A consultancy that became a development house

Martin Hecht Olsen founded System & Method A/S in 1989, starting as a consultant business selling standard software for the IBM i platform and building a broad network of clients across Danish and Nordic industry. 

It did not stay that way for long. Customers kept coming back with needs that went beyond standard software - customisations, integrations, specialist developments that required deep technical expertise Martin did not yet have on staff. His response was to hire it. Over time he assembled a team of developers with heavy-duty competencies across RPG, SQL, system architecture, web integration, and modern API design. What started as a consultancy became one of the leading IBM i development houses in Denmark, then across the Nordic region, and by 2025 actively building partnerships with major development and sales organisations across the Americas and Europe.

Meeting companies where they are

Martin’s work with clients has never been ideological. Organisations come to him at different points in their journey - some wanting to modernise what they have, some exploring whether to migrate to a different platform, some not entirely sure what they need. His role is to help them see clearly.

What often happens in that process is that companies discover the platform they thought was their problem is in fact their greatest competitive advantage - provided it has the right modern tools around it. IBM i, running on IBM Power hardware, consistently outperforms alternatives on reliability, security, total cost of ownership, and raw processing capability. With the Sitemule suite built around it, it also outperforms on modernisation: REST APIs, microservices, AI integration, web interfaces, and cloud connectivity - all available natively, without rewriting the business logic that has been refined over decades.

For those organisations where migration genuinely is the right path, System & Method has the expertise to make that project land successfully too. The starting point is always the same: what is right for this organisation, not what is easiest to sell.

“The root cause often lies within outdated, inflexible software solutions and a reluctance to embrace modern tools and technologies already available on IBM i.”

Martin Hecht Olsen, IBM Power 11 Seminar, Copenhagen, 2024

From Nordic leader to global ambition

The initial goal, as stated on system-method.com, was to be the leading supplier in the Nordic countries. That goal has been reached. The company’s software is now installed in over 1,000 organisations across more than 25 countries. The next goal is stated with equal directness: “Now we are going for the world.”

Today, System & Method is building partnerships with large development organisations across the Americas and throughout Europe - bringing the Sitemule platform to IBM i environments globally, backed by thirty-eight years of accumulated expertise and a development team that has been solving the hardest IBM i problems for three decades.

The CEO who stays close to the work

Martin’s role at System & Method is broader than most CEO positions. Day to day he leads the company strategically, but he also functions as a senior consultant and key account manager for the company’s largest clients - organisations including DSV, Securitas, Volvo Trucks, Uno-X, Novonesis, Berry Superfoss, Santander Bank, Nomeco, and Logitrans. He is the person those clients call when the challenge is complex, the stakes are high, or the decision is genuinely strategic.

That dual role - company builder and trusted advisor - is not accidental. It reflects how System & Method has always operated: close to the customer, focused on outcomes, and willing to have the difficult conversation about what the right path actually is.

Community & speaking

Martin is a regular speaker at IBM Power events across Denmark and the Nordic region - including IBM Power seminars, COMMON Denmark events, and industry gatherings where the future of IBM i and IBM Power is debated. His presentations are not product pitches. They are honest assessments of where the platform stands, what organisations need to do to stay competitive, and why the economic case for IBM i is stronger today than it has been for a generation.

Opening doors for newcomers

One of Martin’s consistent commitments has been to help organisations and individuals who are new to IBM i understand what the platform can actually do. That means making the case - backed by real numbers and real client outcomes - that this is not a platform in decline. It is a platform whose full potential most organisations have never fully explored. For developers new to the ecosystem, for business leaders weighing platform decisions, and for technical managers trying to build a case internally, Martin has been the person willing to put the facts on the table and let the platform speak for itself.

Meetups, seminars and hands-on events

Beyond formal conference appearances, Martin co-organises and participates in meetups and hands-on technical sessions - including the “SQL on Steroids” event held at IBM’s Copenhagen offices, bringing together IBM i developers for practical, deep-dive sessions on what modern IBM i development looks like. The format is deliberate: not a lecture, but a room full of practitioners showing each other what is possible.

Client experience

Trusted by organisations that cannot afford to be wrong

System & Method’s client base spans some of the most operationally demanding organisations in the Nordic region - companies where systems downtime is measured in millions, where data integrity is a regulatory requirement, and where the IBM i platform is not a legacy choice but an active strategic one.

Clients include:  DSV (global logistics) · Securitas · Volvo Trucks · Uno-X · Novonesis · Berry Superfoss · Santander Bank · ABN-AMRO · Nomeco · Logitrans · and many others across finance, manufacturing, healthcare distribution, and public sector.

Martin’s personal involvement with these accounts - as both CEO and senior consultant - means that the relationship between System & Method and its largest clients is built on continuity, trust, and a shared track record of delivering results in environments where the margin for error is small.

Career & credentials

• 2026:  System & Method A/S actively building global partnerships across the Americas and Europe
• 2024:  Speaker at IBM Power 11 seminars, Copenhagen and Aarhus · Speaker at Power Day, Koldinghus · Co-organiser, SQL on Steroids meetup at IBM Copenhagen
• 2023:  Speaker at Power Summit 2023, Copenhagen · Launch of Sitemule Model Studio and IceCap/Portfolio 2.0
• 2015 - 2016:  Mini MBA, Probana Business School
• 2007 - 2015:  CEO and co-founder, Comprendo (merged into System & Method A/S 2015)
• 2004 - 2014:  Founded System & Method International ApS (merged into System & Method A/S 2014)
  1989:  Founded System & Method A/S, Hørsholm - starting as an IBM i consultancy, growing into a full development house
• 1985 - 1989:  System Manager and co-founder, TPL Data, Allerød

Find Martin online

LinkedIn:  linkedin.com/in/martinhechtolsen

COMMON Denmark speaker profile:  common.dk - Martin Hecht Olsen