10 years of operational intelligence – a solid starting point for the future
In 2023, we can look back on the first ten years of SafeBase history. In these ten years, we have built a technology platform that has not only proven extremely valuable for those who protect the quality of our telecom and power networks – we have also laid the foundations for becoming even more valuable for our customers in the future.
SafeBase was founded in 2013 with an idea to develop and introduce a technology based on many years of experience with development of OI IT platforms in the telecom industry.
Founders Lars Erik Gjervan and Jan Ødegård believed this technology would be of interest to more industries beyond just the telecom industry. The common denominator was complex technical infrastructures delivering critical services across a large geographic area.
Grid companies, with their large power grids, were deemed to have many of the same needs as those in the telecom industry. This, along with the need for digitization of the power grid, made this an obvious strategic area for SafeBase.
“Our motivation ten years ago was to build a superior IT platform for decision support, based on the operational needs of telecom and grid companies. The current needs of our customers have always been the main focus in our development efforts, and it has been one of our success factors,” says Lars Erik Gjervan.
Whirlwind technological developments
With a reusable software architecture as the starting point, the SafeMon platform has always been well suited for scaling and further development to work with new customers and markets.
“Within our first three years of operation, we decided to pursue mobile network operators and grid companies, as these are the industries we, personally, have the most experience with. Since 2016, this has yielded 20% increases in turnover annually. These increases in turnover are a reflection of us delivering technology that makes a real difference in our customers’ everyday experiences.”
SafeMon – from pilot to portfolio
The first version of SafeMon was tailored to Telia’s needs. Since then, we have created a separate version for grid companies, with an increasing number of applications. The SafeMon portfolio currently comprises several customer-specific dashboards, as well as applications for grid utility, AMS management, grid station monitoring, line and cable monitoring, and site monitoring.
New functionality is still being added every week – which means all of our customers will have a better product next week than they had the week before.
The SafeMon development process has been both quick and strong – while at the same time, steady and sensible growth has always been our goal.
“Fast profit has never been our goal. From day 1, we have worked to balance growth and minimize risk, for example by investing profits back into the business.”
The next ten years
There is still some untapped potential for SafeMon in Norway. We will continue to capture market shares in the telecom and energy industries by providing a robust, safe and reliable technology that is continually adapted to suit our customers’ needs.
“If we were ever to expand into new markets, we would make sure to have the domain knowledge required. It’s not unthinkable for SafeMon to explore new markets, or even international markets, in the years to come. Only time will tell,” Gjervan concludes, with a smile.