Instead of upgrading a legacy system or building their own, a Norwegian media group has integrated "best of breed" browser-based components with modules they wanted to keep.

NHST, which publishes financial daily Dagens Næringsliv, Morgenbladet and

TradeWinds, worked with Roxen and Aptoma to assemble a set of editorial management modules now accessed by a staff of 200 through a single, web-based story editor.

Chief technology officer Petter Irgens Gustafson (pictured) says time to market is a critical factor in a fast evolving media landscape: "So if new technology is already commercially available, inventing the wheel over again is probably not the best use of resources," he says.

"We recognised that an efficient, sustainable strategy for our editorial process would be based on assembling modular, best-of-breed components glued together with as little bespoke development as possible, back it up by 24/7 vendor support and have it delivered as a service."

The group had considered upgrading their editorial CMS with "a later version or another monolithic solution", and developing their own solution in-house. The first option was rejected due to "complex inherent legacy technology" and lock-ins, and having also ruled out in-house development, NHST opted for a new editorial CMS solution based on modern technology and modular, standard components.

The chosen components are Roxen's Editorial Portal and Aptoma's Dr Publish, with Norwegian editorial workflow consultants Tikktakk ensuring optimised workflow. Developers from Roxen and Aptoma integrated their technology with NHST's existing technology stack - including advertising, web CMS, e-paper and DAM modules - using APIs and common interfaces.

Tikktakk senior workflow architect Ståle Bjerke says the result is a solution design based on simplicity, ease of use, efficiency and modularity.

"NHST's new editorial process now rests soundly on the state of the art technology provided by our technology partners Roxen and Aptoma," he says. "Throughout the project they provided valuable architectural and problem-solving input as well as development and integration services.

"The project has been very successful and going forward, NHST's publications can continue focusing on the editorial content knowing that almost 200 users have access to a set of modern tools unique to this industry."

Aptoma's Geir Berset says the collaborating gave them the opportunity to be part of a refreshed end-to-end experience for editors and journalists: "The results speak for themselves, and we are proud to have been part of project that has succeeded in streamlining the print and digital workflow needs of journalists and editors within NHST, and look forward to developing this partnership further in the future."

Roxen chief executive Per Östlund says the high-profile case "kept us on our toes", gained important insights into the evolving needs of customers in the process: "This has helped develop our products in terms of functionality and interface further, something that benefits all users.

"We have also had a great time as members of an easy-going and professional project team that has managed to create a solution that pushes the boundaries for what can be achieved in this industry today."