IT adventure: Sigmund Lunde started from scratch.

From computer company to NOK billion concern

Tech. adventure in Ølen: Omega is the 24th largest IT company in Norway Software: Sigmund Lunde quit his job as a mechanic and started an IT company in Ølen. Last year Omega had a turnover of 1.3 NOK billion.

Published in Finansavisen (Norwegian Financial Review)
04.11.13
by Erlend Wessel Carlsen

First Kåta Data, then K-data, then Futura Computer Center. The company started out selling hardware, then moved on to developing their own software and hardware. The breakthrough followed the development of their own program in cooperation with NTB (Norwegian Telegram Bureau), enabling news dissemination via telenet.

"When I look back at what we did in the beginning, it was a bit of madness: software, networks, and we even dabbled with our own hardware. In 1991 we decided to focus more seriously on the oil industry,” said Lunde when Finansavisen visited Ølensvåg in 2011.

From million to billion

In 1991 the company took the name Omega, and they did not have to go far to find their first clients: Ølen Betong and (formerly) Ølen Shippsindustri. In 1993 the company launched the project management system Pims, one year later they started their real upturn as Statoil started utilizing the service. Then the competitors followed, both Norwegian and international. Five years later in 1998, Omega had a turnover of NOK 60 million.

From then on, until today, it has been a long upward curve for the Ølen-based company. The 2012 numbers showed a turnover of NOK 1.3 billion, with approximately 60 million left on the bottom line.

When Finansavsien ranked the 500 largest IT companies, Omega came in at number 24, ahead of companies such as Cisco Norge, Telecomputing, Altibox and Data Respons. All of their income comes from sales of project management systems and the additional consulting business.

You probably did not have a NOK 1.3 billion turnover in mind when you started your computer business in 1987?

"As a member of a West Coast town in Norway, you are very privileged. The oil and gas industry here has made it possible for those who wish to start up their own businesses to find clients who demand these services and are willing to use local suppliers when they are competitive in the market,” says Sigmund Lunde to Finansavisen.

Pdf available (Norwegian only)

“We had no idea that what we built would grow to such an extent. It has been great experiencing this growth and it is proof that we must have been good at finding skilled employees.”

We had no idea that what we built would grow to such an extent. It has been great experiencing this growth and it is proof that we must have been good at finding skilled employees.

During the past 15 years, the company has had a collective turnover of NOK 6.4 billion, and achieved a total profit of NOK 358 million. No marketing The difference from the start-up years until today is not as big as the numbers would indicate.

“In the beginning we were a few people splitting all the tasks. You ended up being salesman, accountant, software developer and service assistant at the same time. That meant long work days with a significant amount of travelling on top of that. Today, we have a large and complex team whose assignments are handled by engaged co-workers with solid expertise in each of their fields.”

One financial post that hasn’t moved is the marketing budget, still on zero.
“We did not have much money for marketing in the beginning; new sales followed references from happy clients and employees. Even though we could spend money on marketing now, we still see that we grow without it. Our marketing strategy is to be true to our base values, to deliver both large and small scale, and to ensure we have happy clients and employees, which provide us with additional sales.”

In an interview with Technical Review, Lunde called the company “amoebas in marketing”. Still, the company is familiar in the right circles, and Lunde reveals he has receieved several offers to sell.

“We have had many offers, from both Norwegian and International companies”.
However,

“Our business does not require much capital and it has therefore not been necessary to sell to get capital for development. Being able to have internal owners, who also are employees, provides us with some large benefits when it comes to management and decisions. While some of our competitors receive their directives from an American concern, we are able to have our discussions and make our decisions in the meeting room.

Building houses

The company has expanded over the years, and boasts offices in eight countries, but headquarters have remained in Ølen.

“We have a very stable work force; there are not many other jobs to choose from in this business. None of the people going to work in Ølensvåg have to wait in rush-hour traffic. In a small town most people know each other. I think we are good at cheering each other on and sharing our success by getting involved in, for example, the local community,” Lunde says.

The lack of housing for employees in Ølen lead to the company establishing a subsidiary – Omega Hus – that has built Omega’s offices and approximately 50 houses.
“Omega Hus is built on the same values, delivering quality products at the same time as it should make money,” says Lunde.