Operating environment

Loihde operates on the IT and security market, which is essential for the development of society. Loihde’s main market area is Finland, and it also has digital development business activities in Sweden. The company aims to focus specifically on the growth segments of the market, i.e. the market segment for new digital services, cyber security and electronic security technology.

Digital technology intertwines with the physical world

Strong digitalisation and phygitality, i.e. the intersection of the physical and digital worlds, are increasingly linking in Loihde’s operating market, i.e. the IT service and security market. This change creates significant opportunities for the development of our customers’ business operations, of which one solution provided by Loihde is the analysis and utilisation of data from camera surveillance.

The expansion of digitalisation also introduces new threats in terms of business processes as well as the security of services and systems. For this reason, the secure development of systems and applications and comprehensive cyber security solutions are increasingly critical aspects of total security for companies. Cyber security has expanded from the protection of companies’ local area networks and the significance of identity and access management, for example, has grown. Cyber security is also more closely linked with the protection of the physical environment, including camera surveillance, access control and locking solutions.

The blurring of the boundary between the physical world and the digital world creates demand for companies like Loihde – companies that have the ability to help their customers not only develop new digital services and leverage data but also anticipate and solve the security threats related to them.

Increasing competence needs

Digitalisation has extensively reshaped traditional business and revenue models while also creating entirely new operating models. The amount of data is growing exponentially and organisations have a strong motivation to seize the opportunities offered by artificial intelligence and automation. Focus on business, user experience and data-drivenness are emphasised in service design, and the aspects highlighted in development projects include not only technological expertise but also the significance of customer and business insight and service design.

One of the pioneers in service digitalisation is the banking and finance sector, which is also among Loihde’s main customer sectors. Strong development is also currently under way in sectors including social welfare and health care services, retail and industry.

The diversification and complexity of the corporate IT environment, such as cloud services, the increase in the number of systems, system integrations and inter-company ecosystems, increase the need for competence and pose new kinds of challenges for cyber security. The need for cyber security services will also be increased by cyber crime becoming increasingly professional.

The increasing demand for IT and information security services has created a fierce competition for skilled employees, which has slowed down the growth of the entire IT sector to some extent. The sufficiency of competent labour is a challenge for the growth of physical security business, too.

The coronavirus pandemic, which has lasted almost two years, has slowed down the growth of the global economy and the Finnish economy, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine has increased not only political but also economic uncertainty. On the other hand, the pandemic has accelerated digitalisation and the adoption of new operating models. This, together with the uncertainty of the global political situation, also reinforces the need for cyber security services.