What is Codento?

Codento is one of Finland’s fastest-growing IT consulting companies with a strategic vision to become the leading Google Cloud partner in the Nordics.

Codento Facts

Codento is one of Finland’s fastest-growing IT consulting companies with a strategic vision to become the leading Google Cloud partner in the Nordics. Codento offers a wide range of innovative AI, data, cloud and application development services to help client companies gain a competitive edge. Codento’s growth strategy is driven by the increasing interest of Nordic client companies in Google Cloud and AI projects. Codento operates in Helsinki and Stockholm, employs 45 experts, and its turnover in 2023 was 5.3 million euros.

In September 2024, Codento got a new majority owner, Saari Partners (52%), with whose support it will accelerate its expansion to Sweden, with future plans to enter the Norwegian and Danish markets. As part of the transaction, Codento’s leadership  team members strengthened their ownership in the company, and most of the employee owners continued as individual shareholders. 

Saari Partners, established in 2018, is a Finnish fund manager specialized in scaling service companies from 5 to 25 million euros. For Codento, the Saari Partners team brings valuable experience in consulting business as well as business growth in the Nordics.

The goal is to grow into a leading Google Cloud partner for Nordic client companies

Codento has emerged over the past few years as Finland’s leading Google Cloud Services partner. In the background was the company management’s strategic decision to focus on a challenger technology whose popularity among business clients is growing even faster globally than in the Nordic countries.

Codento has deepened its collaboration with Google Cloud, developed its expertise in Google Cloud technologies and established a strong position within the Google Cloud ecosystem. In recognition of these development efforts and enabling customer success, Codento was selected as the Google Cloud Services Partner of the Year for Finland in April 2024, with the award ceremony held in Las Vegas. Google Cloud’s Partner Awards celebrate the transformative impact and value that partners have delivered for customers.

In 2024, Codento launched expansion into Sweden and appointed Ulf Sandlund as Country manager, Sweden. As a former member of the Google Cloud Nordic leadership team, Sandlund has extensive networks across the Nordics. Codento’s goal is to increase the demand and market share for Google Cloud in Sweden, where, similar to Finland, customers are increasingly moving towards a multi-cloud environment.

Codento is currently deepening its collaboration with the local Google Cloud team in Sweden and is in discussions with dozens of potential client companies. The company is also evaluating potential acquisition targets in Sweden.  

Innovative AI, data, cloud and application development consulting services

For sales, marketing and customer service professionals

Codento implements AI-based solutions to improve customer understanding. With the help of solutions, organizations find the most attractive sales opportunities in the market, exceed their customers' expectations and optimize their business profits.

For operational business management

Codento implements AI solutions that enable, for example, smart scheduling of production and other functions, minimization of operational risks, and data-based and predictive business management.

For software business decision-makers

Codento offers help to develop AI-driven software strategies and supercharge software development with the help of AI. Codento’s experienced experts can also act as members of the client’s app development team.

For IT management

Codento offers support by bringing environments up to date. The foundation for utilizing AI is always a functional cloud architecture, effective data management within the organization and a modernized application portfolio ready for the AI era.

By investing in competence development, Codento has become the leading skill pool in Google Cloud technologies

Codento team consists of a wide range of experts from professional data engineers, database engineers, ML engineers, software developers, DevOps engineers to cloud architects. The average work experience is 18 years. The team regularly reaches and exceeds NPS of 70 with customer satisfaction ratings (two-year rolling average).

During 2021–2024, Codento has invested hundreds of thousands of euros into developing the skills and services on Google Cloud. Codentoans have built a strong skill pool in Google Cloud technologies and constantly develop competencies further to stay ahead of the curve. By September 2024, the team has achieved 35 Google Cloud Professional Certifications; 2 Google Cloud specializations (Data Analytics- ja Application Development); and 24 expertises: 8 industrial expertises, 6 product and technology expertises and 10 solution expertises. Based on public sources, Codento has the largest number of expertises among Nordic companies.

Management Team

Anthony Gyursanszky, CEO, joined Codento in late 2019 with more than 30 years of IT and software industry experience. Previously Anthony has held leadership positions in F-Secure, SSH, Knowit/Endero, Microsoft Finland, Tellabs, Innofactor and Elisa. Anthony has also been in software company board positions, including Arc Technology and Creanord.  Anthony’s experience covers general management, product management, R&D management, software business management, SaaS business, process management, and software development outsourcing.

Key roles at Codento: CEO, business development, sales, CMO, strategic software consulting, Google cooperation, and senior-level consulting for Value Discovery services

Ulf Sandlund, Country Manager, Sweden, Ulf is a (Tech-) entrepreneur (co-founder), as well as an experienced sales leader with  more than 30 years of strategy development and operational experience from various C-level positions at international tech companies such as Google Cloud, Microsoft, Accenture and TietoEvry. Ulf also has + 9 years of experience from board work, as well as 10 years of CEO experience. As a CEO and co-founder, Ulf has been building fast growing and profitable tech companies for several years. As the co-founder (CEO & board member) of CombinedX (CX), Ulf has experience from an entrepreneurial “journey” – all the way from start-up stage, into a successful pre-IPO (with corner investors like Edastra, Grenspecialisten, Spiltan) with CX. With Ulf in a CX board role, CX became successfully listed on Nasdaq First North Premier Growth Market in Q1/-2022 and on its way to reach >100M Euro revenue in 2024. 

Markku Pulkkinen, Senior Vice President, Business Development, joined Codento in 2021. His responsibilities cover multifaceted business development with a special focus on Google Cloud partnership with a close relationship with Google. Prior to Codento, Markku worked for 15 years at Microsoft both in Finland and Western Europe Area HQ and at Oracle for 15 years in Finland and in the US. At Microsoft, he managed the largest business segment and partner ecosystem in Finland, and in WE he was leading a market transformation and a business model change to public cloud for the key Nordic data center service providers.

Key roles at Codento: Business development, sales, and Google cooperation

Markku Tuomala, CTO, joined Codento in 2021. Markku has 25 years of experience in software development and cloud from Elisa, the leading telecom operator in Finland. Markku was responsible for Telco and IT services cloudification strategy and was a member of Elisa’s production management team. Key tasks included Elisa software strategy and operational services setup for business critical IT outsourcing. Markku drove customer oriented development and was instrumental in business growth to Elisa Viihde, Kirja, Lompakko, Self Services and Network automation. Markku also led Elisa data center operations transformation to DevOps.

Key roles at Codento: Team and delivery management, strategic consulting, presales, Google cooperation, and senior-level consulting for Value Discovery services

Antti Pohjolainen, Vice President, Sales, joined Codento in 2019. Antti has led Innofactor’s sales organization (Nordic Microsoft IT provider) and prior to that worked in leadership roles at Microsoft for the Public sector in Finland and Eastern Europe.

Key roles at Codento: Sales, and Google cooperation

Toni Kaikkonen, Director Services, joined Codento in 2020. Toni has more than 20 years of expertise in software and software services business from Knowit, QPR Software and Suunto. Toni’s experience covers product management, R&D management, software business, consulting, agile coach & trainer and software process assessments. Toni also works as senior consultant for Value Discovery services.

Key roles at Codento: Team and delivery management, strategic consulting, presales, Google cooperation, and senior-level consulting for Value Discovery services

Tommi Tuokko, CFO, joined Codento in 2022 to run and develop Codento’s financial operations. Tommi has an extensive career in technology and software companies like Nokia and Elisa.