LightningChart shows how to build a global software business from Kuopio

For more than 15 years, LightningChart has been building a global software business from Kuopio. Its customers span the globe, from the United States to Japan. The company’s story shows that international growth is driven above all by expertise and the ability to meet customer needs.

LightningChart is known for its high-performance solutions for visualising measurement and process data. Its technology is primarily used in demanding high-tech applications, including medical measurement systems, industrial automation, testing equipment, defence applications, and a wide range of analytics and measurement environments. The company’s customers include Samsung, Tesla, Microsoft, Ford, GM, Toyota, the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Navy.

LightningChart’s founder and CEO Pasi Tuomainen says the company was born out of a very practical challenge.

“Here in Kuopio, a company developing measurement systems needed a solution because there was no ready-made software component on the market capable of visualising large volumes of data. We developed a solution, and in the process realised we had created a product that might have potential elsewhere too.”

LightningChart entered international markets from the outset, quickly finding its first customers in Europe and the United States. Today, what began as a one-person company has grown into an organisation of around 30 professionals, with its biggest leaps in growth still ahead.

Technology matters more than location

Although LightningChart serves customers around the world, its roots remain firmly in Kuopio. According to Tuomainen, the city offers many advantages that support the growth of a technology company. One of the most important is access to skilled professionals graduating from the University of Eastern Finland and Savonia University of Applied Sciences. Quality of life is another competitive advantage. Most of the company’s employees are based in Kuopio.

“The cost of living in Kuopio is quite reasonable compared with Helsinki, for example. It’s easy to settle down here close to nature, find childcare for your children and enjoy a relatively easy everyday life.”

Meeting international customers still requires travel, and reaching destinations around the world from Kuopio takes time. However, in the software business, physical location matters far less than it once did, as much of the interaction with customers now takes place remotely.

For LightningChart, developing its technology has always been a more important driver of growth. Following its first desktop solution, a major milestone was the development of LightningChart JS, a browser-based, platform-independent product. Making the company’s visualisation technology available across different operating systems, mobile devices and web browsers opened up entirely new markets.

“It created new business opportunities for us. That is why companies that need the very highest levels of performance often end up choosing us,” Tuomainen says.

Launched this year, Dashtera is a no-code data visualisation and analytics system that the company sees as its most important growth engine for the future.

“I believe this is the biggest launch we have ever made, because the market potential for the product is many times greater than that of our current business. North American competitors with less advanced functionality are already generating revenues in the billions,” Tuomainen says.

Dashtera has opened the door to an entirely new and even more ambitious growth target for the company. Achieving it will require a larger organisation as well as significant growth funding.

Marketing and a multicultural sales team support international growth

The United States is LightningChart’s most important market, followed by Western Europe and, in Asia, particularly South Korea, Japan and China.

International customer acquisition is built around strong digital visibility. In addition to search-engine-optimised websites, the company invests in search advertising. These channels generate enquiries from prospective customers around the world.

Leads generated through marketing are assigned to regional sales representatives, while a reseller network provides an additional sales channel. Tuomainen believes the expertise and composition of the sales team play an important role in international growth.

“Our Finland-based sales team also includes international professionals who draw on their language skills and cultural backgrounds when communicating with customers. I believe this is an area where we should continue to strengthen our international capabilities in the future.”

Text: Creative marketing agency Ida Fram