In Denmark, we are good at celebrating our successes – Novo Nordisk, the national handball team, Pernille Harder. But when it comes to digital product development, we often turn a blind eye to our challenges. This applies to both the private and public sectors.
Even with good intentions, we can only point to a few major software successes – perhaps MitID in the public sector and Too Good To Go in the private sector. The truth is that we develop too much software that doesn’t deliver value, isn’t user-friendly, and can’t be maintained and improved over time. At the same time, we are deeply dependent on foreign technologies and processes, especially from the US.
The five largest public IT scandals (EFI, Polsag, the Health Platform, the Travel Card, and Digital Land Registration) have cost society more than DKK 7.3 billion. Two and a half times the original budget of DKK 2.9 billion. Two of the projects were never launched, and the largest project, the Health Platform, which builds on an American platform, continues to struggle with poor user-friendliness.
In the private sector, data is less accessible, but a comparison with Sweden is thought-provoking: Measured by market value, three of their 25 largest companies are software companies – including Spotify, which with a market value of DKK 889 billion in May 2025 is the largest Swedish company, bigger than Ericsson, Volvo, and H&M combined. The next Swedish unicorn is already on its way with the AI company Lovable. In comparison, Netcompany is the largest software company in Denmark – number 31 on the list of largest Danish companies – with a value of DKK 14 billion. We are nowhere near the Swedes when it comes to software.
Even in a European context, we lag behind. When 80 companies and organizations recently signed an appeal to the EU Commission about digital sovereignty, there wasn’t a single Danish signatory. Six Swedish and one Norwegian company participated. We weren’t even invited. This is not coincidental. Software products are simply not our strength.
This isn’t because we can’t build products in Denmark. Or don’t have skilled designers and engineers. On the contrary, we have strong traditions and competencies – especially in physical product development.
…but we shouldn’t give up.
This isn’t because we can’t build products in Denmark. Or don’t have skilled designers and engineers. On the contrary, we have strong traditions and competencies – especially in physical product development. Take the audio industry as an example: From world-class speakers to a global leader in hearing aids. This is a national position of strength, created over time.
The challenge is to take the same product spirit – the same focus on quality, user experience, and continuous innovation – and transfer it to software products. Because completely different rules apply here.
…the timing is right.
We stand on the threshold of an explosion in software development productivity. AI-based tools are already lifting the best developers’ efficiency by 20-30%. Within 5-10 years, that number will be much higher. But this only helps us if we simultaneously become better at building the right products. Being able to develop faster is useless if we build the wrong thing.
Our unique social structure – with high trust and a large public sector – actually gives us an opportunity to create our own approach to good digital product development. We have a context worth building on – and perhaps even a future competitive advantage we haven’t yet discovered.
