When Sitevision set out to integrate AI into its platform, the requirements were crystal clear: the same level of security, control, and regulatory compliance as the rest of its offering. That immediately ruled out many alternatives and made the choice of Elastx a key factor. - Security, Swedish data hosting, and the fact that they truly understand our requirements were absolutely decisive in our choice. For us at Sitevision, using a third party in, for example, the United States is simply not an option. Our customers need to know that their data stays where it belongs and is not used to train external models. That’s where Elastx was a perfect match, says Alexander Gustafsson, Senior Solution Architect and Head of Presales at Sitevision.
An AI initiative that required the right partner from the start
Sitevision is a Swedish-developed platform used by organizations to build everything from external websites to intranets and authenticated portals. With customers across both the public and private sectors, including a majority of Sweden’s municipalities, the demands for data protection and regulatory compliance are high. When AI was to be integrated into the platform, compromising on these requirements was never an option.
- All development and operations take place in Sweden, and it was only natural that our AI initiative would follow the same principle. Our customers need to trust that their data stays where it belongs. Using solutions where information risked leaving Sweden or being used to train external models was completely out of the question, says Alexander Gustafsson.
Instead of building in-house expertise and operations around AI, Sitevision chose to work with a specialist partner.
- We realized early on that this wasn’t something we should operate entirely ourselves. We are experts in our platform, so it makes more sense to collaborate with someone who is an expert in infrastructure. We knew what we wanted to build, but we needed a solution that was just as secure and compliant as the rest of our platform - and one we could grow with over time. Since we already had an established partnership with Elastx, it was a natural choice to turn to them, says Alexander Gustafsson.
AI that creates value powered by Elastx
Today, AI is an integrated part of the Sitevision platform, ranging from support for content creation to AI assistants that answer questions based on an organization’s own data.
- Elastx manages the operations behind our AI. That allows us to offer features that help editors write content, improve SEO, and summarize information, but also to create AI assistants that truly understand the customer’s business,” says Alexander Gustafsson.
He describes how this creates tangible value in customers’ day-to-day operations:
- In large organizations, employees can get answers directly through an AI assistant instead of contacting, for example, HR. That saves time and creates significant impact — that’s where the real value emerges.
Full control without losing focus on the core business
Sitevision currently operates a private cloud service for its applications, while the entire AI component is managed through Elastx’s public cloud platform. The two systems work closely together.
- Our cloud handles customers’ websites and intranets, and it communicates with the AI hosted by Elastx. We maintain control over the platform while also gaining access to secure and robust AI operations,” says Alexander Gustafsson, adding:
- We avoid having to build our own operational expertise around AI and can instead focus on developing and operating our product. Had we done this ourselves, we would probably have needed to hire and build larger teams, which would have been significantly more demanding for us as an organization.
Scalability, control, and business value – why the partnership with Elastx expanded
A decisive factor behind choosing Elastx was the flexibility combined with high levels of security and compliance.
- We didn’t know how quickly our customers would start using AI or how their needs would evolve. With Elastx, we can scale up and down very easily. That gives us confidence that we can grow without taking unnecessary risks, says Alexander Gustafsson.
At the same time, control over data was central:
- For us, it was crucial not to place this type of functionality with a provider outside Sweden. Elastx meets all of those requirements, while also allowing us to avoid scaling up our organization to meet demand. That is a direct result of our collaboration with Elastx, says Alexander Gustafsson.
Since the launch, the AI features have become an important tool for Sitevision’s customers, both for efficiency gains and quality improvements.
- Many organizations face cost-saving requirements. In that context, AI becomes a way to work smarter while also improving the quality of digital experiences. For example, one customer in the retail sector, who started using our AI features early on, quickly saw a clear impact in day-to-day operations. In one test, the time it took for an employee to find internal contact information through traditional intranet search was compared to asking our AI assistant the same question. The result showed that search time decreased from 26 seconds to 11 seconds - a saving of 15 seconds per search,” says Alexander Gustafsson, continuing:
- When you scale that impact across an organization, the value becomes significant. With two searches per employee per day, the time savings in this case amount to more than 3,250 hours per year. Based on an average personnel cost of SEK 500 per hour, that represents an estimated efficiency gain worth SEK 1.6 million annually.”
“Simple, close, and straightforward” – why Elastx stands out
Beyond technology, security, and scalability, Alexander Gustafsson highlights the collaboration itself as a key factor.
- The combination of Swedish operations, high security, flexibility, and close collaboration is what really makes Elastx stand out. At the same time, Elastx is pleasant and easy to work with — and that shouldn’t be underestimated. They are accessible, responsive, and easy to have a dialogue with. It would have been a completely different experience working with a large global provider. It would have been significantly harder to simply call, for example, a major American cloud provider.
