Critical Software is a Portuguese international

information systems An information system (IS) is a formal, sociotechnical, organizational system designed to collect, process, store, and distribute information. From a sociotechnical perspective, information systems comprise four components: task, people, structu ...

and

software Software consists of computer programs that instruct the Execution (computing), execution of a computer. Software also includes design documents and specifications. The history of software is closely tied to the development of digital comput ...

company, headquartered in Coimbra. The company was established in 1998, from the

University of Coimbra The University of Coimbra (UC; , ) is a Public university, public research university in Coimbra, Portugal. First established in Lisbon in 1290, it went through a number of relocations until moving permanently to Coimbra in 1537. The university ...

's business incubator and technology transfer centre,

Instituto Pedro Nunes Instituto Pedro Nunes (IPN) is a non-profit private organization for innovation and technology transfer based in Coimbra, Portugal. It is named after the Portuguese 16th century mathematician and professor Pedro Nunes, who lived in the city of Co ...

(IPN). The company has other offices in

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

(

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

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United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

(

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

) and

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

(

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

). Critical Software develops systems and software services for safety, mission and business-critical applications in several markets, including aerospace, defense, automotive, railway, telecoms, finance, and energy and utilities. The company's competencies include system planning and analysis, system design and development, embedded and real-time systems, command and control systems, security and infrastructure, systems integration, business intelligence, independent software verification & validation, UxD, AI, digital transformation and

smart meter A smart meter is an electronic device that records information—such as consumption of electric energy, voltage levels, current, and power factor—and communicates the information to the consumer and electricity suppliers. Advanced meterin ...

testing. Critical Software's delivery unit was the first in Portugal to be rated at CMMI Maturity Level 5. The company is one of a few dozen organizations in the world which have both waterfall and agile software development units rated at Maturity Level 5.

Critical Group

The Critical Group comprises a series of technology companies, many of which were formed from concepts originally developed within Critical Software. * Critical Materials develops products that provide diagnostics and prognostics for critical structural systems. The company was acquired by the original co-founders and rebranded Stratosphere S.A. * is a technology company that helps seniors living in long-term care across

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, the

, and

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. * Critical Links provides purpose-built solutions to simplify the delivery of digitized content to schools. * Retmarker provides software for screening and progression monitoring of retinal diseases. *

Critical Manufacturing Critical Manufacturing is a subsidiary of ASMPT. It was founded in 2009 and is focused on providing automation and manufacturing software for high-tech industries, such as semiconductor, electronics, medical devices and industrial equipment. It h ...

provides automation and manufacturing software for high-tech industries. The company was acquired by ASMPT in 2018. * Watchful Software provided software that kept sensitive information safe from disclosure or security breaches. Symantec acquired it in 2017.{{Citation needed, date=January 2023

External links

Official siteCritical Software S.A.

BusinessWeek ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'' (and before that ''Business Week'' and ''The Business Week''), is an American monthly business magazine published 12 times a year. The magazine debuted in New York City in Septembe ...

Achievements Small & Medium Sized Enterprises

European Space Agency The European Space Agency (ESA) is a 23-member International organization, international organization devoted to space exploration. With its headquarters in Paris and a staff of around 2,547 people globally as of 2023, ESA was founded in 1975 ...

Critical Software Shows Portugal Can Grow

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

Critical Software – Pioneers
Up Magazine

Notes and references

Software companies of Portugal Portuguese brands Organisations based in Coimbra