Lowell is one of Europe’s largest credit management companies and does business across the Nordic region. To ensure that its technological infrastructure meets future demands, Lowell has begun transitioning towards Azure. One of the steps on the journey is unifying their integration platforms on the Microsoft cloud.
A natural starting point for the modernization was found in Lowell’s Norwegian business unit, where the support for their local platform was being discontinued. The project would simultaneously serve as a pilot for the consolidation of Lowell’s other integration platforms across the Nordics.
The Integration Platform as a Service received rare praise from a third-party auditor
Norrin was chosen as the provider of the new Azure Integration Platform as Service (iPaaS) following recommendations. Utilizing its own customizable platform, Norrin was able to efficiently develop a solution that fit Lowell’s needs. The kickoff for the project was held in October 2024, and the production-ready platform was in place by January of the following year.
As required by Lowell’s cybersecurity and risk management policy, a third party conducted an audit of the new platform after the launch.
“The platform that Norrin helped us build passed the audit with flying colors. The auditors were actually surprised by how well it was set up”, says Lars Kjølen, who worked as the project manager on the Lowell side.
Collaboration with Norrin was like working with expert colleagues
According to Kjølen the collaboration with Norrin was smooth and professional. It began with creating a Proof-of-Concept with a single client and then moving on to building the larger framework. Client integrations and platform development were carried out simultaneously, which brought agility to the process.
In the beginning Lowell’s team were new to Azure and weren’t able to contribute to the platform’s technical design. But the teams found a flexible way of working, that allowed ideas to grow and Lowell’s overall vision for the platform to take shape.
“Working with Norrin’s team was more like working with expert colleagues than with third party consultants. We had constant communication without a heavy administrative overhead and the flexibility to adjust the plans when necessary. And at the same time, we were able to trust that Norrin knew what they were doing”, Kjølen says.
A blueprint for integration platforms in all Nordic countries
The idea is that an integrator working from Norway can understand the process used in Sweden or Finland despite not having worked with clients from that country – and vice versa. But at the same time, Lowell wants every country to have the flexibility to change things if it benefits their business.
The goal is to have a 90% uniform platform that still leaves room for country-specific changes.
“I think we are now close to achieving that goal, and Norrin’s contribution in that has been considerable”, Kjølen says.
The first phase is done – collaboration continues
The integration platform in Norway marked the beginning of Lowell’s and Norrin’s collaboration, next up is the harmonization of Lowell’s other platforms as the credit management company continues its journey towards Microsoft Azure.
