Innovation rooted in tradition

Client: AS Spar Kjøp

Project: IT Cost Optimization

Date: March 2025

Spar Kjøp is a traditional, family-owned company that has been a significant part of the Norwegian retail landscape since 1962. From its start in Bergen, the company quickly expanded to become a national presence. Generations of Norwegians are familiar with the Spar Kjøp brand and with today’s 24 stores, combined with a constantly growing digital focus, they remain a vital player in Norwegian retail.

The company is built with the traditional, commercial mindset that traders from Bergen is known for, which over the years has led to expansion into new business areas. Today, Spar Kjøp is part of a group with significant investments in shipping, real estate and retail.

Why Spar Kjøp chose Finalyze

Spar Kjøp operates with a relatively small IT department, designed to efficiently serve a large business. This strategic choice makes them reliant of dependable partners to master an increasingly complex technological landscape.

By maintaining a lean and efficient in-house IT team, and purchase cutting-edge expertise as needed, the company upholds its laser focus on core strategic areas. This approach also emphasizes the importance, for IT Director Jan S. van der Mark, to continuously evaluate the economy of existing IT solutions and services. It was in this context the collaboration with Finalyze began.

Project execution and results

The project focused on cost optimization for Spar Kjøp’s private and public cloud solutions. In this kind of projects, Finalyze’s consultants use well proven methods and tools to analyze IT architecture and associated costs. Based on an initial workshop, we define the project’s scope, and the cost is agreed upon in advance.

In this particular workshop, we found that our focus should cover infrastructure (both local and cloud-based), licenses, services, and existing supplier agreements.

The project was successfully completed within three weeks, with the handover just a week later. Spar Kjøp found the implementation to be a very positive experience. “Finalyze was punctual, direct, and kept us well-informed throughout the process. They delivered exactly as agreed, which is essential for us,” van der Mark emphasizes.

“The results exceeded expectations in several areas. We also received a confirmation of the optimization work we had already done, but the most significant outcomes were the new, unexpected findings.” he explains, “The report provided us with a solid foundation for engaging in a dialogue with our existing suppliers.”

“Overall, the report identified cost savings equivalent to many times the agreed fee,” states van der Mark. “Among other things, it uncovered licensing errors that were very difficult to detect in our invoices.”

“The ROI of this exercise is formidable, and I highly recommend that everyone undertake a similar audit of services and infrastructure in today’s digital jungle” says van der Mark and continues, “If all recommended measures are implemented, the project will return a net profit in less than a month.”

“Finalyze has proven itself to be a reliable partner that delivers value. The added benefit of a resource-optimized IT solution that is more sustainable, has been an important bonus for us” van der Mark concludes.

For us at Finalyze, it has been highly motivating to be chosen by Spar Kjøp. It’s truly impressive to witness how they seamlessly blend a strong commercial mindset with an innovative approach to new technology. The positive results from this project and the excellent feedback from Jan S. van der Mark emphasizes the value of a strong partnership