Software Development
Meet Martin
He went from being a part-time AI developer to leading the whole company in less than five years. Martin and his team are all about making big impacts – and celebrating small wins.
Hi, Martin! You’re leading Resolve, previously a team within Visma, and now its own company. Tell us about Resolve – what do you do?
“Resolve is a Visma company working with artificial intelligence. We create and serve the other companies in the group with ‘AI as a service’. Our customers are the Visma companies: we receive their data, solve complex problems, and deliver AI solutions that they can deliver to their end customers.”
What are your main tasks?
“I primarily do three things. The most important responsibility I have is leading the company, meaning I ensure that everyone’s being challenged and are engaged in what they do. I also work with the Resolve strategy and how we are developing AI at Visma going forward, in addition to developing the products we work with. I’m also involved in recruitment work. Although most of us are located in Norway, we’ve got teammates in multiple countries, and we’re currently working towards attracting more people in the Netherlands and Denmark.”
"It’s super inspiring to make strategies for how we’ll succeed with AI at Visma. How can AI play a role in the accounting industry? Payroll systems? The health sector?"
And what do you find the most fun about your job?
“It’s super inspiring to make strategies for how we’ll succeed with AI at Visma. How can AI play a role in the accounting industry? Payroll systems? The health sector? We investigate these questions by talking to the various companies and try to understand their domain. What potential do they see for themselves? Sometimes, their customers aren’t even aware of what they need. We have sparring sessions, conduct workshops, and together work out how we can solve the customers’ struggles.”
What attracted you to Visma?
“I noticed an extreme interest in software when I was studying. And Visma is really good at software. Our growth wouldn’t have been possible without people being cloud specialists and knowing how to deliver software professionally. To work in such an environment has been important to me. Visma is also very neatly organised. From the outside we may look like a giant group, but we’re actually divided into 170 different companies, ranging from smaller, acquired companies, to larger organisations. As long as I want to work with software, I know that the opportunities and challenges are here.”
"Our growth wouldn’t have been possible without people being cloud specialists and knowing how to deliver software professionally. To work in such an environment has been important to me"
You started in a part-time position as a developer as you were finishing up your degree. Five years later you’re leading the whole team – take us through your roles?
“At school I was most interested in computer and programming subjects, and especially algorithmic challenges. Back when I started, Resolve was a brand new team without very tight management. A bit like a startup, really, and very exciting. I coded, developed, and implemented AI solutions for a few years, before moving on to leading the whole team. And now we’re our own Visma company. I’m proud we’ve proved to Visma, and our investors, that AI is something to invest in. With hard work, you can achieve the success stories we’ve achieved."
And what do you enjoy the most?
“Definitely to see the actual results in society. One example is route optimisation in the home service, where healthcare workers plan their driving routes manually. This can, of course, be both difficult and time-consuming – causing them to drive unnecessarily far or arrive late to patients. The solution we’ve come up with is an automation of these processes, meaning they can spend less time driving and more time with their patients.”
That’s a great example of how you contribute to society! Do you have another one?
“Yes, optimising kindergarten admissions is another one. Today, municipality workers allocate children manually. This job actually requires 2–3 full-time resources for up to three months. Our solution automates many of these processes, saving the municipalities for a lot of time. Not only that, we see that 12% more parents are offered a higher wish, based on their list. The impact we’re making for the parents is obviously the most important! I think I’ve found a new motivation that I didn’t know existed.”
What is the very best thing about working at Visma?
“Our yes culture! If you pitch a good idea, you’re good to go. It’s my impression that this is a bit unique. Things here happen fast. I think we’re good at challenging and giving each other feedback. Also, every company has its own culture, so I think everyone can find a culture that suits them, regardless of background, age, career path, or how they want to work. People here want to make things, develop cool products, and that creates a special atmosphere. My floor, for example, has become very colourful, with a separate games room, foosball, and much more. We like to celebrate small wins together, like buying buns or grabbing waffles on ‘Waffle Thursday’ in the canteen. The last thing we celebrated was that three new customers in Finland had adopted our route optimisation solution. Of course, we had buns!”
"We take on an enormous social responsibility with our software"
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Software Development
