How NordHero helped a small town launch eVaka and modernize early childhood education

This customer story is also available in Finnish.

When Petäjävesi became the first small municipality in Finland to launch the eVaka platform on AWS, it wasn’t chasing headlines but looking for independence and long-term savings. And the decision has already paid off, with smoother administration, happier parents and lower operating costs.

eVaka is Finland’s open-source platform for managing early childhood education, from education applications to parent and staff communication, billing and national registry integrations.

Why NordHero was needed

“When our previous system was suddenly discontinued, we needed a reliable replacement,” explains, Petteri Salenius, Petäjävesi’s IT Manager.

“For us, the appeal of eVaka’s open source was clear: we retain control, we can develop the system further, and we are not locked into one vendor.” But while eVaka gives municipalities the freedom to own and develop the system themselves, it only works if they can deploy the cloud environment behind it, which is where NordHero comes in.

Petäjävesi had no existing AWS infrastructure and no experience in building one. Enter NordHero. According to Sanna Ruuth, Director of Early Childhood Education, their collaboration quickly found its rhythm. “Working with NordHero was easy. Communication was smooth, support was always available and the team brought a positive, motivated attitude into every meeting.”

From NordHero’s side, the admiration was mutual. “Petäjävesi did something no other small municipality in Finland had managed to do. They believed it was possible to run eVaka independently, and they proved to be right," says Pekka Malmirae, CEO of NordHero. “That kind of courage and forward thinking is rare and deserves real recognition.”

Building the cloud environment from the ground up

Even though the eVaka application code is open source, it doesn’t come with any IT-infrastructure-related documentation or ready-made AWS infrastructure to support it. That meant Petäjävesi and NordHero had to design and build the entire cloud environment from scratch, ensuring it was secure, scalable and suitable for municipal needs. “Everything had to be built from the ground up,” Malmirae recalls. “That’s the gap we solved together, and it was a major technical milestone also for us.”

Overcoming challenges with smooth cooperation

The project was made more demanding by a tight schedule and the complexity of the integrations that sit behind the eVaka system. The project began in March and needed to be ready for families and staff by early August, with much of the work unfolding during the summer holiday period. According to Salenius, the technical challenge was significant. The municipality had no templates to follow and no examples from other small municipalities. “Some integrations were more challenging than expected, but we solved them through close cooperation and strong technical know-how from the NordHero side,” he explains.

Selenius says the smooth cooperation made the technical hurdles easier to manage.

“NordHero demonstrated solid expertise and the ability to understand a new system and its technical requirements quickly.” Despite the complexity of the project, Malmirae describes the working relationship as steady and constructive. “The success of the project came from treating the work as a shared effort,” he says. “Petäjävesi stayed engaged, asked good questions and took ownership of the solution right from the start.”

Positive impacts for families, staff and the municipality

According to Ruuth, the benefits of running eVaka in Petäjävesi’s own cloud environment have been quickly felt. Administrative work is simpler, information flows more smoothly and staff are able to spend more time on the children.

“eVaka has streamlined our processes and brought all key functions into one clear system, improving everyday work for our staff,” says Ruuth, adding even the parents have given positive feedback.

The impact has been equally felt on the technical and financial side, strengthening local capability and reducing long-term costs. “Running eVaka in our own AWS environment gives us independence from external vendors and brings clear savings to our operating budget,” Salenius says. “Our team has also gained the skills to maintain and update the system ourselves, although we will still turn to NordHero for the more complex issues when needed.”

Call to other municipalities

For Ruuth, the project shows that smaller municipalities can take control of their own digital services when the right support is in place. “Our experience with NordHero has been extremely positive, and we can confidently recommend both this approach and this partner to other municipalities with the motivation to take eVaka into their own hands.”