s t rateg y
PLOTTING A
COURSE TO
SUCCESS
EXPERIENCING AS RAPID GROWTH AS
INTEGR8 HAS IS NO MEAN FEAT AND
REQUIRES CAREFUL PLANNING.
SO WHERE TO NEXT?
B
EING the largest privately owned ICT group on the African
continent is just the start of great things for Integr8. While
it never was a one-man-band, given the fact that it was
two men who founded the company, it has nevertheless
transformed from a micro-enterprise into a nationwide organisation
that is also steadily expanding further into the African continent.
Behind that success story is a sound strategy which, while flexible, is
not unrecognisable from the strategy that guided the organisation in
its early days.
According to Rob Sussman, co-founder and joint CEO (with Lance
Fanaroff ), the underlying principles are a strong underlying annuity-
based financial model, that is able to scale, coupled with a core culture of
entreprenereurship and innovative technology platforms that produce its
delivery mechasims to its client. “Since the people at Integr8 are not just
passionate about technology, but about business – from the executive
team and into every level of the company – it equips us to stay abreast of
developments, to understand our customers’ needs and to innovate using
technology to deliver against business needs.”
What is perhaps different is that the company is agile. It is able to
respond quickly to an eminently dynamic industry and environment.
And since economic cycles are completely unpredictable, that agility has
served the company very well. And one new dimension that has emerged
in its strategy is to add to its capabilities by targeted acquisition for the
6 Integr8 - special focus
Words Rodney Weidemann
first time. Co-founder Lance Fanaroff picks up the story. “What remains
fundamental to our strategy is an insistence that we remain strong from a
service delivery perspective. That’s the bedrock upon which this company
was built and as we expand into Africa and, in terms of a broader portfolio
of service offerings and vertical target markets, it will be the source of
our future success. We are expressly geared to deliver at scale and our
customer engagements are testament to that.” The sound foundations
– and reputation – established by the company means it is growing far
beyond its roots. Specifically, says Fanaroff, Integr8 is focused on the mid
to enterprise market. Organically growing the company to its size today is,
indeed, impressive. It seems quite apparent that a listing of the company
in the near future, will make sense. Integr8’s CFO, Bradley Riback, says: “The
company is perfectly positioned for a main board listing, once the general
market sentiments are returned to normalisation. We have spent almost 10
years building a long-term company, with a solid foundation and strong
corporate governance and compliance.”
“We aren’t seeking to buy profits, but will enter into a cycle of
acquisitive growth, coupled together with our continuous compounded
organic growth.”
INTO THE PUBLIC SECTOR
On top of Integr8’s agenda, next to its African expansion strategy, is the
public sector, says Sussman. “The public sector is beset by poor service
delivery from its incumbent partners. Now more than ever, there is the
opportunity for an established and sizeable ICT company within this
space. We are going to be taking our delivery mechanism, backed up
with years of creditability earned from global exposure, and deliver this
to the public sector.”
For Integr8, Sussman continues, that equals substantial opportunity.
“We’re taking a proven capability for understanding problems and
then delivering effectively, and applying that within the public sector.
The processes and systems we’ve geared to meet the delivery in the
private sector – where cost and quality are paramount – provide a
compelling value proposition for a public sector which has had enough
of overpromising and under-delivering.”
As a company that has never been shy to invest in its capabilities,
Fanaroff says it will continue to develop its people and internal processes
and systems towards effective delivery in the public sector. “That
means the implementation of best practices such as ITIL, a strong
focus on corporate governance and a very strong focus on internally
implementing the innovation and advanced technology solutions that
we bring to our clients. These are all key principles in value creation.”
TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION
Since Integ8 is – and always was – about applying technology
innovatively for optimum business benefit, Fanaroff confirms that a
“The company is
perfectly positioned for
a main board listing.”
BRADLEY RIBACK
key element in its strategy is to maintain a diverse and in-depth
knowledge of the industry. “In an environment in which business
and technology are constantly changing, we are committed to
gaining a clear understanding of not only what is current, but also
what is emerging. Very often, the technologies that are being put to
good use internationally get to South Africa shortly after – but not
always in the same guise,” says Fanaroff, noting the advantage of
‘second generation’ adoption. “What is always essential in applying
technology for business benefit is the timing. That requires that
we are very much in tune with what is happening globally, as this
affects what we do in the local market,” says Fanaroff.
He points to the ‘du jour’ concept for computing: “Cloud
computing, for example, first saw the light of day as the Application
Service Provider model many years ago. That proved rather neatly
that the timing was just not right; cloud computing as we know it
today is mature and understood and is being delivered.
AND ONWARDS INTO AFRICA
While dealt with in detail in a related article (see page 8), Sussman
draws attention to the fact that Africa forms a key focus in the Integr8
growth strategy. “Again, we believe our proven capability for delivery
on a large scale makes a powerful statement, whether for companies
that are existing clients and are themselves expanding into Africa, or
for public sector enablement. Our strategy of having an Integr8 office
in every African region is well on course.”
As it continues to expand, both Sussman and Fanaroff are
absolutely adamant about one thing: “This company remains an
African organisation, committed to developing Africa through
innovation and value creation,” they say. In so doing, they confirm
that the development of people and sustainable engagements with
clients will always be top of mind.
AUGUST 2010 7