Phases has joined OS2, Offentligt Digitaliseringsfællesskab as an OS2 Supplier Partner.
For us, the significance is straightforward. We are joining a Danish public digitalisation community built around open source, shared ownership and cooperation between public authorities and private technology companies.
It also gives Danish public organisations another way to work with Phases across software development, technical advisory, integrations, hosting, support and other engineering requirements within the OS2 model.
What is OS2?
OS2 is a Danish public digitalisation community where public authorities develop and maintain shared open-source software.
Today, OS2 has 82 public-sector members, representing 84% of Danish municipalities, with 25 products and more than 400 product installations in operation.
The thinking behind the model is equally important. Public authorities should have access to the source code behind the software they fund, retain ownership of it and remain free to choose who develops, maintains or operates it.
OS2 itself is not an IT vendor. It provides the organisation and governance around shared public-sector software, while private suppliers provide the engineering and technical services required around those products and projects.
What does being an OS2 Supplier Partner mean?
An OS2 Supplier Partner is a private company that can provide services for OS2 products, projects and solutions used by public-sector organisations.
OS2 lists development, hosting, support, code review and technical advisory among the services supplier partners may provide. Suppliers also work under open-source terms and within a model designed to allow several suppliers to work around the same product rather than making one company indispensable to it.
That distinction matters.
The software should remain understandable and usable beyond the company that wrote the first line of code. Knowledge can be shared. Another engineering team can work with the code. Public organisations retain greater control over the technology they depend on.
OS2's own supplier guidance describes openness in similar terms: code, knowledge, decisions and outcomes should be available for sharing and reuse, with supplier work taking place within the community's governance and agreements.
Why this fits the way Phases works
Phases was founded in Denmark in 2011 and today works across custom software, enterprise applications, integrations, cloud infrastructure and web platforms from teams in Denmark and India.
Our work includes long-running software programmes as well as public-sector and NGO platforms, often involving existing systems that cannot simply be replaced in one release.
The OS2 model therefore makes sense to us.
Good software ownership should not disappear when a development contract ends. Architecture, source code, documentation and operational knowledge all influence whether another team can understand the system years later.
For public organisations, that can make supplier choice considerably easier over the life of a system.
Shared software without single-supplier dependence
One aspect of OS2 is especially worth noting.
OS2 states that it works towards a multi-supplier model around its products. Public authorities remain free to choose suppliers, while participating companies are expected to work with the wider community.
This creates a different relationship between software ownership and software delivery.
A supplier can still provide deep technical knowledge, ongoing development, operations and support. But access to the software itself is not intended to depend on maintaining that supplier relationship indefinitely.
For public-sector IT teams managing systems over many years, that distinction can be valuable.
What Phases can contribute
As an OS2 Supplier Partner, our engineering teams can support work covering:
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custom software development and modernisation
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system and data integrations
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.NET and open-source web development
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cloud architecture, hosting and DevOps
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technical reviews and software architecture
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maintenance, support and ongoing development
The exact scope will depend on the individual OS2 product, project or public authority.
Our intention is not to treat OS2 membership as a badge. Its value will come from the software work and technical contribution that follows.
Working with Phases through the OS2 ecosystem
For a municipality or another Danish public organisation, Phases becoming an OS2 Supplier Partner means our team can now participate within an established public-sector model for open-source software and shared digital development.
OS2 provides the community and governance. Public organisations retain choice and ownership. Suppliers provide the specialist capability needed to build, operate and improve the software.
That is a model we are pleased to be part of.
If your organisation is assessing an OS2 project, an existing public-sector platform or a new open-source software requirement, you can speak with our Danish team about the technical scope and delivery model.