Government Reporting Portal in Denmark Gets a Facelift

Capgemini’s work for us has resulted in a strong portal for companies to use when communicating with the public sector. Carsten Loesch, Leader, Center for Virk.dk, Danish Commerce and Companies Agency

The Situation

Virk.dk, managed by Erhvervs- og Selskabsstyrelsen (the Danish Commerce and Companies Agency), is a business Internet portal for the public sector in Denmark. The portal has a simple though ambitious goal: “to make life easier for administrative employees in the Danish business community”.

The result of this ambition encompassed the shaping of Virk.dk as a corporate digital input provider to the public. The portal was designed to provide public access to approximately 1,300 forms. An overall aim was to position it as a one-stop shop for all individual business reporting needs of the public. It also provided vocational information from all public authorities.

The first iteration in 2003 met with little success. The stumbling block was that the portal was run in cooperation with commercial vendors. Users appeared confused that a site, where they should report information to the public sector, was sponsored by banner ads.

The portal was adjusted several times afterwards, but could not address the two main issues in its entirety. “The business model of corporate and government cooperation which was based on banner ads created a credibility problem. On top of this the private partner had trouble earning money in the partnership,” explains the leader of Center for Virk.dk, Carsten Loesch from the Agency.

The Solution

Capgemini won the contract to implement the new Virk.dk portal, as well as taking ownership for general maintenance on the site over a three-year period.

“The portal was built using Open Source software, not because the Danish government is focusing on the use of Open Standards, but because it was the best offer received in the tender. But the choice has made the job of the developers easier, having access to the source code and modifying for Virk.dk’s unique demands. As an added bonus, it turns out we’ve had a much easier time than expected integrating the many governmental documents into the portal,” explains Carsten Loesch.

The Result

Initial reactions from the users are very positive. But that does not mean that the Agency is resting on its laurels. The next step is to expand the functionality of the site to create even greater value for users.

“The portal is complete and I am certain that our new structure and technology will make Virk.dk well-known for being stable and functional. This will also counter the bad publicity Virk.dk has received throughout the years. Now we need to reach the last businesses, which haven’t discovered the value of the portal and are still spending more time with their administrative tasks,” says Carsten Loesch.

Since the launch of the new version of Virk.dk in March 2008 the number of forms sent through the portal has more than doubled. So the companies are catching on to the success.