Stiftelsen Asta

What Stiftelsen Asta does

Stiftelsen Asta is a Norwegian foundation established on September 18, 1995 by Arkivforbundet and Riksarkivaren (now Nasjonalarkivet) to promote standardization, quality assurance, and accessibility of archive information in Norway. The company develops and maintains a portfolio of archive management software — most notably Asta 7, a cloud-based platform supporting paper archives, digitization (media conversion), and electronic archive bases with built-in publishing to Arkivportalen — alongside the legacy Asta 5 (Oracle-based), Asta Mapper for data extraction and quality assurance, and Asta Online, a browser-based add-on. Asta 7 supports the Noark standard and SIARD format, and its archive extraction packages are approved by Nasjonalarkivet, embedding the product directly into Norwegian statutory archival workflows.

The company's service arm provides paper archive organization (ordning), digitization with OCR, electronic archive extraction and long-term preservation, and consulting on archive plans and classification systems, delivered to both public-sector institutions (Nasjonalarkivet, Oslo byarkiv, Statsarkivene) and private clients. Revenue is generated through a mix of software licensing (Asta 5/7, Asta Mapper), managed SaaS hosting (Asta Drift on monthly subscription), project-based consulting engagements, and fee-based training courses (NOK 2,845–5,420 per seat). Distribution is sales-led and direct, supported by a user forum and an advisory council (brukeråd) appointed by KAI (Kommunale Arkivinstitusjoner), with marketing concentrated on the Digitaliseringskonferansen and organic social channels.

Governance rests on equal board representation from Arkivforbundet and Nasjonalarkivet, with profits reinvested in the foundation's purpose rather than distributed. With 50+ employees across Oslo and Vestby, 300+ completed ordningsprosjekter in recent years, and Arkivportalen serving as a shared catalog for over 80 publishing institutions, Stiftelsen Asta operates as the de facto standards-aligned archive software and consulting vendor in the Norwegian market, with a recent move to layer AI capability through a partnership with TellusR.

Name

Stiftelsen Asta

Legal name

Stiftelsen Asta

Website

https://stiftelsenasta.no

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Stiftelsen Asta is a Norwegian foundation that develops archive management software (Asta 7, Asta Mapper, Arkivportalen) and provides digitization, consulting, and training services primarily to Norwegian public-sector archival institutions, with solutions compliant with Noark and SIARD standards.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Archive & Records Management Software

NAICS

Software Publishers (513210), Libraries and Archives (519210), Web Search Portals and All Other Information Services (51929), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Processing & Data Preparation (7374), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Records Digitization & Archiving (Legacy Files, Retention Support) (BPAAAKAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Metadata, Catalog & Semantic Layer for Data Platforms (HDAEABAJ)

Keywords

• Archive management software
• Archive digitization services
• Electronic archive preservation
• Records management consulting
• Archival catalog publishing

Headquarters

HQ city

Oslo

HQ country

Norway

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Programvarelisenser (Software Licenses): Sale of software licenses for Asta 5 and Asta 7, including Asta Mapper. Asta 5 uses Oracle database, Asta 7 is cloud-based platform.
2. Asta Drift (Cloud/SaaS): Software as a Service delivery model including software, server operation, updates, maintenance and user support. Monthly or annual subscription for cloud-hosted solution.
3. Konsulenttjenester (Consulting Services): Professional services including organization of paper archives, digitization, electronic archive extraction, long-term preservation, consulting on archive plans, classification systems and system introduction. Billed per project or engagement.
4. Kurs (Training Courses): Educational courses on Asta software and archival practices. Course fees range from NOK 2,845 to 5,420. Includes basic courses, administration courses, introduction to Asta 7, and custom training.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Stiftelsen Asta develops and sells archive management software (Asta 7 cloud platform, Asta 5 legacy program, Asta Mapper, and the Arkivportalen catalog search service) and provides professional archive consulting services including paper archive organization, digitization/media conversion with OCR, electronic archive extraction and long-term preservation, and training courses. The offering combines proprietary software with hands-on archival expertise for public and private sector archive management.

Product overview

Stiftelsen Asta offers a portfolio of archive management software and professional services. The software suite includes Asta 7 as the current cloud-based platform for managing paper archives, digitization, and electronic archive bases; Asta 5 as a legacy program for closed archives; Asta Online as a web-based complement to Asta 5; and Asta Mapper for data extraction and quality assurance. Arkivportalen serves as a national search portal for published archive catalogs. The service arm provides paper archive organization, digitization/media conversion with OCR, electronic archive extraction and preservation, and consulting services. Asta Drift provides managed hosting as a SaaS offering. The company was established in 1995 and maintains operations in Oslo and Vestby.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Asta 7: Cloud-based platform for paper archives, digitization, and electronic archive databases.
• Asta 5
• Arkivportalen
• Asta Mapper

Products and services

• Asta 7 Cloud-based archive management platform for paper archives, digitization (media conversion) and electronic archive bases. Supports Noark-standard and SIARD format, and includes built-in publishing to Arkivportalen. Offered to public sector and private organizations needing to manage archives compliant with Norwegian archival regulations.
• Asta 5 Complete program for description and management of older, closed archives based on paper archive methodology. Uses Oracle database and supports optional modules for archive/actor description, reporting, storage management, import/export, and user access control. Designed for organizations managing historical paper archives.
• Arkivportalen Search service for published archive catalogs established in 2010. Provides a common portal for users to discover what archive materials exist and where to request access. Over 80 institutions publish to Arkivportalen. Used by researchers, the public, and archive institutions.
• Asta Drift

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 300 archive projects completed in recent years
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• TellusRcoreTechnology or Integration · 16 June 2026Stiftelsen Asta participated at Digitaliseringskonferansen 2026 together with TellusR, which has developed a Norwegian AI platform. Together they demonstrated how digitization, archive expertise and AI can make it easier to find and use archive material. TellusR provides the AI platform while Asta contributes archival expertise and digitization services.
• KAI (Kommunale Arkivinstitusjoner)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 March 2025The user forum (brukerforum) has an advisory council (brukeråd) appointed by the leader forum for municipal archive institutions (KAI). The council consists of 5-6 members and provides input on new functionality and priorities for Asta 7 and Arkivportalen development.
• Arkivportalen Institusjoner (80+)coreOthers · 1 January 2010Over 80 institutions publish to Arkivportalen, creating a comprehensive searchable catalog of published archive descriptions. Arkivportalen serves as a common catalog making it easier for users to find archive material and know where to request access.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• OpenText: Global enterprise content management leader offering records management, archiving, and compliance modules. A potential broader competitor if it localizes for Norwegian Noark/SIARD standards, but currently serves multinationals rather than Norwegian municipal archives.
• iManage: Document and email management platform focused on professional services and regulated industries. Operates at broader scale and different primary verticals (legal, financial services) than Asta but competes for similar document-management wallet share.
• Hyland Software: Enterprise content management and document capture vendor (includes former Ephesoft). Provides competing records management and digitization capabilities but at a much broader scale and not localized for Norwegian archival standards.
• Tietoevry: Large Nordic IT services and software vendor serving Norwegian public sector, including case and document management modules. Competes indirectly via broader public-sector IT contracts but lacks Asta's archive-specific depth.

Direct peers

• Vitec Software Group: Swedish-listed vertical software acquirer focused on Nordic niche industry-specific software businesses. Vitec's strategy of acquiring and growing small specialized software companies mirrors Asta's positioning and represents the most obvious strategic / comparable peer for a Nordic vertical software company.
• DocuWare: Cloud document management and workflow automation vendor with strong European mid-market presence. Comparable in targeting document-centric regulated organizations and offering both SaaS and on-premise deployment like Asta Drift.
• Addo Sign: Nordic-focused document management and electronic signature provider serving public sector and regulated industries. Overlaps with Asta on document workflow, public sector customers, and Nordic regulatory compliance.
• Ephesoft (Hyland Capture): Intelligent document capture and digitization platform specializing in OCR, classification, and data extraction. Directly comparable to Asta's digitization service arm and OCR capabilities.

Emerging players

• ABBYY: OCR and document AI vendor providing text recognition, classification, and extraction technology. Comparable to Asta's OCR-driven digitization workflow and represents a potential technology partner or competitor for intelligent archive processing.
• NetDocuments: Cloud-native document management platform serving regulated industries including government. Represents a SaaS-first competitor that could pressure on-premise archive management vendors like Asta in cloud-migration scenarios.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC1pjjr3RqOECxoaSVLWjJ1A
• Facebookfacebook.com/stiftelsenasta
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stiftelsenasta
• Instagraminstagram.com/stiftelsenasta
• Xx.com/stiftelsen_asta

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Stiftelsen Asta