BusinessOulu
BusinessOulu digitized its company database to boost Oulu area business
BusinessOulu’s digital company database serves companies, investors, and consumers. The service allows companies to find partners and information about industries, investors to find financial assets, and consumers to look for services.
BusinessOulu, an enterprise owned by the City of Oulu, is responsible for implementing the city’s industry policies and providing companies with development services.
BusinessOulu’s purpose is to create an operating environment for businesses and entrepreneurship that promotes employment and the creation, operation, growth and competitiveness of companies. In addition to promoting the internationalisation of companies, BusinessOulu is in charge of the international business marketing of the city.
Company database
Information easily available
The new service enables visibility to businesses and strengthens companies cooperation within the area.
Company cooperation and visibility with a digital company database
The digital company database on the businessoulu.com site was implemented several years ago and its content was outdated. The digital database had been replaced by paper catalogues including all the companies of the Oulu area, giving a comprehensive view on the businesses in the area. Paper catalogues were used, because they were easy handouts at fairs.
However, Business Oulu wanted to bring the digital database back to life. The new service would replace the old digital database and work alongside the paper catalogues. In addition, the new service aims to give visibility to businesses and strengthen company cooperation within the area.
Accessible service makes it easier to find the information you need
The implementation started with a kick-off meeting where the project teams at Exove and BusinessOulu shared their ideas and thoughts about the structure, functionalities and layout of the new service. Based on the feedback from the kick-off meeting, some changes to the user interface were made before starting the technical implementation. The new company database is built with the WordPress content management system.
Accessibility was also taken into account during the development of the service, and Exove helped with defining the criteria for accessibility. The service was done with WCAG 2.0 AA accessibility level.
With continuous and efficient communication, the project was completed on time and within the set budget. The end result was a new company database oulucompanies.fi, where companies can add details about their organisation. The database provides easy access to local companies. In addition, it gives foreign investors a comprehensive view of the business ecosystem and presents local companies with a way to find business partners.
