulty through apps that educate people about managing their finances at an early age

• March 25, 2020 25 Mar'20

  Coronavirus: Chatbot to help Estonians cope during pandemic

  Estonian government is using a chatbot developed by local startups to answer the many questions its citizens have about Covid-19

• March 24, 2020 24 Mar'20

  Norwegian banking app gives access to other banks’ accounts

  Banking customers can access and make payments from their other bank accounts using the DNB Mobile Bank app

• March 20, 2020 20 Mar'20

  How an Estonian digital nation emerged from the embers of Soviet rule

  Estonia’s minister for foreign trade and IT tells Computer Weekly how the country went from having no governmental infrastructure in the early 1990s to acquiring the label “digital nation”

• March 18, 2020 18 Mar'20

  Estonia offers digital tools to countries struggling with coronavirus school closures

  Government and tech companies in Baltic state unite to offer advanced digital learning tools to other countries

• March 18, 2020 18 Mar'20

  Swedish municipalities test AI to drive efficiencies and cost savings

  Research in Sweden measures the benefits of using artificial intelligence in local government operations

• March 17, 2020 17 Mar'20

  Telenor opens Norway’s first 5G service

  Commercial 5G network opens in nine different cities and villages across Norway, making Telenor the first mobile operator in the country to offer 5G to customers

• March 12, 2020 12 Mar'20

  IT Priorities 2020: Nearly two-thirds of Nordic IT leaders expect a budget increase this year

  Nordic IT leaders are expecting budgets to rise as they move to more advanced stages of their digital transformations

• March 11, 2020 11 Mar'20

  International Women’s Day provides platform for Nordic women in tech

  International annual event reminds tech industry that work needs to be done to reduce inequality, but organisations must work towards this on a daily basis

• March 02, 2020 02 Mar'20

  Nordic lessons on digital transformation

  Swedish financial services firm reports a successful IT outsourcing project with India-based IT services company

• February 28, 2020 28 Feb'20

  Long, dark winters contribute to Finland’s advantage in video game development

  Finland and Southern California are worlds apart at first glance, but both are leaders in video game development. We find out why.

• February 27, 2020 27 Feb'20

  Finland launches free AI skills course for EU citizens as presidency parting gift

  Finland is making a course in basic artificial intelligence available to citizens of all European Union countries