Kantega is a
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
*Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
*Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including the ...
software
Software is a set of computer programs and associated documentation and data. This is in contrast to hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work.
At the lowest programming level, executable code consists ...
corporation
A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and r ...
founded in 2003 with headquarters in
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
. Kantega primarily develops
bespoke software
Customised software (also known as bespoke software or tailor-made software) is software that is specially developed for some specific organization or other user. As such, it can be contrasted with the use of software packages developed for the ...
based on
Java
Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...
and lightweight application frameworks. It also has offices in
Trondheim
Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...
and
Bergen
Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...
.
Kantega is a sponsor member of
Liberty Alliance
The Liberty Alliance Project was an organization formed in September 2001 to establish standards, guidelines and best practices for identity management in computer systems.
It grew to more than 150 organizations, including technology vendors, ...
and
WS-I
The Web Services Interoperability Organization (WS-I) was an industry consortium created in 2002 and chartered to promote interoperability amongst the stack of web services specifications. WS-I did not define standards for web services; rather, it ...
.
History
Kantega was founded as an
employee-owned company
Employee stock ownership, or employee share ownership, is where a company's employees own shares in that company (or in the parent company of a group of companies). US employees typically acquire shares through a share option plan. In the UK, Emp ...
in 2003. However, the company can trace it roots back to
Taskon {{Unreferenced, date=December 2009
Taskon was a Norwegian IT enterprise which developed systems using object-oriented technology
Object-oriented programming (OOP) is a programming paradigm based on the concept of " objects", which can contain ...
—a Norwegian IT company founded in 1986. This company developed its own
object orientation methodology (
OORam) and OO design tools, which had some international success. Taskon contributed its object-oriented methodology to the
Object Management Group
The Object Management Group (OMG) is a computer industry standardization, standards consortium. OMG Task Forces develop enterprise integration standards for a range of technologies.
Business activities
The goal of the OMG was a common portabl ...
during the standardization process of
UML
The Unified Modeling Language (UML) is a general-purpose, developmental modeling language in the field of software engineering that is intended to provide a standard way to visualize the design of a system.
The creation of UML was originally m ...
, as part of a joint standards proposal with
IBM and Ptech.
Taskon merged with Numerica in 1998, and with Internet Aksess in 1999, which had launched the world's first public
mobile web
The mobile web refers to mobile browser-based World Wide Web services accessed from handheld mobile devices, such as smartphones or feature phones, through a mobile or other wireless network.
History and development
Traditionally, the World ...
bank on September 24, 1999 using the emerging
WAP
WAP or Wap may refer to:
Music
* "WAP" (song), a 2020 song by Cardi B featuring Megan Thee Stallion
Organizations
* Weatherization Assistance Program, for US energy costs
* Western Australia Party, a political party founded in 2016
* Western A ...
standard. In December 1999, the company was bought by the Nordic Internet Consultancy ''Mogul Group'' (publ.)
In 2002, the company became the first Norwegian member of
WS-I
The Web Services Interoperability Organization (WS-I) was an industry consortium created in 2002 and chartered to promote interoperability amongst the stack of web services specifications. WS-I did not define standards for web services; rather, it ...
. The early focus on
web services technology and standards laid the foundation for a strong position in the emerging market for solutions based on
Service Oriented Architecture
In software engineering, service-oriented architecture (SOA) is an architectural style that focuses on discrete services instead of a monolithic design. By consequence, it is also applied in the field of software design where services are provided ...
.
In 2003, the
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
IT group ''Adera'' (publ.) launched a public tender for the ''Mogul group''. During the tender period the Norwegian part of the group was bought out by the employees. For a short period the restructured Norwegian company used the former name Taskon, before it changed its name to Kantega.
In 2005, Kantega created the secure web services architectures for the Norwegian government's citizen portal ''MyPage'', which offers a unified view to personal data stored in public registers and the opportunity to submit online applications and notifications. This technology was later used as basis for a
service oriented architecture
In software engineering, service-oriented architecture (SOA) is an architectural style that focuses on discrete services instead of a monolithic design. By consequence, it is also applied in the field of software design where services are provided ...
for the pension fund industry, which in 2007 hired Kantega to build ''Norsk Pensjon'', a common internet portal for all major pension funds in Norway, providing all citizens with a unified view of their personal pension holdings across all asset managers.
In 2005, Kantega became the first Norwegian member of
Liberty Alliance
The Liberty Alliance Project was an organization formed in September 2001 to establish standards, guidelines and best practices for identity management in computer systems.
It grew to more than 150 organizations, including technology vendors, ...
, signalling an increased focus on internet identity solutions. One year later Kantega created the subsidiary ''Kantega Secure Identity'', which offered the first online identity provider service covering the
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; literal translation, lit. 'the North') are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmar ...
. In 2007, the subsidiary had received a large market share in the emerging
Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...
n online identity provider market, and was spun off as an independent company under the name Signicat. The successful spin-off attracted 10 million NOK in venture funding in 2008. In 2019, Signicat was sold to
Nordic Capital
Nordic Capital private equity funds focus on investments primarily in Northern Europe. Nordic Capital invests in selective industries with a particular focus on Healthcare, Tech & Payments and Financial Services. In addition selective investments ...
.
The global newspaper
Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...
named Kantega on its 2007 and 2008, lists of the
100 Best Workplaces in Europe. In 2008, the employee-owned company was also recognized as the most family-friendly workplace in Norway.
In 2018, Kantega created the spin-off company,
Kantega SSO. KSSO specialize in Single sign-on (SSO) add-ons for Atlassian Confluence, Jira, Bitbucket, Fisheye/Crucible and Bamboo.
Technology
Kantega's secure software platform is based on
open source
Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open-source model is a decentralized sof ...
Java and web services technology. Kantega uses a variety of security technologies and
service oriented architecture
In software engineering, service-oriented architecture (SOA) is an architectural style that focuses on discrete services instead of a monolithic design. By consequence, it is also applied in the field of software design where services are provided ...
standards in order to secure data and information exchange, such as
PKI PKI may refer to:
* Partai Komunis Indonesia, the Communist Party of Indonesia
* Peter Kiewit Institute
The Peter Kiewit Institute is a facility in Omaha, Nebraska, United States which houses academic programs from the University of Nebraska†...
,
WS-Security
Web Services Security (WS-Security, WSS) is an extension to SOAP to apply security to Web services. It is a member of the Web service specifications and was published by OASIS.
The protocol specifies how integrity and confidentiality can be enfor ...
and
SAML
Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML, pronounced ''SAM-el'', ) is an open standard for exchanging authentication and authorization data between parties, in particular, between an identity provider and a service provider. SAML is an XML-based m ...
(
federated identity
A federated identity in information technology is the means of linking a person's electronic identity and attributes, stored across multiple distinct identity management systems.
Federated identity is related to single sign-on (SSO), in which a ...
).
References
External links
Kantega's Official Website
{{Authority control
Employee-owned companies
Software companies of Norway
Computer companies of Norway
Companies established in 2003
Information technology consulting firms of Norway