LET`S TALK

Transcription

LET`S TALK

A P R I L - J U N E 2015
ISSUE 07
L E T ’ S TA L K
The Official Journal of the Altron TMT Group
Financial Mail
0 PM
2011 05:49:1
Page 1 -13/06/
The Winners pg
14 • SA Giants
rmers pg 91
pg 22 • Top Perfo
TOP COMPANIES
Financial Mail Page 18-19 -14/06/2011 10:12:45 AM
EOH is establishing
itself as one of the
top technology
companies in SA
ANT BANK
RAND MERCH
Historic score: 39,1 FM’s score: 31,8
Aspen Pharmacare,
under CE Stephen
Saad, has ventured
into Asia Pacific
1
ALTECH
Total score: 71,4
A division of FirstRand
Bank Limited
T P11
COMPANIES
JUNE 24 2011
24
PICK N PAY
Total score: 70,9
20
CrAIg VEntEr lEAVES
A lAStIng lEgACy
As group chief financial officer John Carstens
loves to remind the audience at investor
presentations, 84% of Altech’s revenue is of an
annuity nature. Local revenue now comprises
87% of total revenue, with 13% coming from
foreign sources. The second six months of the
year ended February 2011 were materially
better than the first half, which helped to
cushion the blow of a drop of 15% in headline
earnings per share for the year as a whole.
Subdued local and global economic conditions,
combined with currency volatility (notably in
respect of the rand and the Kenyan shilling),
conspired to depress earnings growth. But a
5% rise in the dividend was interpreted by
investors as a sign of confidence in the future.
Pick n Pay’s full year earnings to February 2011
were disappointing, with headline earnings per
share plummeting by 18,3%. This was bad
enough but it looked awful in comparison with
most other retailers, whose earnings had
increased nicely. Trading margin dropped to
2,7%, not much more than half of Shoprite’s.
Though much has been achieved in the past
three years in terms of restructuring the
company, much more still needs to be done and
it probably won’t be fully complete until 2014.
3
PEREGRINE
Total score: 61,8
Historic score: 19,8 FM’s score: 42
After tumbling precipitously during 2008 and
into early 2009 in the wake of the global
financial crisis, Peregrine’s share price has
picked up nicely — though it is well off its
2007 peak of more than R20. Earnings are
growing steadily and the resilience of the group
is demonstrated by the fact that during the
past three years it has repaid about half a
billion rand worth of debt and now sits with
several hundred million rand of cash on its
balance sheet.
Bad debts don’t only happen
on Friday the 13th!
18
Kumba Iron Ore’s
revenue increased
by 65% in the year
to December 2010
6
EOH
Total score: 61,1
EOH turned in another outstanding set of results
for the year to January 2011. On revenue
growth of almost 45%, profit before tax grew by
just under 50% and headline earnings per share
by 37%. The 10-year graphs of revenue and
earnings are even more impressive,
demonstrating virtually exponential growth
during that period. EOH is rapidly establishing
itself as one of the best technology and
business solutions companies in SA and the
share price regularly keeps hitting new highs.
5
KUMBA IRON ORE
Total score: 59,2
Substantially higher iron ore export prices
coupled with growth in export sales volumes
resulted in Kumba’s revenue increasing by
65% in the year to December 2010. With a
focus on cost containment, operating profit
almost doubled to R25,1bn, while headline
earnings per share more than doubled to
R44,67. But production was constrained early
this year due to excessive rainfall. Kumba’s
legal battle with ArcelorMittal over the pricing
of iron ore is likely to be resolved only in 2012.
7
ASPEN
Total score: 60,1
BHP BILLITON
Total score: 56,6
Ten years ago, Aspen’s share price was
500c/share, but by late 2010 it had peaked at
just under 9 800c/share. Already the premier
player in the SA pharmaceutical industry, Aspen
completed its purchase of the pharmaceutical
manufacturing business of Australia’s Sigma
Pharmaceuticals in early 2011. Not only will this
place Aspen as the leading pharmaceutical
company in Australia by volume of prescriptions
generated but it will also stimulate expansion
plans into the region.
A hallmark of BHP Billiton’s success, since the
group was established a decade ago, has been
its commitment to invest through economic
cycles. Tangible evidence of this commitment
was seen in record iron ore production and
sales for the nine months to March 2011 in
both Western Australia Iron Ore and Samarco
in Brazil. Though no new mega deals are likely
to be considered in the foreseeable future, the
group has an ambitious US$80bn capex
programme for the next five years.
8
ARM
Total score: 56
African Rainbow Minerals’ interim results to
December 2010 were outstanding, with headline
earnings per share growing by 244% compared
with the previous interim period. The main
driver of this improvement was significantly
improved commodity prices, though tempered
somewhat by the continued strength of the
rand. ARM’s 50:50 joint venture in Zambia with
Brazil’s Vale, Konkola North Copper Project, got
under way in October 2010. The first copper
extraction is expected in 2013.
9
CAPITEC
Total score: 55,7
Capitec is simply in a different league to the
traditional banks in SA. Though they are
struggling in an environment where consumers
can’t or won’t borrow, Capitec’s business just
keeps thriving. For the year ended February
2011, headline earnings per share rose by
44%, return on equity was 34% and the
number of active clients was just under 3m.
Opinions in the investment community are,
however, divided on whether this pace of
earnings growth can be sustained.
Bad debts ‘Raising Hell’ with your
When the time comes for your clients to settle your statements, it’s no time to
‘put a pin in it’! Escape the hellish nightmare of unpaid invoices and tortured cash
¾
against bad debt with Credit Guarantee! Call us on 011 889-7365 for total peace
of mind!

of mind!
FINANCIAL MAIL,
TOP
ed companies
Let’s Talk TMT pays tribute to Craig Venter’s remarkable career.
COMPANIES, 2011
BHP B
Xolan
an am
capex
next f
10 SACOIL
Total score: 55,
That client with the ‘face you can trust’ can quickly become a completely different
¾ company ‘drowning’ in bad debt!
iew of SA’s list
A leading rev
4
2872
2
FINANCIAL MAIL,
TOP
COMPANIES, 2011
Historic score: 13,5 FM’s scor
Investors in exploration comp
expect a tumultuous ride, bu
volatile movements in the co
price during May and June th
taken most of them by surpr
beginning of May and early J
lost more than 50% of its va
has referred the matter to th
department to investigate po
irregularities and is adamant
fundamentals of the business
changed. But the volatility ha
enough for the company to p
placing of shares.
feature Articles
p.24
p.38
p.36
p.56
contents
p.04
From the desk of Craig Venter
Group Executive: Altron TMT /
Chief Executive Officer: Altech
p.06
In Short
Altron TMT news snippets
p.09
The Strategic Update
p.14
Breakfast with the Bytes CEO
An opportunity to engage with
Rob Abraham
p.15
Tech Talk
Learning disruptive tech lessons
p.18
Sugar and the spice of variety
Let’s Talk TMT chats to Illovo CIO
David Schaller
p.20
Altron TMT builds its case for the future
p.23
Bill Venter Academy Thought Leader
Speaker Series
Jose dos Santos, CEO of Cell C, kicks off
proceedings
p.24
Craig Venter leaves a lasting legacy
Let’s Talk TMT pays tribute to Craig
Venter’s remarkable career
p.28
Even the tough times were good times
AAD MD, André du Preez, hangs up his
corporate gloves
p.31
Throw away your paper and pens
ACS moves towards a paperless solution
with MobileForms
p.34
New group appointments
p.36
Altech Radio Holdings launches cuttingedge demo room
p.38
Xerox remains at the forefront of printing
technology
p.40
Bytes Mauritius helps inaugurate
Mauritian private bank
p.41
Arrow Altech Distribution bids farewell to
Alistair Oag
p.42 Know your company, know your group
Let’s Talk TMT takes a closer look at
Bytes Systems Integration
p.68 Changing with the times
p.44 Changing the skills training game
Bytes People Solutions assists
companies in upskilling their
employees
p.70 QMP solutions from Bytes People
p.46 Changing people’s lives daily
Bytes People Solutions launches
skills development programme
p.47 The Bill Venter Academy
Jesse Pillay awarded top performer
at annual Student of the Year awards
p.48 Altron TMT Siyabonga Awards
Acknowledging dedication to the
group
p.50 Certified to protect
Positioning ACS at the forefront of
card fraud prevention
p.51 Bytes People Solutions’ online portal
Engaged employees lead to happy
customers
p.52 Altech Fleetcall leads the way in
digital rollout
p.53 Teeing up for a good cause
The Altech NuPay annual charity golf
day
p.54 Customer satisfaction a priority
Altech Netstar’s initiatives to bolster
customer service levels
p.56 Next generation digital integration
p.58 eeping banks relevant in a
K
technology-centric era
p.60 Now showing on Altech Node
No data downloads, no buffering, no
ad breaks
p.62 Where global meets local
Bytes Managed Solutions and NCR
roadshow
p.64 The evolution of AEDO
Altech NuPay leads the way in
managed electronic payment
solutions
p.66 From conception to execution
Marketing Shared Services’ role in
the Altech Fleetcall campaign
Bytes document Solutions’ veterans
share their story
Solutions
BPS assists Standard Bank with
cloud based e-assessment solutions
p.72 Xerox Africa Ops Conference 2015
p.75 A cut above the rest
Bytes People Solutions continues to
exceed Samsung SA’s expectations
p.76 The proof is in the pudding
Facilities Shared Services is showing
results
p.78 Altech Alcom Matomo drives cost
efficiencies at Ekurhuleni Metro
p.79 Med-e-Mass boosts healthcare
innovation
Med-e-Mass acquires Health-Soft
p.80 Bytes Managed Solutions partners
with University of Johannesburg
p.81 Gerhard Greeff receives international
recognition from MESA
p.82 Bytes Document Solutions honours
sales achievers
A just reward for exceeding sales
targets
p.83 Staff Competition
Your
chance to win a R500
pre-loaded Altech NuPay NuCard
The Official Journal of Altron TMT
Issue 07 l April - June 2015
Editorial Information
Let’s Talk TMT Editorial Team:
Chris Van Zyl Dave Hawkins Shona Minards Bryan Silke
Belinda Glenn
Altron TMT - Editor
Altron TMT - Designer
Altron TMT - PR & Comms
Altron TMT - Writer
Altron TMT - Writer
Contributing Editors:
Andrea Riem Brenda Croucamp
Chetan Mistry
Corli Laas
Esme Eloff
Lisé West Louisa Swanepoel
Madelein Vermaak
Michelle Mogo
Renette van Zyl Shirley van Niekerk
Stuart Hanford
Sue Ranson Tanya Moodley Altech Autopage
Arrow Altech Distribution
Bytes Managed Solutions
Altron TMT
Bytes Healthcare Solutions
Bytes Systems Integration
Altech Isis
Bytes People Solutions
Altech Node
Altech NuPay
Altron TMT
Arrow Altech Distribution
Altech Fleetcall
Bytes Document Solutions
For all editorial contributions or queries:
Shenanda Janse van Rensburg
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 011 715 9000
Chris Van Zyl
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 011 715 9000
Publisher:
Altron TMT
No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part,
in any form, without the prior written permission of Altron TMT.
While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of
the content, Altron TMT cannot be held responsible for any
inaccuracies or damages that may occur.
Keep in touch
www.altrontmt.com
www.altech.com l www.bytes.co.za
from the desk of
CraiG VenTer
Page 04 l Let’s Talk TMT
In business, as in life, nothing is
permanent. Much as we often dread
change, it is a precondition for
growth and advancement.
potential of Altron TMT. It’s true that
I regard myself as having been truly
we didn’t have the best year from a
fortunate to take the business this far with
profitability point of view, but we still
all of you. It has been an honour to lead
contributed 85% of the group’s revenue at
the Altech and the Altron TMT teams for a
EBITDA level.
total of 17 years. I have made some of the
best friends I will ever have while working
This is an important time for Altron TMT.
here and that is a gift no man can ever be
I leave behind an organisation filled with
sufficiently grateful for.
people who will ensure its continued
success. We have a first-class strategy,
Leaving is an emotional and difficult thing
Against this backdrop, and after 27 years
and a business model and structure
for me to do. But I take this step in the best
with the Group, the time has come for me to
that are right for the opportunities and
interest of the company I love; Altron TMT
make a change. Leaving the Altron Group is
challenges ahead. I have no doubt that the
is the one thing outside of my family and
necessary for me to advance on a personal
culture that is developing will catapult the
closest friends that matters to me the most.
level; it is also necessary for Altron TMT to
business back into the fast lane very soon.
move on to its next phase.
I have no doubt that Altron TMT has all
It is the end of my physical, hands-on
its best days ahead. I also know that you
Pinpointing the best moment for change is
involvement in Altron, but a part of me will
will not miss a beat in terms of innovation
not an exact science, neither is it an easy
always be here, and not only because my
and customer service during this time of
thing to do. Discussions around this move
family remains the majority shareholder in
transition. How could you, when you are part
have been ongoing for the past 18 months
the group.
of the best team in the industry!
with issues of leadership and succession
I know this company well and care deeply
I know I can count on all of you to keep
planning. For the past 50 years Altron
about its future success.
pursuing the Altron TMT dream. My vision
as Dr Venter, Robbie and I have grappled
has been a family business but it cannot
for this company is in safe hands and I look
continue in the same way. It would be
I am proud that I created Altech Netstar,
forward to sharing in the successes of the
irresponsible, not to mention unfair to all
Altech Autopage and Altech Card Solutions
future, albeit from afar.
our stakeholders, for the Venter family to
and re-engineered Altech UEC, all within
not ask, and find answers for, these difficult
my entrepreneurial disciplines.
questions.
I hope to have the chance to say goodbye
to many of you. In case that is not possible,
I am incredibly proud of what we have
allow me to wish you all the very best for the
It was therefore decided that the Venter
created together. My role was to guide and
future, on both a personal and professional
family, including myself, would transition
lead from the front and give of my best, but
level.
from being fully operationally involved to
our success was only possible as a result
playing more of an oversight role of the
of our collective efforts, and that should
I have one piece of wisdom to leave with you:
family’s investments.
never change.
have the courage to complete what you set
That was what we did and one of the
I am proud of how we embrace and work
outcomes was that for me the right time
with other companies to change the world
has arrived to bid the group farewell. I do
and succeed together.
out to do. Don’t give up halfway or settle for
so with sadness, but not with regrets or
concerns.
I am proud of the diverse customer base
we serve. Our projects and products have
I believe that Altron TMT is on a firm
always touched people’s lives at almost
footing. Altech and Bytes were remarkable
every turn, but knowing that increasingly
organisations in their own right but together
we are helping to change the lives of
they bring to life the magic of collaboration
some of our country’s most vulnerable
on a daily basis.
citizens – through projects like the
a smaller dream.
Craig Venter
group Executive: Altron TMT /
Chief Executive Officer: Altech
Gauteng Broadband Network, and more
The results of our first full financial year
recently, the R1,7-billion City of Tshwane
have highlighted both the cost saving
municipal broadband tender – is a source
benefits and the income generating
of tremendous gratification.
Let’s Talk TMT l Page 05
in short
TunLEys buys fIrsT XErOX IMPIKA PrEss
in mEa rEgion
Tunleys Mail & Print, a mail processing
company and long-standing customer of
Bytes Documents Solutions (BDS), has
bought a Xerox Impika production system
from BDS for R30 million. This is the first
Impika installation in the Europe, Middle East
and Africa (EMEA) region.
Tunleys chose the Xerox Impika iCompact
24:24 – the smallest production inkjet engine
in its class – because of its small footprint
and its ability to deliver an entire solution
from end-to-end. The Impika press replaces
a range of monochrome high-speed printers
that were significantly more expensive
per print. As a result, Tunleys will not only
increase productivity by streamlining its
operations and automating the production of
bank statements, but will also operate more
cost-effectively.
In addition to being able to process
statements for its key clients, and adding
colour to monochrome documents, Tunleys
can take advantage of the white space on bills
and statements to display colour coupons,
customer loyalty opportunities and special
offers.
The Xerox Impika production press installed at
Tunleys Mail and Print.
shirley williams retires after 25 years’ service
After 25 years of loyal service to the Altron
Group, Shirley Williams will be retiring from
Arrow Altech Distribution.
Shirley started employment at STC
Components in 1990 as a stores clerk.
STC Components later merged with Allied
Electronic Components and eventually
became part of Arrow Altech Distribution
in 1998. Shirley has always been a positive
contributor to the business and a person of
fine character. She always goes the extra
mile, washing the overalls of the distribution
centre staff in her private time over weekends
and during holidays.
Her colleagues throughout Altron TMT wish
her the very best for her richly deserved
retirement. Her dedication, commitment,
kindness and good spirit will be missed at
Arrow Altech Distribution.
Shirley Williams.
altEch nEtstar kEEps you up-to-datE
with the latest traffic info
We’ve all seen the electronic information
boards along the highways, but did you know
that this traffic data feed is supplied by Altech
Netstar?
density, and enable motorists to better plan
their routes or at least be prepared for what
lies ahead by taking note of the information
displayed on the electronic information
boards.
Altech Netstar has 120 000 GPS probes
(tracking devices in vehicles) providing
updates at one-minute intervals. These
probes assist in calculating traffic flow and
If you drive a new Mercedes-Benz, or even
a McLaren, your in-car traffic information is
also supplied by Altech Netstar.
in short
XErOX CTO
visits tunlEys mail and print
During her recent visit to South Africa, Dr Sophie Vandebroek, Xerox Chief Technology
Officer and President of the Xerox Innovation Group, visited Tunleys, a long-standing
Bytes Document Solutions customer and the site of the first installation of the Xerox
Impika Compact press in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region.
Sophie met with Tunleys Group Executive Chairman Jeff van der Watt and was given a
tour of the facility, together with an overview of the full range of cross-media services
that Tunleys provides to its clients. Jeff explained to Sophie how Tunleys is focused
on document delivery in the format required by the client, be it printed or delivered
via email, SMS, MMS or web services. Tunleys allows for all of these formats to be
created, distributed and managed.
Commenting on the site visit, Sophie said that Tunleys had an impressive service
offering and that Jeff was a visionary leader who had established an end-to-end
workflow to provide personalised cross-media communication services to customers.
“Jeff thinks well beyond print to include the up-front analytics, as well as personalised
delivery across different print and electronic media. Overall Tunleys is an exceptional
business.”
Johan Basson, CEO: Bytes Document Solutions;
Sophie Vandebroek, CTO: Xerox; with
Jeff van der Watt, CEO: Tunleys Mail and Print.
arrow altEch distribution showcasEs its product rangE
The second National Electronics-AREI (Association of Representatives for the Electronics Industry) Regional Expo was held at Durban’s Moses
Mabhida stadium in May. South Africa’s leading suppliers, from design through to manufacture, were on hand to share their product knowledge
and services.
Phillip Nel, Field Application Engineer: Sierra Wireless;
Riaan van Kooten, KZN Branch Manager: Arrow Altech Distribution;
and Andrew Roesch, Sales Manager sub-Saharan Africa:
Sierra Wireless.
Ritesh Rampershad, Field Sales Engineer: Arrow Altech Distribution;
Rosy Moodley, Field Sales Engineer: Arrow Altech Distribution; Victor
Gonsalves, Field Application Engineer: Arrow Altech Distribution; and
Paul Porter: STMicroelectronics.
in short
XErOX StAnD WInS fIrSt plACE
The Bytes Document Solutions Xerox stand scooped the Best Large
Stand Award at the recent Africa Print Expo in Bloemfontein.
Each stand was judged on design, staff friendliness and overall
professionalism.
The Bloemfontein leg of the expo was a major success for Bytes
Documents Solutions and Xerox, with a record-breaking 408
visitors attending the show. This figure represents an increase in
attendance of 46% from the previous event and included visitors
from Bloemfontein and surrounding regions such as Lesotho and the
Northern Cape.
Industry professionals were impressed by printers such as the Xerox
Versant 2100 and IJP2000, which were showcased for the first time.
Visitors also expressed interest in the new Xerox technologies and
how they could assist them in overcoming their printing challenges.
“We had a great response from visitors and generated some strong
leads,” said Paul Haglich, Marketing Manager for Production
Systems at Bytes Document Solutions.
“Visitors to our stand were looking for added value through
services they weren’t receiving from their existing suppliers.
Their requirements were to deliver high quality print with shorter
turnarounds, at competitive prices,” Paul added.
The Johannesburg leg of the Africa Print Expo took place between
22 and 24 July at the Gallagher Estate Convention Centre. It will be
in Cape Town on 2 and 3 September at the Cape Town International
Convention Centre.
Celebrating the Best Large Stand Award are, from left, Paul Haglich, JR van Staden, Mervin Archery,
Joe Da Silva, Gavin Vermaak, Tanya Moodley and Amanda Kichenbrand.
UPDATE
The Strategic
dr wILLIE OOsThuysEn
Altron Group Executive: Strategy & Technology
It’S A mOVE tO thE lEft, not a
slip to thE right
At first blush, “beating the market” might sound like an expression better suited to investing or
financial management than to business strategy. When you think about it though, overcoming the
profit-depleting effects of market forces is the essence of good strategy and is what separates winners
from losers and headline makers from also-rans.
no, this is not a dance lesson. It’s a
high-level look at the role of strategy
in a company and how it should be
supported by big data.
A focus on the presence, absence, or possibility of market-beating value creation should therefore help
transform any discussion on strategy from something vague and conceptual into something specific
and concrete.
While there are many indicators of market-beating strategies, in our experience economic profit (EP) –
what’s left over after subtracting the cost of capital from net operating profit – is highly revealing.
Using this lens, individual companies can take a hard look at the effectiveness of their strategies and
their businesses.
STRATEGY IS RIFE WITH INEQUALITY
As we can see in the chart in Figure 1, which was devised by international management consulting
firm McKinsey, economic profit is distributed in a far from democratic way.
The 60% of companies in the middle three quintiles generate a little over
$29 billion in economic profit, or around $17 million each, which is only
10% of the total pie.
This share is dwarfed by the $677 billion generated in the top quintile,
where each company creates almost 70 times more economic profit
than do companies in the middle three, and by the nearly $411 billion
destroyed in the bottom quintile.
Size clearly matters as both the biggest creators and the biggest
destroyers of economic profit (EP) are large. Low returns are the
hallmark of the bottom quintile, which includes capital-intensive
industries such as airlines, electric utilities, and railroads. High margins
clearly differentiate the top class of EP outperformers.
Somewhat counter-intuitively, however, the weakest EP performers
have the best TCR and the strongest, the worst. For top companies
routinely engaged in Mergers & Acquisitions, the added cost of goodwill
is apparently more than recouped in profitable scale.
Finally, it’s worth noting that the average company in the first four
quintiles grows by double-digit rates a year, a compelling fact in its own
right. Bottom quintile companies grow one-third more slowly and this
compounds their asset-intensity problem, as higher revenues don’t
offset fixed investment.
The starting point of the next part of our discussion is a statistical
model (Figure 3) devised by McKinsey to illustrate the role of strategy.
According to McKinsey, about 80% of companies occupy the “average”
middle ground and 10% each fall in the above and below average areas.
The role of strategy is to engineer a move to the left and prevent a slip to
the right.
Figure 1: Distribution of economic profit
What separates the corporate classes?
Economic profit has four components: revenues, margins, asset
turns, and the tangible-capital ratio (TCR). Revenues and margins are
familiar enough. Asset turns, sometimes described as asset leverage,
measure the capacity to extract revenue from a given quantity of assets,
sometimes measured as Return on Net Assets (RONA). TCR is the ratio
of physical to total capital, including goodwill and capitalised research
and development (the more Mergers & Acquisitions a company does, and
the higher the premium it pays over book value, the lower its TCR). Every
company has a “fingerprint,” hinting at its value formula, across these
four drivers (as seen in Figure 2).
Figure 3: The power curve of economic profit
The model, which is called the power curve of economic profit, examines
a company in terms of three sets of data:
1.Endowment, in other words who you are and the assets you have
to do what you say you will. Your company characteristics such as
size, level of productivity and capital structure are considered here.
2.Where you play, namely your vertical and geographic markets,
and the trends that affect these markets. Also understanding how
these trends will impact your business and finding ways to identify
them early.
3.Big moves, or the bold actions you have to take to move yourself
from average to above average, and to prevent yourself from
slipping to below average. Examples include your strategic choices
in areas such as Mergers & Acquisitions, capital expenditure and
resource allocation.
Figure 2: The four determinants of value by quintile
In this model, a mass of big data analysis is applied to the trends in
a company’s trading environment to determine whether it is facing a
headwind or a tailwind. The strategist’s skill is to identify the trends that
influence the business and to sketch the “if this happens, this is what we
will do” scenarios, also known as scenario planning.
areas where we have the resources, competence and skills to leverage
and maintain a competitive advantage in favourable market conditions.
Regulation, for instance, is a market factor that can shift a company
massively and very quickly. An example is a business that moves into an
above-average position only to attract attention from the Competition
Commission.
WHERE YOU PLAY
We have seen recent instances in our markets of acceleration of the
gliding paths for the reduction of interconnection rates. This has shaved
billions of rands from the income statements of the two largest mobile
operators, both positioned in the top quintile.
McKinsey mapped a power curve for Altron overall compared to some
of our international conglomerate competitors. Given that Altron is a
conglomerate, it is sometimes difficult to find companies that compete
across all areas. The objective in all cases is to move entities from an
average to above average position and away from the slope that could
see them fall to below average.
Figure 5: Where you play matters: Altron’s industry on the power curve
First building the model and then continuously refining and adding to it,
is a multi-year undertaking. It is also the ultimate iteration of strategic
planning that uses big data and statistical models, rather than gut feel,
to move the organisation. As mentioned earlier, where you play, the
market and geographic trends have a major influence on the success of
moving a company.
SOCIAL STRATEGY
Big data analysis is the statistical or analytical side of strategy. Any
senior executive knows that there is also a social side, which relates to
who leads the strategy.
Figure 4: Altron and its competitors on the power curve
The accuracy of the model depends on the quality and quantity of data
one feeds it. In the Altron Group we have vast volumes of data that is
not being properly leveraged at the moment because we don’t have a
common system.
In addition to company data, the model can also pull in external
information, notably what is being said about the company on, for
instance, social media platforms. It is no secret that consumer
perceptions are hugely important in a consumer-oriented business.
History furthermore plays a role. For example, Altron TMT is very good
at programmatic, repeatable mergers and acquisitions. We understand
how to buy companies, integrate them and extract value from them. Is
that a pattern worth repeating in future if it drove value for shareholders
in the past?
As important as buying and integrating companies, is to know when to
sell non-performing assets that have become non-core to the future of
the company or the market has changed so much that it does not make
sense to continue operating these companies.
It is very important to identify the assets that will provide sustainable
competitive advantage. Therefore it is important to focus the group in
The thinking in this regard has been inspired by the book The Black
Swan, written by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. According to the author, a black
swan is an event that comes as a surprise, has a major impact and is
often inappropriately rationalised afterwards.
In a company as large and diverse as Altron, a black swan in one of the
operations is seldom disastrous. Diversification in terms of products,
markets and customers is the lifeboat that enables you to weather the
storm.
As an aside: McKinsey built a power curve and ran many scenarios
to obtain informed statistics. One of its findings was that in emerging
markets it is better to be a conglomerate than a pure play. However,
in Europe, companies that are more focused are more successful. It
would therefore appear that a tame or more developed environment
allows a business to focus, whereas unpredictability (such as labour
unrest, volatility in exchange rates, etc.) requires diversity in a business
portfolio. This is a major factor in the success of Altron over the past 50
years.
Returning to black swans, Taleb recently published a new book, The
Black Swan Edition 2: The impact of the Highly Improbable Fragility. In
it he examines the mind-set that causes leaders to believe that their
company is immune to disaster and, as a result, they don’t plan for it. A
very recent example is Nokia, moving from being the market leader to
almost non-existent and irrelevant in less than four years.
Strategic planning can never disregard potential fragility. It would be
strategically foolish to expose the whole business to ruin by putting in
a risky bid – or big move – for all the operations at the same time. In a
business with 10 subsidiaries, for example, eight should play it safe and
only two should venture into high-risk high-return territory. If the risky
bids succeed, the whole company would move to the left (into aboveaverage territory); if not, the business will by and large stay where it is.
Naspers is a good local case study. Its risky bid and big move was to
invest in the Chinese Internet company Tencent in 2001. In the past 13
years, Tencent has become worth some $124 billion and trails only a few
global tech company heavyweights such as Apple, Google and Facebook.
In 2013, thanks largely to Tencent, Naspers stock shot through the roof,
climbing 87%.
During that same period, however, Naspers did not pursue any
noteworthy innovation in its cash cow MultiChoice, keeping the annuity
business stable and predictable. The Explora set-top box, launched
in 2014, was its first major innovation investment in 15 years in that
business. The majority of the valuation of Naspers is now determined by
their international investments in China and Russia.
Big moves
Big moves refer to the strategic choices in areas such as Mergers &
Acquisitions, capital expenditure and resource allocation. Figure 6
shows the levers that will have the most impact or higher probability of
moving a company to the left, considering all three areas of endowment,
trends, and big moves.
Altech Node was one of our big moves, our risky bid on the future.
It was not meant to be a quick fix; in fact, there is a four-year
business case. We decided to invest the time and capital into
building something new and developing the IPR and potential market
leadership positions that go with it. It is still early days, and we are
finalising a better route to market for Altech Node than taking it to
market ourselves. This could still prove the truism that when you
get the product development right, you create value that far exceeds
anything you could have bought for the same amount.
A second venture we undertook, with a lower risk profile than the
Altech Node venture, was the investment in a new system integration
business, leveraging our new Huawei partnership. This has proven
to be a very high growth and profitable business in a relatively short
time. In the three years of the existence of the business, we have
won tenders worth more than R2 billion, with a very healthy pipeline
of new projects, that we would not have been able to participate in,
had we not decided to invest in this growth opportunity.
Other growth initiatives that we have invested in have proven to
create differentiation and sustainability for businesses that would
have been under pressure due to changing market conditions and
continued margin pressures as a result of globalisation. Sometimes
this is about adding more value-add to existing businesses to ensure
better service delivery and lower churn of the existing customer
bases.
In a nutshell: in order to grow, companies need a combination of low
and high risk. You cannot allow the high-risk investment to kill the
business; but you also have to buy a ticket to be in the lottery.
One mistake that many companies make, is that if there is one
growth initiative that does not provide the return expected, that
company becomes averse to innovation and new ventures.
Doing nothing or being indecisive is a choice of which the
consequences have to be understood. When companies are too
risk averse, they run the danger of milking the cash cow until it
has no more value due to commoditisation. As returns dwindle, the
company has less and less cash to invest in the next business. The
ultimate outcome is not a happy one.
Figure 6: What tilts your odds of moving up the power curve?
In the Altron TMT context, we decided on a few big moves approximately
four years ago. Some of these were:
• Fleet management and telematics
•Secure payment solutions and transaction switching, including a
digital wallet
•Secure digital media distribution (a subset of which is known as
the Altech Node)
•Cloud offerings and broadband offerings (the Huawei business
fitted here)
•Systems software and systems integration
According to McKinsey, the probability of a company moving from
where it is to above average is only about 10% - hence the necessity
to find the big bets, and make the big moves. The use of statistics,
trends and big data should make success more likely.
Similarly, moving from average to below average is unlikely if a
company diversifies. If an extreme trend moves one of the operations
into the bottom 10%, the overall company will still be healthy, simply
because it is diverse enough and there are enough points where
management intervention will make a difference.
But we are not interested in remaining safely average. With the
diversified portfolio of companies and markets that we are present
in, and with the big data, strong leadership and strategic expertise
we have at our disposal, Altron has all the assets to embark on a
journey that will move us to the left.
The strategy of leadership
A company’s appetite for and ability to implement big moves ultimately
depend on its leadership. The structure of the board, structure of the
operational leadership on the executive committee (Exco), the managing
directors of each operating entity and the interaction of these leadership
structures, determine in many cases whether big moves are successful
or not.
The reason for this is that the board composition has to be aligned
with the business strategy and type of equity invested in the company.
When the business is in cash generation mode, or extracting value from
existing assets is the key priority, it needs stronger governance and risk
mitigation skills on the board.
When companies are in growth mode, on the other hand, they need board
members who are industry experts and who understand the trends in
the markets in which we operate. They are more likely to understand the
trends that inform the big moves and are more likely to be willing to take
the necessary risks.
A board that is configured only for low risk and moderate growth will find
it impossible to support the big moves that enable an aggressive growth
scenario. In such a case, the probability of proper execution plummets.
capable of risk management and governance with industry and market
knowledge to guide investments in growth areas. The same is true for
the composition of the operational leadership in such a group.
So, what are the implications for CEOs and strategists?
If you’re in the elite, “use it or lose it” (far left of the curve), you have a
privileged ability to mobilise capital. Really know the formula that got
you there and vigilantly watch for signs of change. You can’t rest on
your laurels as the odds are almost 50–50 that you will slide down into
the middle class, or lower.
If you’re in the middle, you mostly face a battle of inches. A fortunate
few companies will ride a favourable industry trend. But for the most
part, it will take substantial strategic or operational shifts to escape
the gravity of market forces. The odds are against you, which elevate
the importance of looking at strategy with a high degree of rigour.
If you’re at the bottom (far right of the curve), growth without better
performance will be the equivalent of throwing good money after
bad. You will probably need a new trend to get out of the basement,
but in the meantime focus on improving ROIC, which often requires
improving asset turns.
A good mix of the above mentioned skill sets should be present at Exco
and board level.
Given the strategy that was outlined earlier, of keeping 80% of the
companies stable, while investing in about 20% high growth areas
that are more risky, an ideal board and Exco configuration will reflect
that strategy in its composition. We require a mixture of people very
brEakfast with
ThE CEO:
rOB ABrAhAm
In an organisation as broad and decentralised as bytes Technology
group, where business units not only differ in scope, function and
products and services offering, but are also spread geographically
around the country, the opportunity to connect with the group’s CEO is
welcomed.
Bytes Technology Group CEO Rob Abraham has
historically made a point of interacting with
employees at all levels of his organisation at least
twice a year. These interactive forums take place
over breakfast where employees are able to discuss
a range of topics with Rob, including organisational
strategy, business performance and their specific
roles within the group. These employees are
nominated by their line managers to attend the
breakfast.
A key objective of the breakfast is to motivate and
reward individuals who went above and beyond the
call of duty in the execution of their daily tasks to
ensure the growth and success of their business
units.
The most recent breakfast took place in Cape Town
on 14 May in the private dining room of the exclusive
15 on Orange hotel. After a lengthy nomination
process, 15 lucky participants were chosen to
accompany Rob and hear his views on the future
outlook of Bytes Technology Group and Altron TMT.
Participants were chosen from several different
business units within Bytes such as Med-e-Mass,
SAMRAS (part of Bytes Universal Systems), Bytes
Managed Solutions and Bytes Documents Solutions.
The event was an enormous success and the next
CEO breakfast with Rob is being planned for the
fourth quarter of 2015.
Selected individuals from across Bytes Technology Group had the chance to engage with
Rob Abraham on a variety of topics.
DR WILLIE OOSTHUYSEN
Altron Group Executive: Strategy & Technology
lEArnIng thE DISruptIVE
tECh lESSOnS at singularity
univErsity
part onE
I’m constantly amazed at how
technology is changing our world,
and how this is happening ever more
rapidly – and my recent attendance
at singularity university has
underlined just how exponentially
things are advancing.
Many of us have heard of the Singularity,
essentially the point at which machines
become smarter than humans. The jury’s
out about exactly when this will happen,
but it’s projected to be in the next 20 years
or so.
Given Moore’s Law – which for 50 years
has accurately predicted that computing
power doubles roughly every 18 months –
it’s a scary prospect that barely a year after
the Singularity, machines will be twice as
smart as us. And they’ll be twice as smart
as that in the following 18 months.
Consider this about exponential growth: if
you took 30 regular steps, that’s as far as
you’d get. If you took only 30 exponential
steps (where your next step is double
the preceding one in length), you’d travel
around the world a staggering 26 times.
Now you start getting the idea …
Technology has already grown exponentially,
in terms of cost, power and miniaturisation.
A few examples:
• When worked out as calculations per
second per $1 000 of computing power,
in 1900 the best machine could do 10-5
(or 0.00001) calculations per second.
In 2010 that was 1011 (100-billion)
calculations per second, and in 2023
we’re looking at 1016 (ten quadrillion)
per second
• Where in 1956 only 5MB of computer
storage space cost $120 000 and came
in an enormous box, 128GB of storage
now costs $99 and fits on a storage
device smaller than one’s fingertip
We simply don’t know what life is going to
be like after the Singularity, but the world
will certainly be an interesting place.
Singularity University is a Californiabased initiative co-founded by futurists Dr
Peter H Diamandis and Ray Kurzweil (the
latter having popularised the idea of the
Singularity), and is dedicated to examining
disruptive technology that will positively
influence billions of people.
Diamandis is co-author with Steven
Kotler of Abundance: The Future is Better
Than You Think, a book that argues that
a future world population of nine-billion
will all enjoy a First World standard
of living (education, clean water, food,
energy, health care and so on), thanks to
technological innovation.
What we all need to get our heads around
is the idea that the world as we have known
it – a local and linear one – has given
way to one that is global and exponential.
The world is rapidly becoming a smaller
place and growth is ever accelerating. A
good example is the taxi service Uber:
barely three years ago it didn’t exist, and
now it’s a $40-billion company operating
globally, and completely disrupting the
public transport space in the process. Solid
taxi companies that have been around for
decades face disaster. Yet Uber owns no
assets nor has a workforce to speak of, as
a more conventional taxi company would;
its intrinsic value lies in connecting people
and the service it provides, not in physical
ownership of vehicles or offices.
The way things are done is changing
completely. So, where in the past you
needed a great deal of capital and assets
to develop a great idea into a viable
company, these days you need neither:
you can sell a product on plan, much like
a house that hasn’t been built yet. Using
a new crowdfunding model, you can raise
development funding on the promise
that your investors will receive the first
products – and even get some money back.
A wonderful example of this is Jibo, a
home assistant robot. Its developers
first raised $2.3-million in seed capital
using Indiegogo (a crowd funding model),
generating 4800 pre-orders.
How it works is that anybody with access
to the Internet can become a venture
capitalist by investing in to-be-developed
products through a discounted preorder mechanism. This also acts as a
mechanism to verify market acceptance
before one even starts to build a product.
Jibo has since raised $25.3-million more
from larger-scale investors, and are
looking to ship the first Jibo robots out
by the end of this year. Jibo’s creator, MIT
Professor Cynthia Breazeal, is already
being hailed as “the Steve Wozniak of
robotics” even though the first Jibo has yet
to be delivered.
Jibo, the home assistant robot.
Jibo will be a physical instantiation (robot)
of “Siri”, becoming an assistant in your
home, and learning and remembering
through artificial intelligence. It can, for
example, download and read any book to
you, check the weather, check the traffic,
tell you any interesting news, read your
Facebook updates, read emails, make
calls, order online merchandise such as
groceries, make appointments, project
movies, and type text messages and emails
from voice commands, all through voice
interaction and intelligent commands such
as the ones used by Apple’s Siri. This
will revolutionise the human-computer
interface and interaction. Needless to say,
I have already invested and pre-ordered my
Jibo!
Thus, companies that still follow the local
and linear paradigm will eventually not
stand a chance against disruptive start-ups
(and upstarts) such as Uber. Companies
that were until recently regarded as
bulletproof are no longer so – all due to
disruptive technology.
This kind of exponential (or disruptive)
technological growth is having
fundamental impacts on the world as we
know it. For example, it’s been predicted
that 40% of the companies listed on the
S&P 500 index – the leading indicator of US
equities on the New York Stock Exchange
– will be gone in a decade’s time. And the
average lifespan of a company on this index
has shrunk from 67 years in the 1920s, to
only 15 years today.
Let’s consider the “6 Ds” of exponential
technology:
• Digitised – when we move away from
physical information and media.
• Deceptive growth – when it looks like
a technology won’t take off.
• Disruptive growth – when the
technology does gain traction.
• Dematerialise – when all information
is digitised and physical technologies
converge (for example, today’s
smartphone is a phone, a video
player, a calculator, a word processor,
a CD player, a radio, a camera and
much more). In the past one had to
have multiple physical devices to
replace what a smartphone does
today.
• Demonetise – when the value for the
operator diminishes. So Microsoft
makes no money off people using
Skype for free international calls,
which undercuts what used to be
a $1-trillion international voice
telecommunications industry.
•Democratise – when people no longer
have to worry about access to a
product or service, because everyone
has it.
The trick is to identify disruptive
technologies before they take off,
and before they demonetise existing
technologies. Social media platform
Facebook has introduced a free call
function following its acquisition of
WhatsApp, which, considering the size
of its user base, effectively makes it the
biggest telecommunications operator in
the world, with a current potential 1.4
billion subscribers.
This means that data and what people
do when consuming data becomes
more important to conventional
telecommunications operators than voice,
which is being demonetised at a very rapid
rate.
By the same token, consider what Amazon.
com has done to bookshops, iTunes to
music distribution, Craigslist to classified
advertising, Google to research and
libraries, and accommodation booking
service Airbnb to conventional hotel
groups. And, as previously mentioned,
Uber – which will in turn be disrupted
in the short term by copycats and in the
longer term by autonomous cars; who’ll
need a taxi service when your driverless
vehicle can take you home?
The Google self-driving car is a powerful
computer that has four wheels, which
already drives better and safer than human
beings in its first generation. Design
and manufacturing of vehicles, financing
(banks), distribution and sale of vehicles,
vehicle rental companies, and insurance
companies are only a few examples of
companies and industries that are in for
very serious disruption in the next five
years. Regulatory authorities in California
have already licensed some of these cars
to use the public roads and there is an
example of a Google car that has covered
1.7 million miles on pubic roads all across
the USA, accident free.
One of the most interesting aspects of
disruptive technology is unexpected
convergent consequence: the unconsidered
outcomes of faster and faster computing
power or changing business models. So,
for example, once we have self-teaching/
learning robots we won’t need robotics
programmers any more – the robots will
get better and faster all by themselves,
through artificial intelligence and learning
from experience.
Research done in San Francisco has
shown that since Uber became the choice
of public transport for many people in
that city, about 50% of all revenue spent
on public transport has moved to Uber.
Public parking garage income in the city
has gone down by almost 25%, accidents
involving drunk drivers have fallen by 22%,
while alcohol sales have gone up by 15%
(no designated driver required at parties).
These are examples of the unintended
consequences of people using Uber.
Or the consequences of the autonomous
car technology being spearheaded by the
likes of Google: what happens to traffic
patterns, or insurance liability, or public
parking, or even private ownership of
vehicles? Will it be necessary to buy your
own car, when the next available one to
take you somewhere is just as good?
Self-driving vehicles is one of the most
disrupting forces that we will see in
the next few years. Traditional vehicle
manufacturers design a vehicle using
traditional ways, and then add computers
to add intelligence and differentiate their
models.
Imagine calling a self-driving taxi using
your mobile phone the same way that Uber
operates today. Why not do that twice a
day? On the way to work and then back
home again. No need to own a car that
stands unused for 23 hours every day, that
need to be financed and insured for 24
hours per day, but used for one hour out of
the 24 hours?
productivity increases for a nation if all the
non-productive hours spent driving can be
recovered by allowing people to work while
in transit instead of driving, given that the
car can drive itself.
Furthermore, what happens to
telecommunications giants when the likes
of Facebook, Google, Virgin and SpaceX – in
whose interest it is for us all to be connected
at high speeds – invest heavily in low earth
orbiting satellites or similar technologies
and disrupt traditional operators’ ability to
charge us for making voice calls or using
data? And what will we make of the hitherto
unprecedented coverage and surveillance of
Earth that those satellites will offer?
There is currently a huge amount invested
by the over-the-top players in nonconventional data transmission technologies
and business models that will free them
from dependency on local operators. One
example is the WhatsApp SIM card that one
can buy in Europe and the USA. Facebook
has already signed more than 50 global
mobile operator partnerships in an MVNO
model, allowing WhatsApp to become the
first truly global virtual network operator.
One can then do data transfers and voice
calls roaming on the global WhatsApp
network at a fixed rate internationally when
not connected to a WiFi hotspot for free
services. The smart operators will embrace
this instead of trying to block it.
The Singularity University identifies eight
disruptive technology trends that are
riding the crest of Moore’s Law, and deeply
influence convergent consequences:
• communication networks
• communication sensors (big data)
• artificial intelligence
•robotics
• 3D printing
• synthetic biology
• virtual reality/virtual worlds
• materials sciences.
I’ll unpack these trends in the second part
of my article about Singularity University,
in the next edition of Tech Talk – and it’s
fascinating stuff, from machinery operating
on a molecular level to printable food and a
whole lot more.
Some interesting statistics are currently
being collected in the USA on the possible
sUGar
and the
spicE of variEty
There’s nothing sweet about the sugar
industry. The production chain is long and
tough, and challenges range from the
vagaries of farming to issues with remote
site logistics. And it all plays out in the lowmargin commodity business environment
where price trumps everything else.
As Africa’s largest sugar producer,
Illovo Sugar is very familiar with these
challenges. Increasingly, the company
looks towards IT to help keep production
costs down – a job that can be easier said
than done, according to Dave Schaller,
Chief Information Officer (CIO) of Illovo.
The CIO of Illovo sugar
is not a geek in love with
technology. his world only
has room for technology
that makes business
processes better, faster and
more cost effective. That
doesn’t mean, however,
that either the man or his
job are boring.
Similar to many non-IT businesses, Illovo
can have a love-hate relationship with
technology, as is evidenced by IT being
the persistent focus of cost-cutting drives
on the one hand, and the ever-increasing
adoption of IT-enabled processes on
the other. “This happens from farming
to milling to fleet management,” says
Dave. “So my team and I are constantly
challenged with the cost versus value
question. Fortunately, justifying the cost of
IT is becoming easier as more managers
and leaders begin to appreciate its value,
and as IT-enabled initiatives deliver
meaningful contributions to the bottom
line. As far as sexy new technologies go,
I tend to query the value in the business
process rather than the cost of the system
that enables it. That usually shortens the
conversation a bit…”
Keeping business value top of mind
prevents the CIO from being seduced by
Justifying the cost of IT is becoming easier as more
managers and leaders begin to appreciate its value.
new technology. He sees technology only
as a business enabler, not an end in itself,
which explains why technically focused
sales people who try to sell him the latest
and greatest technology usually leave
empty-handed.
Over the past 16 years in charge of IT
at Illovo, Dave’s low-risk, low-cost IT
strategy has proven its worth. “Being in
the sugar industry, we don’t have to be
at the leading and bleeding edge of IT
technologies,” he says. “I can afford to
follow at a safe distance. We tend to adopt
once the technology has gone through the
hype cycle, has matured and is delivering
business value.”
This doesn’t mean that IT is not important
to Illovo. Quite the opposite. Every single
business process in its R13.2-billion value
chain is enabled by IT. Even the manual
farming activities involved in growing
sugarcane are planned and controlled
using a farming application.
service providers deal with all of that, but
the costs remain.”
On the topic of service providers, Dave
praises the success of Illovo’s outsource
relationship with Bytes Systems
Integration (Bytes SI) when it comes to
skills management.
It is not easy to convince talented young IT
professionals to work at mills in Swaziland,
Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia
that are nowhere near big towns or cities.
Since 1999, however, Bytes SI (first as
Blue Sky Networks, then Usko and then
BTG) has been taking care of the entire
infrastructure space headache.
“The team of Rob Griggs, Colin Evans and
John Taylor made it work within the first
year. We’re in our 16th year now and Taylor
and Evans continue to deliver. Finding,
training and retaining the right staff is their
problem rather than mine,” says Dave.
Covering such a vast number of processes
under one IT umbrella is not a simple task,
especially since many of them are carried
out in remote rural areas and in different
countries.
Ten years and a number of positions later,
he left Toyota to set up a consultancy
specialising in simulation consulting,
theory of constraints implementations,
finite capacity scheduling and a variety
of other process and productivity
improvement tools.
During his four years as a consultant,
and in the run up to Y2K, Dave became
involved in IT project management and
spent time consulting to the Illovo Sugar
group. He joined the company as head of
IT in 1999.
Dave’s private life is as multi-dimensional
as his professional one. Away from the
office he reads anything and everything,
except novels, and finds the time to surf,
kitesurf, stand-up paddle, race bicycles
and mountain bikes, and ride a BMW
1200gs A.
And don’t forget the microlights. As a
child, Dave aspired to be an air force pilot
but ended up compromising and “became
a CIO who flies microlights. There’s a
slight speed difference but, hey, I’m
flying!”
One of the perennial IT challenges is
communications links to the sugar
mills, both in South Africa and the other
countries in which Illovo operates. For over
a decade, Illovo ran on a WAN built on 32k
V-Sat links that were hugely expensive.
Terrestrial links were simply non-existent
and redundancy was limited to duplicate
routers and spares on each site.
Only in the last three years were terrestrial
links to all sites put in, using a mix of
solutions for the “last mile” – “which is
more like the last 100km in some cases,”
says Dave. “Despite this breakthrough,
bandwidth is still limited and cost
prohibitive. In-country telcos are usually
part of the delivery and cost problem, and
we can’t get away from that. Luckily our
He started as a chartered management
accountant with Toyota SA Manufacturing
in Durban but soon discovered a knack for
designing systems that would get things
done way better than the way they were
being done.
He is furthermore a professional speaker
on the topics of “Striking a Balance” and
“Passing Exams”. On the latter he has
written a local best-selling book.
No wonder that he found golf boring and
time consuming and gave it up years ago.
Keeping life interesting
Dave’s successful run at the helm of
Illovo’s IT may in part be ascribed to the
unusual career path that took him there.
And just in case you were wondering: no,
apart from chocolate, the CIO of Illovo
Sugar does not have a sweet tooth.
AltrOn
RINGS IN A YEAR OF
CHANGE
with the advent of Altron’s 50th Anniversary this year, we have seen a number of significant developments across
the Altron group. Most significant of these was the announcement that Craig venter would leave the Altron group,
effective 31 July 2015, however he would still be involved in overseeing the venter family’s controlling shareholding
interest in the Altron group. Craig’s departure is part of Altron’s strategy to transition from an investment holding
company to an operational holding company, including an independent management structure.
NEW ALTRON MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE
Altron CE
Robbie Venter
Altron Exco
Company
Secretarial
Andrew Johnston
Group Exec:
Tech & Strat
Willie Oosthuysen
Group Exec:
Corp. Finance:
Peter Riskowitz
CFO
Alex Smith
Government
Solutions
Joshua Motjuwadi
Business Devel.
/KAE
Tim Ellis
Corporate
Finance
Robin Marsden
Shared Services
Andrew Holden
A key part of this transition has been a review
of Altron’s business strategy and structure,
cost reductions and assets and on 16 July
2015, Robbie Venter, Chief Executive: Altron,
provided more information on these changes
to the Altron Group.
BUSINESS STRATEGY
In terms of Altron’s business strategy and
structure, the leadership team is developing
a plan to focus the group in areas where
Altron has the resources, competence and
skills to leverage a competitive advantage
– namely the Information Technology and
Telecommunications space which has seen
continued growth over a number of years. As
such, resources and capital will in future be
focused on this segment of the business in
anticipation of growth. This does not mean
however, that operations outside of these
identified growth areas will not receive
attention. On the contrary, management
will do everything possible to drive these
businesses, but limited capital will be made
available for expansion purposes until
there is a meaningful recovery in market
conditions.
This strategy supports Altron’s evolution
from an investment holding company to
a fully-fledged operating entity with an
emphasis on sustainable growth.
In line with this business strategy, the
management team that will lead Altron
Group Exec:
Corp. Affairs
Douglas Ramaphosa
Operations
Exec.: T&M
Laurence Savage
Operations
Exec.: IT
Rob Abraham
Operations
Exec: Power
Neil Kayton
Group Exec:
Human Capital
Johan Klein
in the future will have a simpler structure
from 1 August 2015, as represented in the
organisational chart above, whereby the
Altech, Bytes and Powertech Executive
Committees will remain in place while the
Altron TMT Executive Committee will fall
away. This will aid in faster decision making in
the fast moving industry in which we operate.
COST REDUCTIONS
While a leaner management structure will
lead to a reduction in central costs, aligned
to this is Altron’s emphasis on the continued
implementation of shared services.
In this respect, shared services will be
consolidated at an Altron level in order to
further reduce support service costs, improve
alignment and enhance efficiencies. Under
the management of Andrew Holden, reporting
to Altron CFO, Alex Smith, Procurement, Risk,
Employee Services, Information Technology,
Marketing/Communications, Legal and
Facilities will be centralised. Finance,
incorporating tax, treasury and reporting, will
report directly to Alex Smith.
Furthermore, a decision has been made to
move the three Altron Group head offices,
namely Altron, Altron Power and Altron TMT,
to a single site which is most likely to be
Parktown. A detailed review on timing and
cost savings is currently underway. The bulk
of Shared Services and the operations of
MediSwitch, Med-e-Mass and Altech Radio
Holdings are likely to move to the Altech
Autopage building in Midrand once it is
available. This will result in approximately
R20 million in savings.
ASSETS
In order to leverage a competitive advantage,
certain material non-core assets have been
identified for disposal. In this respect, the
sale of the GSM base of Altech Autopage
is anticipated to be complete by December
2015; disposal of the Altech Node business
by August 2015; and disposal of Dynamic
Batteries in the UK by August 2015.
Furthermore, Altron is exploring equity
partnerships for Powertech Transformers
and Powertech Cables as well as the telecom
cable joint venture.
The sale of the above mentioned assets will
result in a smaller but far more agile group
that has high growth potential and financial
sustainability.
In the next few weeks the structure will be
formalised and Altron will enter an intensive
planning process around execution. The
plan will be presented to the Altron Board in
early August and implementation of the plan
is expected to begin by the end of August.
Furthermore, an announcement on the
successor of Rob Abraham, the CEO of Bytes
Technology Group, who is retiring at the
end of February 2016, will be made by
1 September 2015.
AltrOn tmt rESultS
AT A GLANCE
TELECOMMunICATIOns
TEChnOLOgy (IT)
Altech Netstar reported 4% revenue growth
and a marginal decline in EBITDA. The
business launched a number of new products
and recorded impressive growth in the
fleet management business. Several small
acquisitions were made during the year,
which should enhance the results going
forward.
Bytes UK had an exceptional year, growing
revenue and improving margins. While the
results were enhanced by the depreciation
of the rand, the local currency results
exceeded expectations as the business
expanded its higher margin operations.
Altech Autopage experienced a decline
in average revenue per user (ARPU) and
profitability as a result of continued industry
and consumer deflationary pressures, as
well as the impacts of the on-going mobile
termination rate reductions.
Bytes Systems Integration saw limited revenue
growth, but excellent EBITDA growth, with
a shift towards more margin rich sales,
particularly in the biometrics space. The
international business, primarily located in
Africa, improved significantly, assisted by the
weakening of the rand.
Altech Radio Holdings performed well off the
back of the Gauteng Broadband Network
project that is running on schedule. There are
other significant projects in the pipeline.
Altech Node was launched in September 2014
but has not lived up to expectations as far
as consumer uptake is concerned. However,
Altron TMT has made significant progress in
exploring alternative opportunities and routes
to market for this entertainment and home
automation system.
The core Xerox business of Bytes Document
Solutions showed a good recovery in
the second half as some of the effects
of the weaker rand were mitigated and
new business was won. Unfortunately
the related paper business experienced
challenges and is being restructured.
Bytes Managed Solutions performed well
despite a reduction in revenue and EBITDA
as the business was affected by foreign
exchange losses and the disposal of the
retail ATM business in August 2014.
Bytes Secure Transaction Solutions saw a
decline in revenue as a result of reduced
sales of point of sale (POS) terminals
out of Altech Card Solutions. Strong
performances from MediSwitch, Mede-Mass and Altech NuPay resulted in a
pleasing increase in EBITDA.
Bytes Universal Systems produced strong
revenue growth during the year, although
margins declined. This was driven by
revenue gains from a large public sector
contract, with a high proportion of lower
margin product sales.
DIVESTMENTS AnD
InVEStmEntS
Three divestments served to focus and
streamline Altron TMT’s business:
• LaserCom
• BytesDocumentSolutionsUK
• 850ATMsownedbyBytesManaged
Solutions
With its eye on the future, Altron TMT
acquired three companies:
• Inter-ActiveTechnologies.The
acquisition cements Bytes People
Solutions as one of the country’s
premier service providers in
business process outsourcing, a key
growth area in the South African
market.
• FleetPro.Theacquisitionprovides
Altech Netstar with a unique
offering while enhancing its position
as a technology leader in fleet
management.
• Health-Soft.Theacquisition
broadens the scope of services that
Med-e-Mass currently offers.
bill vEntEr acadEmy
Thought Leader speaker series
In May 2015, the Bill Venter Academy hosted the first in its series of Thought Leader
Speaker events at which well-known industry leaders provide thought provoking and
inspirational messages to current and future leaders of the Altron Group. Kicking off the
series was Jose dos Santos, the CEO of Cell C and long-standing friend of Altron TMT
(Jose spent part of his career at Alcatel STC and Altech Autopage).
The series of speaker events is the brainchild of the Bill Venter Academy Board
of Directors and provides attendees with the opportunity to gain key insights from
recognised leaders of commerce and industry and spend an afternoon networking with
Altron’s senior management.
In his address, Jose shared his views of the current South African economic climate and
associated challenges, the fundamental shifts we have seen in the economy over the past
20 years, and what he believes is required for South Africa to become a stronger and more
competitive nation in the global arena.
The next speaker, Kuseni Dlamini, Chairman of Massmart, will deliver his address in
August.
MOrE AbOuT JOsE:
Jose dos Santos has more than 20 years of experience in the
telecommunications sector.
He started his career in sales and was the National Sales
Manager for at Alcatel STC from 1992 to 1994. He was then
appointed as Marketing Manager at Altech Autopage and
Alternate Director for Message Link. In 1999, Jose was
appointed as Managing Director at Altech Autopage Cellular.
In 2012, he joined Cell C as Chief Commercial Officer
under the leadership of Alan Knott-Craig and was
appointed as Chief Executive Officer of the company in
May 2014.
craig vEntEr
lEAVES A lAStIng
lEgACy
31 July 2015 will be Craig Venter’s last day as
an Altron employee. His departure is part of
Altron’s business strategy going forward to
transition from a family managed business to
an independent management structure.
While the group’s management will become
more autonomous, the Venter family will
retain its 56% shareholding in Altron and
remain actively involved in the group.
Craig will in future play more of an oversight
role in the Venter family’s investments and
pursue other personal interests.
Reducing Craig’s 27-year career to dates
or events would not do it justice. A closer
look at the company’s most noteworthy
achievements under his leadership reveals
the themes of innovation and forwardthinking. At heart, Craig Venter is an
entrepreneur and his progression through
Altech confirmed it.
In a recent interview, he listed three
achievements, which turned convergence
theory into practice, as his greatest
accomplishments both as an individual and
an entrepreneur:
1. He created Altech Autopage and Altech
Netstar as greenfield operations from
nothing.
As Altron takes the first big step
to change from a family-managed
business to one with an independent
management structure, Let’s Talk
TMT pays tribute to Craig venter’s
remarkable career.
Craig’s belief in the convergence of
offerings is illustrated by the fact that
he initiated Altech’s entrance into voice
and data services when it first entered
the paging market with the purchase of
Autopage. With the advent of GSM cellular
technology, he realised that beeper
technology’s days were numbered. The
paging business was sold and the capital
used to start Altech Autopage Cellular to
focus on the emerging cellular services
business. Today, Altech Autopage has
expanded its offerings to include voice,
data and multimedia services.
Similarly, he was instrumental in the
establishment of a national vehicle
tracking and recovery network under
Altech Netstar. These services have
now been expanded to include vehicle
telematics and fleet management
services.
2. Altron TMT. “As I see it, convergence
is more than just the ability to deliver
IT solutions – voice, video, data and
mobility – in one offering from a single
provider. It is also the converging of our
different business assets across the
telecommunications, multi-media and
information technology value chain to
provide our customers with solutions that
can be scaled to their requirements.” This
was the thinking behind the project that
was launched in August 2013 to integrate
the Altech and Bytes businesses under a
single organisation – Altron TMT.
Today, there is no other organisation
in Africa that can provide the depth of
products and services that Altron TMT can
deliver. This position is the result of an
executive team that looked at the gaps in
the market and created an organisation to
address them.
3. Altech Node. Throughout his career, Craig
has emphasised that strategic investment
in innovation is essential in order to
deliver maximum value to our customers
and sustainable and profitable growth.
Altech Node, which was developed under
Craig’s leadership, is the world’s first
fully converged home gateway console
offering the latest in movie entertainment,
TV services, business content, Internet
access and wireless home solutions. It is a
prime example of encouraging innovation
within the business and leveraging the
ownership of intellectual property.
Altech Node, which was conceived and
developed over a period of two years,
entailed the involvement of multiple
operations and 80 000 man hours of
development. In excess of 40 patents (both
front-end and back-end) were registered
through its development.
•Altech Multimedia receiving the
TT100 Award for the Management of
Innovation and the Award for Excellence
in the Management of Systems.
•Craig receiving the CEO
Communications Magazine Titans
Building Nations Award for South
Africa, Southern Africa and Africa.
•Craig receiving the Ernst & Young
World Entrepreneur Award certificate of
achievement.
An unrelenting champion of innovation,
Craig has taken corporate entrepreneurship
to new heights with developments such
I have dedicated my life to this business
and I will remain involved in it as part
of the Venter family, to ensure the
continued success of my father’s legacy. My experience,
relationships and guidance will not be lost to the group.
Craig has left his mark not only on the
group, but on the broader industry as well.
One of his most courageous decisions
was to challenge the then minister of
communications to allow more competition
into the telecommunications sector. Altech
won the court case in 2008 and in doing
so directly enabled companies other than
Telkom to build telecoms networks. Altech
did not benefit immediately and directly,
but its courageous action remains to the
advantage of the broader telecommunications
sector in that it enabled more competition
and, as a consequence, broader participation
and growth.
Under Craig’s leadership Altech has won
numerous industry awards, while his
personal capabilities earned him recognition
from his peers and industry stakeholders.
The 2014 highlights in this regard include:
•The global Employer Branding Institute
naming Altech as the best employer in
Africa.
•Winning the Frost & Sullivan
Competitive Strategy Innovation and
Leadership Award.
•Altron TMT winning the TT100 Award for
Excellence in Strategy.
as the Altech Node, Altech Netstar’s move
into the insurance telematics market and
Altech Alcom Matomo winning the Gauteng
Broadband Network (GBN) project and more
recently, the R1,7-billion City of Tshwane
municipal broadband tender.
In 2014 alone, Altech Netstar successfully
filed 14 patents with respect to technologies
for business; another 21 were pending. In
the development of Altech Node, more than
40 patents were registered, significantly
expanding Altron’s IPR portfolio.
On his watch future-directed strategic
partnerships were concluded with the likes
of Huawei and Hytera. The latter is the
biggest producer of professional mobile radio
equipment in China and Altron TMT expects
year-on-year new business growth of 60%
through this partnership.
Since Craig’s appointment as CEO of Altech in
September 1996, the market capitalisation of
the company increased from R449 million to
R10,7 billion in February 2014. Following the
formation of Altron TMT under his leadership,
the most recent annual revenue for the
business (February 2015) stands at
R19,4 billion.
Craig has made a significant contribution to
Altron during the 27 years he worked for the
group. He has indeed dedicated most of his
working life to the quest of growing Altron,
through Altech, to the company it is today.
While it is with sadness that we bid Craig
farewell and wish him all the best for the
future, we look forward to hearing about his
next big thing.
27 years of service
Craig was only three years old when
his father started Allied Electric, the
company that would grow into the Altron
group. As boys, Craig and his older
brother Robbie would often go with
their dad to the company premises in
Boksburg on a Saturday morning.
Neither of the brothers was ever under
pressure to join the family business. Both
of them pursued professional tennis
careers in America, where they also
studied and cut their business teeth.
In 1988, Craig decided that Altron was
where he wanted to be. In keeping with
Dr Venter’s philosophy that his sons had
to learn the business from the bottom
up, Craig started his Altron career as a
commercial manager in one of the Altech
components distribution companies.
Most of his time was spent handling
consolidations in a shared office space in
Boksburg.
Next he was given the opportunity to run
and turn around the group’s loss-making
Pace Electronics business. He fulfilled
his brief within a year.
By 1993, Craig was head of the Altech
Components Distribution Division and of
the Altech Data Division.
He then went on to fill the role of chief
operating officer of the Industrial Group
in Altech and was appointed chairman
of Autopage Limited, a leading paging
company at the time. He led the
transition of Altech Autopage to the GSM
business it is today, before becoming
chief executive officer of Altech in
September 1996.
In 2013, following the decision to merge
the Altech and Bytes groups into Altron
TMT, Craig’s titled changed to group
executive: Altron TMT / chief executive
officer: Altech.
sOME Of ThE ACCOLAdEs AwArdEd TO CrAIg vEnTEr durIng hIs CArEEr:
THE ALTECH EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN’S AWARD - 1992
Craig received the Altech Executive Chairman’s Award in June 1992
for distinguished service as Group Executive: Altech Electronic
Distribution Group. Craig was subsequently promoted to the position
of Chief Operating Officer, Altech Industrial Group and Chairman,
Autopage Holdings Limited in March 1993.
leaders who play a major role in the development and growth of
their countries. Craig received the award for his influence in the
information and communications technology (ICT) sector and for
using ICT as the principal driver of economic development through
innovation and solutions offered by Altron TMT.
THE EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN’S DMA AWARD - 1992
Craig received the Altron Executive Chairman’s Distinguished Merit
Award (DMA) in 1992 in recognition of his superlative contribution to
the Altron Group. Craig was nominated especially for his loyalty and
dedication to companies under Altron control and their outstanding
performance in 1991 and 1992.
Craig was initially announced as the CEO Communications country
winner (South Africa) in the ICT Sector. He then went through to
the next stage of judging and was announced the regional winner
in the ICT Sector for the Southern African Development Community
(SADC) region. As a regional winner, Craig was then nominated, and
ultimately won, the Continental Award (Africa) in the ICT Sector.
SOUTH AFRICA’S LEADING MANAGERS AWARD - 2006
Craig was nominated as one of South Africa’s leading managers in
a book released jointly by the Corporate Research Foundation and
Business Report in 2006. Previously known as the CRF Institute, the
Top Employer Institute has recognised Top Employers and Managers
around the world since 1991.
EY WORLD ENTREPRENEUR AWARD; MASTER CATEGORY
(SOUTHERN AFRICA CHAPTER) - 2014
The award recognises entrepreneurs who demonstrate excellence
and extraordinary success in areas such as innovation, financial
performance, strategic direction and personal commitment to their
businesses and communities.
ALTECH LONG SERVICE AWARD AND ALTRON LONG SERVICE
AWARD - 2013
Craig received the Altech Long Service Award in November 2013
for having achieved 25 years of service to both Altech and parent
company Altron.
Craig was shortlisted for the 2014 World Entrepreneur Award in
the Master category (Southern African Chapter). Finalists in the EY
World Entrepreneur Award were assessed by an independent panel
of judges, many of whom had previously participated in EY World
Entrepreneur programmes.
CEO COMMUNICATIONS – TITANS BUILDING NATIONS AWARD:
COUNTRY, REGIONAL AND CONTINENTAL WINNER FOR THE ICT
SECTOR 2014
Sponsored by CEO Communications, the publishers of CEO
magazine, the Titans – Building Nations Award celebrates
Even the tough times
were good times
At the end of August this year, the MD
of Arrow Altech Distribution will hang
up his corporate gloves. During his
45 years in the Altron Group, André
du Preez was present for most of the
pivotal moments in the company’s
history, a privilege not many people
have had.
When a group is as large, diversified and
ever-changing as Altron, it is almost
impossible to trace its origins. There is
consensus, though, that the distribution
of electronics components was one of the
original lines of business back in the 1970s.
Percentage-wise, Arrow Altech Distribution
(AAD) is a much smaller contributor to the
overall group than its forerunners were, but
it is one of the most consistently successful
companies in Altron TMT.
André du Preez has travelled Altron’s
components distribution journey almost from
the start.
Altech and André
Allied Electric, the company that Dr Bill
Venter founded in 1965, designed and
manufactured semi-conductor rectifier
equipment, battery chargers, inverters,
variable speed drives, DC motor controls, DC
power supplies, electronic signal equipment
and transformers.
In 1969, Dr Venter acquired STC. Altech
(as the company was known by then)
acquired with it the large contracts for
telecommunication equipment that STC
manufactured for the then equivalent
of Telkom. This involved importing vast
quantities of electronic components from
Germany, the UK and the USA.
the four Altech electronic components distributors. A few years later he was appointed general
manager of Multikomponent.
Recognising a business opportunity, Dr
Venter decided to establish a number of
electronics distribution companies to supply
both Altech and other local manufacturers.
The reason for the four individual companies in the Altech stable was simply to gain access to
as many international products as possible at that time. “Some of the key manufacturers did not
want their products distributed along with their competitors’ in the same company. They also
preferred to supply via the distributor channel instead of directly to end-use manufacturers,”
explains André. The result was “exclusive” distribution agreements at that time.
The result was the formation of Allied
Electronic Components, Pace Electronics,
Electronic Building Elements (EBE) and
Fairmont Electronics in the 1970s. All four
were wholly owned Altech subsidiaries
but competed for business both inside and
outside of Altech.
Shortly before the STC acquisition, young
André joined STC. Fresh from having
completed his national service, he started in
the production control department.
“I’d always liked dealing with people, hence
I had thought about a career in human
resources,” he remembers. However, as a
production controller he had to deal with the
supply chain and soon became interested in
the products STC manufactured.
“I realised we sold those products and
thought that would be a nice job to do.”
A sales opportunity presented itself in
STC Components and André received the
necessary training. Armed with his newfound knowledge, he settled into an internal
sales engineer position in STC’s components
distribution operation that supplied products
to the local market.
That was the start of a sales career that
saw him promoted to product specialist for
interconnect technology, then external sales
engineer and finally sales manager for STC
Components over the next few years.
During that time Dr Venter had set about
changing STC from a British company into a
local one. “He surrounded himself with local
skills and appointed people who would make
significant contributions to the bigger group
for years to come,” says André. “Dr Venter
would quite often address the factory staff
and the way he communicated instilled a lot
of confidence for the future.” The company
was destined to be great.
André left STC Components and became
sales director for Pace Electronics, one of
Craig Venter joined Pace Electronics at about the same time André did. His general manager
position was his first senior appointment in the group. This marked the start of 27 years during
which the two men would work closely together.
When Craig was promoted to group executive of the component companies, André took over the
management of Pace and merged Pace and Multikomponent. Later, when Craig became CEO of
Altech, André stepped into the group executive role he vacated.
One of the most challenging, and rewarding, periods of André’s career was establishing Altech
Autopage Cellular with Craig.
When the cellular business started in South Africa, Altech had a company called Autopage
Paging in Autopage Holdings. It was the largest paging business in the country at the time.
Craig started Autopage Cellular in 1994 and pulled André in as CEO of Autopage Holdings to
help establish the new business. “Those were though times! People cancelled their paging
contracts to go to cellular and we had to balance the phasing out of paging with the phasing in
of cellular.”
I have always been proud to represent the
Altron group wherever I went and appreciate
the support I received from the Altron
management team over the years.
About three years later, André returned to the components business as group executive, just in
time to participate in the process that resulted in the joint venture and formation of AAD. “To
have been part of the initial team establishing the joint venture was another highlight in my
career.”
By the mid-1990s, when South Africa had returned to the international business fold, global
electronics distributors became interested in South Africa as an emerging market and wanted a
foothold in the country. In search of local market knowledge, customer relationships and skills,
they looked to enter into partnerships instead of starting greenfields operations.
One of the companies that approached Altron was Arrow Inc. André, who was then the group
executive for the components distribution division, went with Craig on a due diligence visit to
Arrow in the USA. Both returned convinced that it was an opportunity Altron should pursue.
The 50/50 joint venture was concluded and in December 1998 the four Altech companies
became Arrow Altech Distribution. The new company built offices in Jet Park, near OR Tambo
International Airport, and established a
4 000m2 warehouse there where inventory
is held for the local market.
The past 17 years have been good for
both JV partners. Backed by Arrow’s
status as one of the largest electronic
components companies in the world, AAD
holds a dominant local market share.
The relationship between the groups is
as strong as ever and in Arrow’s view, the
AAD joint venture is one of the best it has
entered into.
With his retirement only a few months
away, André looks forward to travelling a bit
more, spending more time in the bush and
improving his golf handicap.
“I have always been proud to represent
the Altron group wherever I went and
appreciate the support I received from the
Altron management team over the years.
I count myself privileged and fortunate
for the experiences I enjoyed, the people I
met and the many colleagues who became
friends, both locally and internationally. My
Altron journey was a great one and even
the tough times were good. I have a lot to
be thankful for and will leave with very fond
memories of my time at Altron.”
Successor to Andre
Mr Peter Griffiths has been appointed
as Managing Director of Arrow Altech
Distribution with effect from 1 June 2015.
Peter was formerly the General Manager
of Altech GDL, the digital decoder
support division of Altech UEC over the
past 11 years. Peter has a degree in
accounting sciences and an MBA. He is
currently studying towards his PhD.
AAD: the present and the future
Altron TMT enjoys management control
of AAD. The business reports into
Laurence Savage, Altron TMT’s chief
operating officer, and into its own board
that includes three representatives from
Arrow Inc.
AAD is one of the big four electronic
component distributors in South
Africa with a market share of around
30%. It represents some of world’s
leading component manufacturers and
supplies to the manufacturing sector
that produces end products for the
electronics industry.
In the Altron stable, its major customers
are Altech Netstar and Altech UEC.
“We work closely with original equipment
manufacturers (OEMs) and original
design manufacturers (ODMs) that do
design and development work,” explains
André. “We propose component solutions
via our FAE team, which is the demand
creation side of our business, and then
supply when the product is ready for
production.”
It sounds simple enough, until one
realises that AAD represents around
100 component companies across the
world that, together, supply millions
of products. The sales and technical
marketing teams therefore need to know
where to find information and how to
read specifications across technologies.
They have to understand pricing models
and be able to educate design engineers
about new tools and technologies that
are launched literally every week. And
don’t forget that these days customers
can buy almost anything they require
online.
How then, does the company remain
successful? The short answer is
consistent, exceptional service delivery,
specifically in terms of supply chain
management and on-time delivery.
Services such as forecasting and
stock management, along with design
support, enable customers to produce
at a competitive cost. AAD boasts 15
field application engineers and product
managers who provide technology
solutions to its broad customer base. As
a result of its consistent performance,
AAD has enjoyed strong relationships
with loyal customers for many years.
The company also does not try to
compete with the global online catalogue
distributors. While it is quick and easy
to buy small volumes at high prices
online, the value of a customer-centric
distributor increases as volumes do.
AAD’s own online portal is due to launch
during the third quarter of 2015 with
a focus on low-volume convenience
purchases for customers’ design and
pre-production requirements. “For us
online is another channel to market, not
a redesign of our business model,” says
André.
Looking towards the future, André
expresses mixed feelings. He is
concerned about the state of the local
manufacturing sector at present. The
industry has showed limited growth over
the past three years and faces increasing
international competition with little
support from government.
“It is great pity,” says André, “particularly
because manufacturing in South Africa is
extremely professional and competitive.
Despite not having the volumes and
economies of scale of their international
counterparts, the local companies are
competitively priced and deliver good
quality. The flexibility they provide is a
great advantage.”
He is, however, optimistic about the
many opportunities in the industry. “With
the right stimulation from government
to support the local manufacturing
sector, we can certainly look forward to a
sustainable industry in the medium and
long term,” he concludes.
Throw away your
paper and pens
Altech Card Solutions is known for the secure
switching services it provides to the banking
industry. MobileForms, however, is not a
banking-related solution at all. It is a tool that
eliminates the bane of paper forms, regardless
of the industry.
MobileForms is Altech Card Solutions’
latest product offering; one that is
sure to turn the business world on its
head as it brings the elusive paperless
office within reach.
Why then, is ACS one of only two South African
partners for this UK-developed solution?
The answer, says Derek Chaplin, Managing
Director of ACS, is the company’s trust
relationship with most of South Africa’s banks.
“eSAY, the company that developed the
MobileForms technology, specifically wanted
partners in Africa. They realised that the fact
that we already hosted banks’ data would
open doors for them into that highly regulated
sector. For us, MobileForms is a wonderful
opportunity to grow ACS both in terms of
establishing annuity income streams and
moving horizontally into new markets.”
Dr Moneeb Awan, Managing Director of eSAY,
confirms Derek’s assessment. “ACS is a
fabulous fit for us. It has a great pedigree, is
part of a listed company and is taking us into
a new vertical, namely banking. Without ACS
it would have been all but impossible for our
technology to break into the local banking
sector.”
A mere 18 months after ACS and eSAY signed
their partnership agreement, MobileForms
is already in various stages of the test and
implementation phases in three of South
Africa’s major banks.
However, despite ACS’ natural fit with the
industry, banks were not the first adopters of
MobileForms. While ACS was busy obtaining
the necessary approvals for MobileForms
from bodies such as the Financial Intelligence
Centre and Visa and MasterCard, Geoff
Evans, Executive Manager: MobileForms, was
exploring other markets. One of his targets
was the facilities management industry where
the solution is being warmly welcomed (see
sidebar).
“Facilities management is not an industry
ACS would previously have considered for its
services, but with MobileForms we now have a
product that is relevant to it,” says Geoff.
ACS’ early experience underlines Moneeb’s
assertion that there really is no answer to
the question of who MobileForms’ potential
customers are. “Our product is like email –
who was email’s market when it was launched?
All businesses that are plagued by paper are
our potential customers. There’s no paper form
that can’t be mobilised. That’s how big our
potential market is.”
ACS itself is becoming a customer. With its
repair centre processing 20 000 A4 pages a
month, the warehouse could easily drown
in paper. “We decided in 2011/12 that we
had to get rid of this paper,” says Derek.
“MobileForms arrived like manna from heaven
for us. As soon as we’ve completed the
integration into our ERP system, we’ll be doing
away with paper completely.”
This sense of relief is common when potential
customers are introduced to MobileForms.
It is also the reason why industries that are
traditionally slow to change, like banking and
law, are adopting the tool.
“This is disruptive technology,” says Moneeb.
“We are flipping the paper industry on its
head by removing the need for paper forms.
Companies recognise that innovation like this
helps to keep them ahead of the game. Faced
with disruptive technology, even the traditional
corporates realise that they have to move or
become irrelevant.”
“Customers understand the benefits as soon
as we start demonstrating the technology,”
adds Derek. “They want to get rid of their
paper and we are giving them the tools to
do that. Furthermore, with the help of eSAY,
MobileForms keeps evolving and developing
so that we can find solutions.” He cites the
example of a bank form that needs to be
signed by different people. Instead of printing
it out, eSAY has built in the ability for a PDF
document to be signed electronically as it
makes its way through the corporate levels.
Continuous innovation is a hallmark of
MobileForms. “We keep developing the product
further based on feedback from our partners
and their customers, and our own intuition,”
says Moneeb. “A recent development is the ability to incorporate video into forms. There’s never an
end point – we don’t know the destination. The product we launched in 2011 is nothing like what we
have today, and what we have today is nothing like what we’ll have five years from now.”
The history
eSAY launched WorkMobile – its UK brand – in 2010/11 as a purely self-serve tool available in the
cloud. It was aimed at small businesses that couldn’t afford the mobile solutions eSAY developed
for the corporate market.
“Pretty soon, however, big businesses came to us wanting us to use our own tools and build them
a turnkey solution,” says Moneeb. With two go-to-market channels established in the UK, eSAY
decided that partnerships with businesses in Africa and Asia would be its third channel.
UK Trade & Investment, a government department that works with UK-based businesses to ensure
their success in international markets, first introduced eSAY to Altech in 2012. Wessie van der
Westhuizen, then Chief Strategic Officer of Altech, put Moneeb in touch with Derek and Johan
Gellatly and exploratory talks started. In April 2013 the agreement that resulted in MobileForms
was signed.
“We were looking for partners that have deep relationships in their verticals,” says Moneeb. “ACS
with its financial services foothold fitted the bill perfectly. We are now at the tipping point with the
local industry: the banks have tested MobileForms and ACS has proven that it can provide the value
adding components.”
Adding value is the rationale behind eSAY’s partnership strategy. Customers’ relationships are
with the local supplier from whom they get their customised solutions and support. “We don’t sell
here,” says Moneeb. “People can buy the standard tool off our website but we give no local support
or value added services. If you want a deal, you need to come to the local partners. Which is why we
don’t sign up anyone and everyone – we only want quality local partnerships.”
In WorkMobile’s first three years, one million
forms were processed; in the next 18 months,
five million were processed.
How does MobileForms work?
Simply put, MobileForms allows the electronic capturing of information that is usually
provided on paper forms.
For example, when banks sign up new merchants, at least 30 pages of documentation
are involved, ranging from application forms to utility bills, company registration
documentation and copies of identity documents.
The sales rep collects all the papers and brings it into the office where the information
needs to be captured – provided that it is all there and correct. If not, the rep needs to go
back.
With MobileForms, the rep simply opens the app on his smartphone or tablet, selects the
appropriate form and completes it electronically. Information can be captured by taking
photographs, reading barcodes and scanning documents. Once all the fields have been
completed, the applicant’s electronic signature completes the process.
The rep submits the form and, as soon as he connects to the internet, it is sent to his office
where it can be processed immediately.
The time and cost savings, as well as customer service improvements, are self-evident.
Other benefits include field workers and reps being more connected to their teams and
productivity improvements. The properties that govern each of the fields prevent people
from making mistakes, enabling an unskilled person to deliver a skilled result.
looked like before and after our cleaners
had been in. We are saving money because
we no longer have to go back and redo work
unnecessarily.”
MobileForms furthermore creates an audit trail as each form is date stamped and can
include verifiable information such as GPS coordinates.
The time- and date-stamped forms can
furthermore be used as proof of the actions that
were taken in response to customers’ requests
or queries.
Last but not least, the collected data can be pushed into any backend system, from
spreadsheets to SAP, SharePoint or other ERP systems. It can also be shared with other
people in the form of PDFs.
From an implementation point of view, there is no capital expenditure. The MobileForms app
can work on any smart device and the service is subscription-based. The customer pays
a fixed fee per user, regardless of how often the forms are used or how many forms are
created.
“This very low barrier to entry was a conscious decision that’s worked well for us,” says
Moneeb. “It is easy for customers to make the leap and solve 80% of their problems in the
process.”
According to Geoff Evans, results can be immediate. “Certain clients that have adopted
MobileForms in their sales and/or technical divisions have increased their on-site reporting
efficiencies and customer service straightaway. In addition, the ‘green’ benefits of going
paperless and improved security of information give them a distinct advantage over their
competitors. As a result, they have become the preferred providers in their industries.”
LEgACy’s MOBILEfOrMs CLEAn-uP
Legacy Site Services is a facilities management company that specialises in contract cleaning.
Other services it provides include landscaping, pest control, hygiene and the management of
infrastructure such as plumbing and electricity.
In 2014, directors Barry and Lisa Brooks attended the Facilities Management Expo, looking
for a solution to their paper and workflow issues. There they met Geoff and were introduced to
MobileForms.
“We gave Geoff two of our paper forms and he converted them into the mobile format,” says
Barry. The MobileForms versions of their simple customer sign-off form and complex audit
document convinced the pair that their search was at an end.
Legacy started MobileForms trials in December last year and its first forms went live in March
2015. They encountered some resistance from people who preferred the old paper-based way
of doing things, but Barry and Lisa agree that MobileForms was quickly and easily adopted.
They also agree that parallel systems don’t work – it has to be either mobile or paper.
Legacy currently uses MobileForms for:
• Loggingcustomerrequestsattheir
helpdesk.
• Siteaudits.Bythetimetheclientsignsoff,
the audit score is already calculated.
• Customersign-offswhenajobis
completed.
• Stockorders.Sitesupervisorssimply
indicate the items they need on the stock
list and submit the form.
• Recruitment.WhenLegacyemployees
are asked about jobs, they capture the
interested person’s name, contact number
and address. The information is stored
in a database, which Legacy uses to find
people, especially for once-off jobs in
particular areas.
• HRmatters,suchasperformancereviews,
records of disciplinary conversations, wage
queries and personal detail changes.
• Bookkeeping.Whenadhocitemsare
bought, employees submit a picture of the
receipt for Finance to update the books.
• Training.Trainersrecordstrainees’
performance against a task list and
trainees sign that they have done the
training. “We can prove to our customers
that our staff have been trained,” says
Lisa. “We can also defend our cleaners
by proving that they follow the systems as
they’ve been trained to do.”
Next, Barry and Lisa want to use MobileForms
to develop a job allocation system and a
customer dashboard.
“MobileForms makes things much more efficient,” says Barry. “We used to battle to get the
paperwork in. I was one of the biggest culprits. Forms would sit in my car for weeks or end up
in the bin.”
These days, the payroll system is updated daily with time and attendance information and
because new employees are signed on online with a photograph of their identity document
included, Legacy is 100% sure of their right to work. People not getting paid due to incomplete
information is no longer a problem.
Keeping logbooks up to date is as easy as taking a picture of the vehicle dashboard at the start
and end of every day. Mileage anomalies can be dealt with immediately and services planned
properly.
The photographic evidence that can be included in inspection forms is a gift in this industry,
says Lisa. “Cleaning is a subjective matter. Our supervisors now take photos of what an area
APPOINTMENTS
nEw group
Appointments
andré swanepoel – operations manager: africa, EmEa, bytes systems integration
Africa is a strategic growth market for Altron TMT and André has been tasked to help
unlock the continent’s potential.
As Operations Manager for Africa, he has to establish operations across Africa through
the collaboration between local technical teams and existing Altron TMT resources,
such as Bytes Kenya that is already an HP, CISCO, NetApp, Oracle, Genesys, Alcatel and
Kronos partner. The aim is to give customers access to a holistic ICT offering, including
cloud (Azure, Google, AWS, Pamoja), hosted services, managed services, unified
communications, identity management, outsource models, CCTV, security and DR. The
support of the extensive Bytes network in Europe and Africa will assure customers of
quality service and superior technical knowledge.
In addition, André is working on putting in place a pan-African fibre network that includes
access to undersea cables all the way down the continent’s east and west coasts.
“This is an exciting time to develop a first class system integrator in Africa,” says André. “The entire world realises that the bulk of future business
growth opportunities is in Africa. This gives us a solid platform on which to build a business that will compete against the best in the world.”
André is an MBA graduate and holds diplomas in EDP and telemetry. His previous employers include Stortech and Workgroup.
In his free time, André is getting into 3D printing in between traveling to exotic destinations to fish and relax. When time allows, he also plays a
little golf.
shaun cochrane – divisional Executive: solution sales, bytes systems
integration
Drawing on his extensive experience in complex solution sales and the experience
he gained in the development of the cross-sell programme for Bytes and Altron
TMT, Shaun will execute BSI’s stated market strategy.
Instead of pushing product sales, BSI wants to first understand customers’
challenges and then deliver end-to-end technology solutions that enhance their
businesses. This approach counters the effects of product commoditisation and
allows BSI to benefit from every step in the sales process and every stage in the
lifecycle of a project or business process.
Shaun’s understanding of the Altron TMT operations will also help BSI to aggregate
group resources to win deals.
willem rossouw – divisional Executive: technology and strategy, bytes
systems integration
In his new position, Willem’s overarching goal is to lead BSI into the next phase of
its technology evolution.
The operation has aggressive expansion plans in a market where technologies
are changing at a rapid pace. In addition, international system integrators
are competing more aggressively in Africa and vendors across the globe are
consolidating. In response to these realities, BSI has recognised the need to review
its go-to-market plans along with its portfolio of technology products, services and
solutions, and to better align its operations.
This comprehensive task, and its practical implications, has now been handed to
Willem.
Having previously worked with Dr Willie Oosthuysen, Altron Group Executive:
Strategy and Technology, Willem is well equipped for his new role.
ALTECH RADIO HOLDINGS launches
cutting-edge hytera demo room
The partnership between Altech Radio Holdings (ARH) and Hytera, the Chinese
manufacturer of mobile radio communication equipment, has grown significantly
over the past 12 months. Since 2010, the two companies have been working
closely together to bring Hytera’s products to market in South Africa. The
resultant 156% growth in sales saw ARH being chosen as the exclusive local
distributor for Hytera’s digital products in 2014.
Against this backdrop, the recent launch of the Hytera demonstration room
at ARH’s head office in Woodmead, signalled that ties between the two
organisations had strengthened considerably.
One of ARH’s key strategic objectives is to cement its position as the leading
distributor of two-way radio solutions to the South African market. The
investment in the facility will go a long way to achieving this objective.
A large audience consisting mainly of ARH partners, dealers and resellers
attended the opening of the demonstration room in April. The state-of-the-art
facility is fully equipped with the latest Hytera products and showcases the full
range of portable two-way radio and mobile devices manufactured by Hytera in a
facility replete with live demonstration capabilities.
The demonstration room was designed with a dual purpose – to showcase the
latest products on offer, and as a Hytera training facility where various technical
and sales course are offered.
According to Brett Nash, Managing Director of ARH, Hytera’s products have
proven to be a hit amongst their dealers and valued partners due to their
superior design, unique features and competitive price.
Tim Ellis, Group Executive: Business Development at
Altron TMT, addresses attendees at the opening of the
Altech Radio Holdings’ Hytera demonstration facility.
The installation of the demonstration room, says Brett, will
not only expedite more opportunities for ARH’s dealers
and their customers to familiarise themselves with the
equipment, but the initiative will itself enhance the already
strong relationship between the two organisations.
Enjoying the new facility are, from left, Anthony
Beale, Owner: Communication Services;
Franco Stronach, Key Account Manager:
Altech Radio Holdings; and Mark Zheng,
Director: Hytera Southern Africa.
XErOX remains at
the forefront of printing
technology
If you still associate Xerox only with printing technology, you’re at least a decade
out of date. Xerox’s technologies can be found across many industries – in
healthcare, transportation, human resources, financial services and customer
care. The company employs 50 000 call centre agents to handle queries for
its clients in sectors as diverse as telecoms and retail, processes 950 million
medical claims a year and is helping governments and private companies to
analyse massive amounts of data to create more smart cities.
This was the message delivered by Dr Sophie
Vandebroek, Xerox’s Chief Technology Officer
and President of the Xerox Innovation Group,
on her recent visit to South Africa.
Sophie was in South Africa to visit Bytes
Documents Solutions, Xerox’s largest global
partner in its document technology business
and the authorised Xerox distributor in 26 subSaharan countries. She also led discussions
with BDS’ parent company Altron TMT to
explore more potential tie-ups, since Xerox has
If you are really an expert in your field you can push the
boundaries of the unknown and create whole new technologies.
many applications of interest to South African
customers.
“I’m here to strengthen the relationship
because in addition to Bytes Document
Solutions being a great partner, there is
more we can do, especially now that Xerox
has such a fantastic business in healthcare,
transportation, customer care and education
services,” she said.
Speaking to Bytes Document Solutions
executives, she said that Xerox’s novel
technologies include the function of a teacher
inserting a handwritten test from a pupil into a
multifunction printer, which then analyses the
results and provides feedback so advanced that
it can determine whether the affected child has
a weakness in arithmetic. These technologies
are making inroads in clinics and schools
today, having first been created and tested in
the Xerox Innovation Laboratories.
Sophie, in her dual role as CTO and President
of the Xerox Innovation Group, oversees the
innovation laboratories in the United States,
Canada, France and India together with
Xerox’s joint, research-focused venture with
Fuji in Japan. Much of the research focuses
on automation to enable processing work
at massive scale; and on analytical tools
and algorithms for big data to turn masses
of information into practical personalised
solutions.
“Our teams around the world always look
into the future,” she said. The Bangalore
lab has about 100 researchers, more than
half holding doctorate degrees in computer
analytics. Others specialise in machine
intelligence and some are physicians, since
the lab concentrates on healthcare as well as
transportation projects.
The company’s lab in Toronto focuses on
material science and chemistry, including
research into more environmentally friendly
Johan Basson, Chief Executive Officer of Bytes Document Solutions, with Dr Sophie Vandebroek,
Xerox’s Chief Technology Officer and President of the Xerox Innovation Group.
toners, inks and longer life components for
printing devices, as well as printed electronics.
Soon Xerox, in collaboration with its partner
ThinFilm, will introduce printed labels with
electronics embedded into them to create
smart labels.
Xerox’s research lab in France concentrates
on machine intelligence and data analytics for
many industry sectors. “The researchers are
using machine intelligence to create virtual
agents that are automated to do customer
care,” adds Sophie.
your field you can push the boundaries of the
unknown and create whole new technologies.”
During her visit, Sophie was asked how often
Xerox’s innovations failed. “I don’t call it
failure, I call it learning,” she said. “If you do
not fail once in a while you are not learning - if
you don’t push the boundaries you will never
know the possibilities. But you have to be very
agile. If something looks like it’s not going to
work you don’t keep investing in it. You keep
adjusting what you are working on.”
Sophie personally holds 14 US patents for her
breakthroughs in micro-electronics, but Xerox
and Fuji Xerox together register a staggering
30 patents every week.
“A patent is for something totally new that
didn’t exist before and that’s not easy to do,”
she said. “But if you are really an expert in
bytEs mauritius helps
inaugurate first ever Mauritian
private bank
when warwyck Private bank was established in Mauritius
in June 2014, it had nothing but a business plan and a newly
appointed chairman, saleem beebeejaun. fast forward to
2015: in April the organisation received a private banking
licence and, having gathered an experienced executive
team to manage its portfolio offering including wealth
management, treasury and private banking, was about to
launch from scratch.
The project required considerable experience
and the broad scope of the project
management entailed the identification of
premises, recruitment of staff and setting
up Warwyck’s IT infrastructure. It was at this
point that Saleem, together with his board,
took the decision to work with partners that
had a successful track record for meeting
stringent quality standards, and could deliver
on major banking projects in record time with
flawless execution.
Bytes Mauritius had the products and
services offering, technical skills and
specialised services required and was chosen
based on its track record and suitability
to carry out the project. Bytes Technology
Group is recognised throughout Africa as a
leading service provider in the Information
and Communications Technology (ICT) sector
and so Irshad Mallam-Hassam, the General
Manager of Bytes Mauritius, was enlisted to
deliver on the needs of the bank.
“Those were exciting and challenging times
where the quality of one’s partner is crucial.
We didn’t have the time or luxury to make a
mistake and change to another partner based
Paul Orian, CEO: Warwyck Private Bank, and
Irshad Mallam-Hassam, General Manager: Bytes Mauritius.
on poor execution. We had to get it right the
first time,” says Saleem.
“Trust and professionalism are the
cornerstones of our relationships and we
knew that Bytes had the level of expertise
and commitment that we could expect from a
partner in such a situation,” he adds.
The challenges associated with a project
of this magnitude are well known and
vast. From systems infrastructure, cabling
and wiring, to network installations and
monitoring followed by suitable hardware
installations and maintenance, Bytes
Mauritius could deliver on all fronts using
its own extensive network of operations and
resources.
“Bytes played its part in ensuring a smooth
IT set-up and integration when we started
the project in 2014. The company delivered
on time and on budget and Bytes is definitely
a strategic partner to the bank,” adds Paul
Orian, CEO of Warwyck.
Reliability and performance were the
cornerstones of the IT set-up. Bytes
Mauritius oversaw the preliminary design
stage which was then validated with the
IT team of Warwyck Bank’s head office
in Geneva, Switzerland. The systems
implemented were a mix of IBM Power series
servers running on an Oracle / AIX platform
with high availability fibre SAN together with
high performance HP servers running a large
number of virtual machines under VMware.
“Everything runs in a clustered mode and
redundancy is inherent to the system. We
needed to set everything up in record time
and had to have everything running on the
first attempt,’ says Pravesh Bhunooa, System
Engineer at Bytes Mauritius.
The job was successfully completed within
the originally specified timeframe and
Warwyck now operates effectively thanks to
the dedicated efforts of Irshad and his team
at Bytes Mauritius.
arrow altEch distribution
bids farewell to alistair oag
After more than nine years of dedicated
service, Alistair Oag will be retiring from
the board of Arrow Altech distribution.
during his time as a board member,
Alistair’s vast experience greatly impacted
the continued success, both operationally
and strategically, of the organisation.
Arrow Altech Distribution has been a
positive contributor to Altron TMT since its
incorporation in 1998. The company’s global
partner, Arrow Inc. is one of the world’s largest
New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) listed
electronics and computer products distribution
giants and Alistair has proved to be a crucial
link between the European and American head
offices and the South African operation.
As a fellow of the Institute of Chartered
Accountants (UK), Alistair worked for the
past 20 years at Arrow Electronics in the UK
in various executive roles, including Finance
Director, Managing Director and Strategy and
Business Development Vice President. These
roles have included extensive experience
in mergers and acquisitions, change
management and information technology
projects.
During his time on the board, Arrow Altech
Distribution experienced growth and
profitability. Since 1999, a year after the
organisation was created to accommodate
the four Altech distribution companies at that
time, namely Allied Electronic Components,
Electronic Building Elements, Fairmont
Electronics and Pace Electronic Components,
the company has grown its market share
from approximately 25% to 30%. In view of
the extremely competitive environment in
which the company operates, this represents
impressive growth.
Alistair’s valuable insights and contributions
have been widely appreciated during his
tenure.
KNOW YOUR GROUP
byTEs sysTEMs InTEgrATIOn
workforcE managEmEnt division
In the last edition of Let’s Talk TMT, our first quarterly profile of the different
businesses within Altron TMT featured Altech nuPay and Altech uEC. In this
edition, we focus on bytes systems Integration (bytes sI), specifically the
workforce Management division, which is an integral part of the bytes sI
operation.
WHO IS BYTES SI?
and CCTV, as well as building management
According to David Hunter, Divisional
Bytes SI is a division of Altron TMT and
is strategically positioned within the
Telecommunications vertical of the Group.
The company is led by Managing Director, Rob
Griggs, and its offerings include the design,
implementation and operational management
of customised ICT infrastructural services
and solutions through the integration of
hardware and software systems from global
technology leaders.
systems. The division operates within
Managing Director at WMD, Kronos responds
diverse vertical markets and delivers
to dynamic markets and customer demands
sustainable value to its customers through
through automated solutions that are
its commitment to product innovation,
centralised, integrated, configurable and
customer-centric solution orientation and a
proven. Kronos solutions are modular in
customised ROI-focused approach.
design and enable businesses to save costs,
WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT DIVISION – AN
OVERVIEW
Bytes SI’s Workforce Management Division
is a leading solutions provider in the areas
of workforce management solutions and
connected physical security solutions
encompassing biometric access control
increase productivity levels and minimise
Workforce management solutions have
become an important strategic element in
corporate management of all personnelintensive industries. This is why the
Workforce Management Division (WMD)
partnered with Kronos, a global leader in
workforce management solutions, to ensure
that its customers benefit from optimising
their complete workforce lifecycle with key
insights into how they are performing in realtime.
compliance risk via modules such as absence
management, scheduling, forecasting,
activities and analytics. Customers of the
division have saved significant amounts of
money through correct time management
of employees, monitoring and controlling
deviations from staff scheduling and
forecasting, as well as through controlling
absenteeism which costs South Africa on
average between R12 billion and R16 billion
per year.
OvErvIEw And hIsTOry Of COnnECTEd
PhysICAL sECurITy sOLuTIOns And
buILdIng MAnAgEMEnT:
As a leading installer of biometric access
control systems in South Africa, Bytes
SI’s Workforce Management Division
provides cutting-edge technology solutions
that enhance the value added offering to
customers.
Depending on the customers’ requirements,
the Workforce Management Division
propose highly advanced and intelligent
CCTV systems that can be used either as
standalone installations or be integrated
into sophisticated online systems. The key
priority, states David, is that the integrated
solutions WMD propose are sustainable
and customer-centric. The true value for
the client is achieved by ensuring synergy
optimisation between many elements,
ranging from image capture, through
streaming to storage and beyond.
KEy fACTs And MILEsTOnEs Of wOrKfOrCE MAnAgEMEnT sOLuTIOns:
• TheWorkforceManagementDivisionholdsexclusivedistributionrightsofKronos
products in Africa.
• 75%ofcustomersadoptingKronosachieveanROIabove250%.
• Kronoscustomerssavebetween2,5%and7,5%ontheirwagebill.
• Morethan30millionpeopleglobally,madeupof20000customersacross100
countries (half of which are Fortune 1000 companies), use Kronos solutions daily.
• InSouthAfricaclosetoonemillionpeopleclockinonKronosdailyandsomeofthe
biggest customers across diverse industries include:
Healthcare: Clinix, Ethekwini, Lenmed, Life Health, Mediclinic, Medicross and
Netcare.
Retail & Hospitality: Dischem, Edcon, Hilton Hotels, Mr Price, Pick ‘n Pay, Spar
and Sun International.
Manufacturing: Coca-Cola Sabco, Illovo, Liebherr, Macsteel, Nampak, Nestle,
Pepsico and Simba.
Construction: Al Naboodah, Basil Read Group and Group 5.
Motoring: Scania and Volvo.
A building management system (BMS) is
installed in a building to control and monitor
its mechanical and electrical equipment.
Systems linked to BMS typically represent
40% of a building’s energy usage although
this may escalate to 70% if lighting is
included. BMS is a critical component to
manage energy demand. For example,
the BMS installation at the Bytes Midrand
Campus, resulted in a saving of R12 million
over a 12-month period.
Changing the
skills
training
game
The current ICT skills shortage is
a global issue, particularly when it
comes to high-end technical abilities.
In light of this, organisations are
beginning to take matters into
their own hands and implementing
programmes to upskill their
employees.
Although there are significant dividends
to be had in boosting such skills, training
staff in technical skills is expensive and
time consuming.
Skills training at a specialist level
is costly, and it tends to serve a
small pool as companies only need
a handful of people well versed in a
particular technology, so there are
fewer economies of scale to help drive
down high training fees. These fees
are indicative of the craft, since highly
capable professionals are required to
teach the skills. In addition, there is the
requirement to travel to the training
facility – while some staff may only have
a short commute to a training institution,
it is not practical if a company’s human
capital is spread across the country,
continent or even the world. This brings
its own challenges in terms of time and
productivity.
Three years ago Bytes People Solutions
embarked on a journey to find a possible
solution to this conundrum and has
pioneered a novel approach that changes
the quest for certification completely.
According to Bytes People Solutions
Managing Director, Dr Madelise Grobler,
the challenges were clear. “How can you
train advanced IT skills like Oracle or
VMware effectively while keeping costs
low, yet without compromising quality?
This required more than putting an
expert and his or her students in front of
web cameras. It had to be honed around
the technology, the abilities of companies
seeking training and the criteria for
international certification,” she said.
Could it work if modern online
communication was combined with
effective skills training? Even though
both video conferencing and online
learning have matured significantly, it
was still a tricky proposition and took a
year-long pilot phase and two more years
in the market before the company was
happy with the model it had developed.
The result is a global real-time offering
that is changing the traditional ICT
learning landscape. Currently, the
solution is provided from training
facilities in Johannesburg, Cape Town
and Durban. Students meet at these
locations and are trained in real-time by
a qualified professional. The costs are
lower because this allows for critical
mass to be reached.
“Cost is not the only factor. With this
approach companies cut down the time
used for training. Individuals certify in
much shorter periods of time and the
model allows for regular courses to be
held, so new training opportunities arrive
more often than before,” says Pieter Nel,
Business Unit Executive, ICT Specialist
Business Unit at Bytes People Solutions.
With the pilot having been successfully
concluded locally, the new training
services are being expanded abroad
to the UK, with additional plans to
offer them throughout Africa. A cloud
deployable solution is also in the
pipeline, which will allow trainees to
participate from just about anywhere.
“Customers of ours using this service
are seeing great results, which is why we
want to expand its reach. What was an
inspired experiment has become a real
game changer. At Bytes People Solutions
we don’t like to call this virtual training.
It is real-time training in every sense
of the word and expands the training
prospects for companies by incredible
strides. Using proven conferencing
and collaboration technologies, this
is as good as sitting with the trainer,”
Madelise adds.
PEOPLE SOLUTIONS
from the MICT Seta at their graduation in
November 2015.
According to Alwyn Van Der Linde, Business
Unit Executive of the Career Campus, a
division of Bytes People Solutions, this
initiative is a positive step in empowering
young South Africans who don’t have the
benefit of tertiary education.
This will be our seventh
rural skills development
project for this financial
year supporting 180 people,
including 147 women.
Changing
people’s lives daily
According to a recent Adcorp survey,
there are currently more than 800 000
vacancies for highly skilled workers
across a variety of occupations
in South Africa. The same survey
found an increase in the number of
unemployed people to 6.2 million.
With this in mind, a new programme
launched by Bytes People Solutions to
assist with skills development in the North
West province’s Bojanala Platinum District
Municipality, is a welcome initiative. In
partnership with the Department of Labour
in Brits and Orbit FET College in Rustenburg
(including the local municipality), Bytes
People Solutions has created an opportunity
for 49 young, previously disadvantaged
individuals from the local communities
surrounding Brits, to embark on an NQF
Level 3 End User Computing qualification.
The qualification exposes the students to
business concepts, various soft skills and
computer skills which they may never have
had the opportunity to learn. Successful
students receive a national certificate
“Bytes People Solutions’ Career Campus
focuses on investing in South Africa’s
unemployed youth through upskilling and
training. The Career Campus takes a holistic
approach to skills training and has the
expertise to prepare and equip individuals for
the world of work. As responsible corporate
citizens we assist young people with skills
development opportunities and improve their
work readiness.”
The qualification provides a balanced
learning experience that lays the foundation
for access to further education and
employment. Through the learnership the
students gain the life skills required to
function as independent and productive
employees in the business world.
Other past initiatives implemented by the
Career Campus have produced excellent
results. In Harrismith, 20 learners recently
completed a one-year End User Computing
programme while 30 learners in Cornelia,
and 55 learners in Parys and Vredefort
completed a Technical Support NQF level 4
learnership programme.
The Career Campus business unit lives up to
its slogan: Changing lives daily!
PEOPLE SOLUTIONS
The Bill Venter Academy’s
top performer:
Jesse Pillay – Altech Multimedia
Jesse Pillay Named Overall Winner
When the Bill Venter Academy,
previously named the Altech
Academy, was established in 2007, it
was founded on the premise that by
empowering employees to further
their education and broaden their
respective skillsets, the organisation
itself and not just the students, would
experience tangible benefits.
What has surpassed expectations, however,
is that the recommendations put forward by
students tasked with examining issues within
their own organisations as part of the practical
aspect of their studies, would be implemented
at operational level with subsequent benefits.
This is exactly what happened in the case of
Altech Multimedia Project Accountant, Jesse
Pillay. His project, called ‘Integrated Logistics
Management – application of lean thinking and
operational excellence in the capital expenditure
request process at Altech Multimedia’, called for
specific measures to be implemented in order
to streamline the processing of requisitions.
Jesse enrolled for a project management
course through the Academy. The course
consisted of a theoretical component that
required the attendance of lectures and
completion of assignments, and a practical
component that required him to assess an
operational process at Altech Multimedia and
use the knowledge gained from the course
to make recommendations in terms of where
efficiencies could be gained.
As a result of his studies and intimate
knowledge of the financial and procurement
processes at Altech Multimedia, having been
employed at the company since 2007, Jesse was
able to identify cost-saving opportunities in the
procurement process.
The primary objective of the research project
was to identify the bottleneck in the capex
procurement process at Altech Multimedia,
critically evaluate the problem and re-engineer
Jesse Pillay was announced as the overall
winner at the Bill Venter Academy’s
Student of the Year awards in November
2014 and formally graduated at the
recent recognition ceremony with a
status Certificate in Project Management,
completed through the Da Vinci Institute.
Jesse Pillay.
the process to achieve the desired results.
Jesse noted that the capex requisition process
at the time consisted of sign-offs from up to 10
different people within the organisation, often
resulting in a seven to nine day turnaround time
to place an order. He noted that the freight costs
implication of these delays was sometimes
20 times that of the original cost if the delays
subsequently resulted in emergency air
freighting of the required stock.
The implementation of Jesse’s
recommendations after approval by his
managers at Altech Multimedia can result in
a quicker time to market for certain Altech
Multimedia products, increased productivity and
increased profitability through higher turnover
by decreasing costs.
“Apart from the benefits to the organisation that
have come as a result of my recommendations
Jesse was named the winner for his post
module assignment titled: ‘Integrated
Logistics Management – Application of
lean thinking and operational excellence
in the capital expenditure request process
at Altech Multimedia’. Jesse received
the award after a strict adjudication
process which included a presentation of
his findings before a formidable judging
panel that consisted of Dr Madelise
Grobler (Director of Studies: Bill Venter
Academy/Managing Director: Bytes People
Solutions), Dr Anton Verwey (Director:
InavitIQ Consulting, and member of the
Bill Venter Academy Board); Dr Willie
Oosthuysen (Altron Group Executive:
Strategy & Technology), Mauritz
Oberholzer (Executive Consultant: Bytes
People Solutions) and Dr Pieter van der
Walt (Altron Group Manager: Information
Integration).
His recommendations were then approved
and implemented by the management of
Altech Multimedia.
Jesse received a cheque for R4 000
together with a floating trophy which he
will retain for a year.
being implemented, I have benefited immensely
on a personal level from having been
afforded the opportunity to study the project
management course,” Jesse says.
“It is really gratifying to be able to make a
contribution above and beyond one’s ordinary
daily tasks and to add value on a practical level.
Ultimately, if every individual in the organisation
performs, the company will perform,”
he adds.
a big ALTrOn TMT thank you
altron tmt siyabonga awards winnErs march 2015 - may 2015
The Altron TMT Siyabonga Awards are presented to employees within the Altron TMT Group to acknowledge dedication, delivery above and beyond
the call of duty, and consistent, professional conduct for others to aspire to. These employees champion the Altron TMT 5+1 Values in their
professional conduct and lead by example.
The individuals that Altron TMT would like to honour and thank for their exceptional dedication and service in fulfilment of these values are:
march 2015
rEnato martins: kEy account managEr – arrow altEch distribution (aad)
Renato has consistently performed above expectations by achieving his monthly budget and exceeding his annual target by 20%. He is the single
biggest contributor to AAD’s sales.
Renato expects the best of himself and his colleagues, and sets the performance and innovation benchmark for the Arrow Altech Distribution sales
team. He is meticulous in his execution, earning him the highest regard from his customers, with whom he maintains excellent relationships.
Renato does not restrict his contribution to his customer portfolio but
participates enthusiastically in various initiatives to increase AAD’s
presence in the market place. For example, he recently managed the
design manufacture of the Cherry Blossom development tool and as
a member of the AAD Innovation Team he contributed significantly to
the design of the portal trading initiative. Renato also successfully
manages AAD’s automatic customer stock replenishment system.
As a team player with an enthusiastic personality, Renato is truly a
valuable asset to the team at Arrow Altech Distribution and Altron TMT,
and a worthy member of the Altron YPC.
It gives us great pleasure to present the Altron TMT Siyabonga Award
for March 2015 to Renato Martins for displaying the Altron TMT
Innovation value.
Renato Martins receives his award from
Laurence Savage, Chief Operating Officer: Altech.
april 2015
friEda potgiEtEr: procurEmEnt officEr – altEch nEtstar
Frieda manages the Altech Netstar procurement function that supplies
office consumables for Midrand and the nine branches. In addition, she
procures all stationery and manages courier services on a national basis.
She also takes full responsibility for health and safety as the Section
16.8 appointed delegate, a portfolio that includes managing the security
guards and access control and video surveillance systems, and dealing
with security breaches at the Midrand premises.
Building and office maintenance, where she deals daily with the
escalation of snags, broken doors or chairs, lost keys and malfunctioning
air conditioners, to name but a few, contributes to her workload. The
weekly testing of the generator, and making sure that it always has
enough fuel, is also Frieda’s responsibility.
Frieda Potgieter receives her award from
As if she did not have enough to keep her occupied, Frieda managed the
Altech Netstar Mega Contact Centre construction project. The scope
of work entailed moving 160 people from all over the business into one
newly developed contact centre area. More demanding, however, was the
challenge of juggling employees and construction crews.
In the first phase, the office of the MD and the HR, Training and
Installation Planning departments had to vacate their current locations so that construction could start. Frieda effortlessly orchestrated the various
stages into a smoothly running process. Thanks to her hands-on involvement, not even stolen fire cables or the late arrival of service providers
derailed the project.
Frieda’s impressive project management skills ensured a smooth transition not only for the 160 people who moved into the new contact centre, but
also the other 43 who had to be moved around two or three times. And throughout this process, she never neglected any of her other duties.
We are proud to award the Altron TMT Siyabonga Award for April 2015 to Frieda for her commitment, hard work and being a true champion of the
Altron TMT 5+1 Values in demonstrating Accountability through Results & Achievement.
may 2015
roland loosEr, tEchnical managEr ip dEv for bytEs univErsal systEms
During his long career with Bytes, Roland has become the complete
go-to person due to his in-depth knowledge of the various technical
environments in which Bytes Universal Systems operates.
Roland understands the customer is king and has the remarkable
ability to know where his focus is most needed and will have the biggest
impact. He is equally willing and able to help clients resolve technical
issues on their ERP systems as he is to support his colleagues with
internal challenges.
He is very good at meeting project deadlines, even when changing
business requirements demand extra effort to ensure delivery. This is
the foundation on which his professional relationships are built and the
reason why his customers have complete faith in him.
Roland Looser receives his award from
Roland is an exemplary team player, giving his full cooperation to
colleagues in sales, services and development. His own team consists
of four members whose empowerment and development are priorities
for Roland. He makes a point of keeping abreast of technology
developments and is always happy to share his insights with others.
CErtIfIED tO prOtECt:
altech card solutions safeguards
its customers against fraud
Alarming statistics released recently by the
South African Banking Risk Information
Centre (SABRIC) indicate that credit card
fraud is on the rise locally, resulting in
losses to the banking sector of R454 million
in 2014 alone. Some of this fraud is as a
result of increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks. According to Verizon, a global leader
in wireless telecommunications, many
criminals still rely on techniques such as
phishing and hacking to steal and utilise the
personal information of cardholders.
Recognising the danger that fraud brings to
its customers, Altech Card Solutions (ACS)
has proactively embarked on renewing its PCI
DSS V3 certification in an effort to position
the company at the forefront of card fraud
prevention.
According to Attie van der Linde, General
Manager: Integrated Transaction Solutions
at ACS, it has become an operational and
strategic imperative to invest in becoming
PCI DSS certified in order to protect its
customers’ cardholders against fraud.
WhAt IS pCI DSS?
“Our foremost priority is to protect the sensitive
payment card information of the cardholders
by equipping ACS’ systems with the correct
software to safeguard against vulnerabilities
such as malware or spyware,” says Attie.
To gain certification, ACS was required to
undertake specific measures such as:
• E
nsuringthenetworksusedinthe
production and processing of card
transactions are protected with reputable
firewalls.
• E
ncryptionofcardholderinformation,
including sensitive personal data such as a
user’s name, address, phone number and
date of birth.
• R
estrictingandmonitoringaccesstothe
system internally.
• I nstitutingaformalITsecuritypolicythat
is revised and circulated amongst all
employees to ensure compliance.
“Receiving the certification demonstrates that
we embrace compliance. Our customers can
trust us with the sensitive information and trust
means our customers have confidence in doing
business with us,” says Attie.
The Payment Card Industry Data Security
Standard (PCI DSS) certification is a
protective measure to optimise the security
of credit and debit card transactions and
protect cardholders against the misuse and
abuse of personal information.
The PCI Security Standards Council was
launched in 2006 by the five founding global
payment brands: American Express, Discover
Financial Services, JCB International,
MasterCard and Visa Inc. Certification is
a requirement for all payment solutions
providers.
As one of South Africa’s leading providers
of payment accepting terminals, card
personalisation and financial transaction
services, ACS has supplied payment
terminals to the banking and retail industries
since 1993. It undertakes regular internal
policy and procedure audits to ensure the
company is able to mitigate the level of fraud
attempted against its customers.
Derek Chaplin, Managing Director: Altech Card
Solutions; Attie van der Linde, General Manager:
Integrated Transaction Solutions at Altech Card
Solutions; and Keith Wrede, Deputy Managing
Director: Altech Card Solutions.
of allowing employees to upskill themselves
in the workplace, without the challenges
associated with part-time, after hours
studies. The platform fulfils a dual purpose –
it places continued education at the forefront
of an organisation’s growth strategy and also
promotes the element of convenience for
employees through e-learning.
BytES pEOplE SOlutIOnS’
onlinE portal
Unfortunately, employees today find it difficult
to find the time to attend training due to work
pressure, family responsibilities or other
challenges such as the distance required
to travel to where the physical classes are
presented.
The development of employees is
a powerful tool in ensuring talent
retention within an organisation,
and also produces engaged and
committed employees, which in
turn leads to happy customers
and ultimately excellent business
performance.
In order for an organisation to achieve the
successful development of its employees, a
formal talent and performance management
process should be followed, culminating in
a personal development plan (PDP) for each
employee. Experience shows that in most
cases, a PDP is made up of traditional, class
room-based or instructor-led training. This
is even more true when management and
leadership programmes form part of the
employee’s career path development.
To this end, Bytes People Solutions believes
that employees and human resource officers
should consider a wider variety of course
delivery offerings, including e-learning
courses, to form part of a blended portfolio
of learning interventions for the individual’s
learning or career path.
Bytes People Solutions’ online learning
portal allows for a client to encourage
growth and development for its employees
in the workplace through e-learning
courses. There are no exorbitant tuition
costs, and candidates are able to receive
certified training. Long gone are the days
where e-learning focused only on simple
learning interventions – today, high quality
management and leadership development
programmes are available through online
delivery.
According to Madeleine van Tonder,
Business Unit Executive for Online Learning
Technologies at Bytes People Solutions,
the portal is reflective of many industries’
call for legislated, continual, professional
development and facilitates a hassle-free way
Bytes People Solutions piloted the portal
internally in late 2013 when it gave 50
employees the opportunity to complete a
variety of course modules, including subjects
such as introduction to sales, developing the
capacity to think strategically, understanding
a manager’s role, communicating with
confidence, and recognising and responding
to conflict. The pilot was so successful, says
Madelise Grobler, Managing Director at
Bytes People Solutions, that the organisation
decided to market it externally to its
customers.
As a more cost and time effective option,
e-learning through the online portal has
much to offer new managers that are looking
to prepare themselves for their role and
in this respect, one of the management
courses offered is the Online Leadership and
Management Programme for Developing
Managers. This course is pitched at
managers with little spare time to study,
but for whom a recognised certification is
important. The flexibility provided by an
online course means that the manager can
learn at his or her own pace, anywhere and at
any time through the Bytes People Solutions
online portal, which can be accessed
remotely.
Another example is the Foundation
Programme for Developing Managers. This
course consists of approximately 20 hours of
online learning comprising of six modules –
developing performance, leadership skills,
managing change, team development,
business skills and coaching.
It is a fact that businesses that embrace
technology, specifically with regard to
internal training and development, will gain
efficiencies and arguably a more skilled
workforce. Bytes People Solutions’ online
portal allows employees to advance their
career paths and empower themselves to
deal with the challenges they encounter on a
day-to-day basis.
PEOPLE SOLUTIONS
AltECh
flEEtCAll
lEads thE
way in digital
rollout
As the digitisation of radio networks globally
gains momentum, Altech Fleetcall has
consolidated its position as South Africa’s
leading two-way radio trunking network
operator by completing the first phase of its
digital mobile radio (DMR) network rollout in
Gauteng.
The initial portion of the updated network
provides DMR coverage throughout the
province, from Vereeniging in the south
to Rustenburg in the west and from
Hammanskraal in the north to Devon in the
east. The new network will greatly benefit
Altech Fleetcall customers through increased
accessibility, clarity of coverage and expanded
reach relative to existing analogue networks.
Some of the other key benefits that the new
technology will bring to customers include
more efficient use of spectrum, added
network capacity, improved voice and data
quality and functionality.
According to Brett Nash, Managing Director
of Altech Radio Holdings, the activation of the
digital network is the culmination of a project
that began in mid-2014.
Together with Hytera, Altech Fleetcall’s key
network and terminal hardware partner,
the company began the modernisation of
its analogue network last year in order to
offer its customers both digital and analogue
services and to further address all their
communication requirements.
“Altech Fleetcall took the strategic decision
to deploy the latest Tier 3 digital radio
network system using Hytera’s infrastructure
to provide an overlay on our existing analogue
network,” Brett says.
“We are looking forward to the new
opportunities that this technology will bring
in addition to providing our customers with
an enhanced telecommunications service,”
he adds.
HARD WORK AND EFFORT
Vast time and preparation went into the
conception, development and execution of
the project. Extensive network planning,
support and maintenance was required to
ensure a smooth and successful migration
of the analogue only network to one that
supports both analogue and digital mobile
and portable radio devices.
Altech Fleetcall is preparing for phase two of
the DMR rollout plan. The next phase will see
up of 50 sites within the next six months go
live across Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, and the
Western Cape.
tEEIng up FOR A
GOOD CAUSE
The annual Altech nuPay Charity golf
day moved to a new venue this year
with the blue valley golf and Country
Club playing host to 116 eager golfers
on 12 May.
The event continues to be one of the highlights
on the Altech NuPay calendar as many loyal
customers once again attended to show their
commitment to supporting local charities.
This year’s event drew a record number
of sponsorships with some prizes being
auctioned off (with the proceeds going to the
elected charity) and other prizes awarded to
winning golfers.
Altech NuPay again supported the Abraham
Kriel Childcare Centre, Alberton SPCA and
the South African Guide Dog Association.
Altech NuPay has been involved with all three
charities for a number of years, in particular,
the Abraham Kriel Childcare Centre.
The Altech NuPay
Managing Director,
Derek Chaplin, shows
his skill on the course.
The striking Altech NuPay branding could be
seen all around the course.
Golfers had the privilege of meeting Lerato
Moshadi, one of the success stories of the
centre, who shared how she and her twin
sister were abandoned by their mother and
after living on the streets for some time,
ended up at the childcare centre. During
her time at the centre, Lerato finished
school, completed her tertiary studies and
is now a director at one of the country’s
premier advertising agencies. Hers was a
truly inspiring story.
Making a difference in the community
has always been a passion and priority for
Altech NuPay. With the continued support
the company has received over the past 12
years, Altech NuPay has been able to make
a sustainable difference in the lives of the
more than 600 children currently living at
the Abraham Kriel Childcare Centre. It also
continues to assist the Alberton SPCA in
its fight against animal cruelty and provide
monetary support for the training of guide
dogs to assist those who do not have the
benefit of sight.
Lerato Moshadi shares her story with attendees
at the prize-giving dinner.
Through the participation and contribution of
generous sponsors, Altech NuPay raised over
R200 000.
alTeCH neTsTar
PULLS OUT ALL
THE STOPS TO EnSurE
CuStOmEr SAtISfACtIOn
Altech netstar has recently
introduced a number of new initiatives
to bolster customer service levels.
This is part of a move away from an
organisation focused on stringent
quality and results, towards one
that also prioritises empathy for its
customers.
To this end, one of the customer relationship
management elements that has been
introduced is a mini call centre in the debtors
department, where staff are specially trained
to deal with financially distressed subscribers
in a sensitive manner. In these difficult
economic times, many of the complaints
addressed by Altech Netstar have been from
subscribers struggling financially who lodged
often baseless complaints in an attempt to
avoid paying their subscriptions. Now the
team members at this mini call centre can
assist in working out payment terms that are
reasonable for all involved.
On a larger scale, a mega, 160-seater call
centre has also been established. The
assistance of Bytes People Solutions was
enlisted to ensure that the agents are multiskilled, meaning that they are better able to
handle a wide variety of customer concerns.
Bytes Systems Integration provided support
in implementing the Genesys telephone
management system in the call centre. This
system allows for the individual performance
of each agent to be monitored so that any
areas of concern can be identified and resolved
quickly. Three of the most highly skilled agents
operate the hotline to the MD’s desk, where
escalated complaints are resolved and any
Hellopeter.com reports dealt with swiftly.
The mega call centre includes Customer
Service, Emergency Control Room
(operations), Retentions, Dispatch, Planning,
and the Altech Netstar traffic desk. The
holistic vision is to ensure that by streamlining
bottlenecks in the various operations, Altech
Netstar enhances the customer’s experience
through faster service delivery. In addition, two
designated customer focus rooms are used for
walk-in customers. Having facilities to interact
with subscribers strengthens the rapport
built with them during previous telephonic
interactions. The company’s focus on service
delivery through these channels provides
a competitive advantage whilst creating an
awareness of the customers’ needs and
expectations.
The set-up of this mega
call centre not only ensures
that customer service levels
improve, it also creates a
favourable environment for
the staff to interact on a more
personal level with each
other. The work space gives
team members easy access
to a built-in kitchen area and
rest rooms and the vibrant
colours in the environment
foster an ambience of high
productivity. Consultants are
able to view live statistics
displayed on wall mount
displays which motivate them to constantly
strive to achieve better results. Supervisors’
podiums have been elevated thereby allowing
a bird’s eye view of the teams, as well as the
ability to quickly render assistance where
necessary. The availability of team managers
in the environment, including specialists such
as Quality Assurance, Workforce Planning and
Client Liaison Officer to the MD, is key to the
mega call centre as they provide support and
encourage compliance.
For subscribers who prefer not to deal with
a call centre, an online customer portal has
been created. This portal provides a facility to
conduct certain transactions online, such as
updating personal details and requesting unit
tests.
platform, MobiTech, is the perfect solution.
MobiTech will dispatch a technician to the
customer and provide him or her with the
technician’s estimated time of arrival. This
facilitates the creation of accurate service
expectations as the customer is aware of when
their concern will be dealt with. MobiTech also
measures technician productivity so that the
strict ISO standards Altech Netstar has put in
place are not only maintained but exceeded.
These initiatives have all been implemented
over a four-month period of stringent
customer care control, and they are certainly
paying off. Although complaint levels have
never been particularly high, with two or
three escalated complaints each month out
of a base of 600 000 vehicles, Altech Netstar
MD, Harry Louw, says that they have noticed
a positive improvement. The call centre is
consistently achieving 100% service levels,
with 90% of calls answered within 10 seconds.
These successes notwithstanding, Altech
Netstar remains committed to finding even
more innovative ways to improve customer
service as the customer is the number one
priority of the business.
The Customer 4 Life product has also been
introduced, which offers a lifetime warranty
on Altech Netstar devices, so should a device
develop a fault, it will be replaced at no charge
to the customer.
With respect to customers who require
assistance with a device, the newly
implemented automated mobile technician
It’s all coming
together, online
When last were you inside a bank
branch? Or at a service centre,
paying your traffic fine or utility
bill in cash? These are a few
simple examples of the shrinking
physical economy and its expanding
digital counterpart. What is really
interesting, however, is how
innovators like Altech ISIS are
shaping this new world with digital
integration.
More than ever before, consumers are
demanding that service providers keep up with
them. They have no patience with a roundabout
route when a shortcut is glaringly obvious. Ease,
convenience and instant gratification are their
mottos.
You can now pay your utility bills at the grocery
store and buy travel packages through your
medical aid’s reward scheme. Consumers are
getting used to having their needs met without
being limited to traditional suppliers and
delivery channels.
“The market’s expectation is that services
should be delivered straightaway,” says Danie
van Graan, Senior Manager: Business Systems
and Technology at Altech ISIS. “The senseand-response cycle is in overdrive – as soon as
consumers smell something they want it.”
Aiding this freedom is consumers’ increasing
familiarity with and knowledge about
technology. Even the older generation keeps
in touch through social media and books their
holidays online. As a result, companies can
become more aggressive and creative in the
online space, which draws more consumers
into the digital economy, and so the cycle gains
momentum.
Similarly, the speed of decision making is
increasing. Not only do consumers decide
immediately what they want, businesses need to
identify and react to opportunities and consumer
needs equally fast.
Adding to the complexity is the fact that service
and industry boundaries are becoming blurred.
Page 56 l Let’s Talk TMT56
Intelligence is the answer
To meet these market demands, companies
have to accelerate new product launches,
leverage opportunities to share infrastructure
CONNECTED
(and revenue) and find ways for services to
be rapidly scaled up and down. “The days of
building a new bricks and mortar store when
you have a product to sell are coming to an
end,” says Danie.
Home/Office
As the Internet of Everything moves from
concept into reality, connectivity and
integration are must-haves. “It is no longer
enough for consumers to be able to transact
digitally,” says Danie. “They want to do as
many different things as possible from a single
platform that can support multiple devices.”
Altech ISIS has successfully implemented a
platform that is an advanced example of a
next generation digital integration framework.
It gives one device that can do many things
the ability to connect multiple other devices
into its framework. The latter contains
business logic and intelligence that enable
it, for example, to treat top-tier customers
differently to entry level ones.
DIGITAL SERVICES
Integration Framework
Mobile Money
Content
Media
Utilities
E Health
Billing
Finance
Payments
Retail
Network Providers
Entertainment
Next Generation Digital Services Integration Framework
It can also accommodate other suppliers who
want to use the infrastructure to reach users
with their offerings. The intelligence exists
to plug the new offer in, process the financial
transaction and manage orders. The latter
covers the full spectrum, from communicating
with the warehouse regarding quantities and
delivery, to sending updates to the billing
department.
“The digital framework we created meets
the needs of the market,” says Danie.
“It is only possible because it has the
intelligence to bring a multitude of services
and requirements together and deliver a
comprehensive and easy-to-use solution.
The result is value for our customers and our
business.”
WHAT IS NEXT GENERATION DIGITAL
INTEGRATION?
Digital integration is the idea that services
or information on any given electronic
device can be exchanged or manipulated
by another device using an intelligent
digital framework.
Next generation digital integration
takes the concept further. As the digital
economy replaces more and more aspects
of the physical economy, “everything” has
to work together digitally.
Keeping banks relevant
in a technology-centric era
As customers are now able to do their
banking via a range of channels, such
as telephonically, online or using a
mobile application, this raises the
question: is the branch still relevant?
We spoke to John Cameron, Principal
Consultant and Manager with
NCR’s Scotland-based BEM (Branch
Effectiveness Modelling) Consultancy
division, to find out more.
While there’s no doubt that banking customers now visit their bank branch far less frequently,
preferring to make use of the wide variety of technology available to them, when customers do
go into the branch it is often to resolve a problem. This means that while branch foot traffic may
be dropping, the nature of these visits is changing. It is therefore vital that branches get these
‘moments of truth’ right. Knowing how to do this is where John Cameron and his team enter the
picture.
NCR’s BEM Consultancy team evaluates a number of factors within the branch, such as
customer volume, transaction mix, service bandwidth and consumer touch points. This
provides the bank with an overview of the effectiveness of its branch network and how it can be
improved. According to John, the whole process takes about five to six weeks. The team begins
with a kick-off meeting with the specific bank to find out exactly what its needs are, then spends
time in a number of its branches to gather data, and finishes by delivering a one-day seminar to
the bank’s leadership where it shares its findings.
“Retail banks typically are drowning in central system generated data but are short of easily
accessible information based on actual customer behaviour, so the time spent gathering this
from the branches is critical. There are many elements that we consider, and this also depends
on what the bank has identified as focus areas. For instance, we may spend quite a bit of time
looking at the interaction between the customer service desks and the tellers. Customers are
time poor so they don’t like to have to go to different points with multiple associated waits to
deal with various queries. We might suggest that the bank move some activities traditionally
South Africa is leading the way when it comes to the concept of a
universal agent, that is, a customer service consultant and cash
teller in one. This is pivotal to the continued efficacy of bank branches, as
customers prefer to deal with one point of access.
carried out by customer service consultants
over to the tellers. This not only simplifies
and therefore improves the customer’s
experience, but it also frees up the desks for
activities that are potentially more financially
valuable to the bank,” says John.
The consultancy deploys a range of tools
such as mathematical modelling and
benchmarking. Modelling allows bank
leaders to see the effects of making branch
changes while benchmarking allows the bank
to discover more in terms of best practice.
Executives always appreciate the opportunity
to discover how their bank compares to
others. Each bank is, of course, unique, as
are its customers, which is why the time
spent by the team in the branches is so
important.
John explains that customer behaviour is
changing all the time and is not universal. For
example, there has been a dramatic decline
in the use of personal cheques, particularly
in the UK and South Africa, but this trend is
reversed in the Middle East, where banks
are seeing an increase in the use of personal
cheques being used as a debit instrument.
It is up to the BEM Consultancy team to flag
these trends for the decision-makers at
banks so that they can develop appropriate
channels for customers.
The BEM Consultancy team makes
recommendations on an operational level
and, although they form part of NCR,
their recommendations are supplier and
technology agnostic. This gives increased
credibility to these recommendations, as they
are not viewed as a sales pitch but rather
as objective, data-driven findings. While
branded solutions may not be recommended,
NCR benefits from an enhanced relationship
with the bank and is seen as more than
just a hardware supplier. It often comes
as a natural extension of the BEM process
that other NCR divisions will be invited
by the bank to provide the solutions that
are required to put John and his team’s
suggestions into place.
Indeed, John says that one of the most
satisfying parts of his job is the number of
repeat engagements he is part of, and the
opportunity this affords him to see how many
of their suggestions are implemented. A
number of South Africa’s major retail banks
are among these repeat engagements and
John is greatly impressed by the advanced
nature of retail banks in this country.
John Cameron, Principal Consultant and
Manager, NCR BEM Division.
John Cameron has been in his current role developing the practice and leading teams offering
NCR’s BEM Consultancy globally since 1999. Over the years John has had multiple engagements
with many of his clients which include leading financial institutions such as: HSBC, RBS Group,
Barclays, Standard Bank, First National Bank, Nedbank, Emirates NBD, Bank of Ireland and
innovative rapidly expanding retail banks in the US, Nigeria, Ireland, Ukraine, GCC and Poland.
ThE byTEs Ms-nCr rELATIOnshIP
NCR Corporation, much like its South African partner Bytes Managed Solutions (Bytes MS),
has a long and illustrious history as a leader in its chosen operating market. NCR, formerly
known as National Cash Register, is a US-based computer and electronics company that
enables businesses to connect and transact with their customers. Some of the products for
which the company is renowned include point-of-sale (POS) terminals, automated teller
machines (ATMs), self-service kiosks and barcode scanners. On the services side, NCR
provides IT and maintenance support services to its customers.
The relationship between Bytes MS and NCR goes back upwards of 40 years, when National
Data Systems (NDS) had the distribution rights for NCR’s products and technologies. NDS
was acquired by Altron, incubated under Fintech, and when Bytes Technology Group was
founded in the early 2000s, it became Bytes MS.
MANAGED SOLUTIONS
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33808 Altech Node Catalogue 297x210.indd 2
2015/06/12 10:47 AM
Where Global meets Local
NCR’s Johannesburg Roadshow
Altron TMT has a track record of
successfully partnering with leading
global organisations and bringing
their products and services to Africa.
Examples include Bytes Document
Solutions and Xerox, Altech Radio
Holdings and Hytera, and Bytes
Systems Integration and Kronos.
For Bytes Managed Solutions (Bytes
MS), NCR, the global leader in consumer
transaction technologies, has been its
key strategic partner in the financial and
retail markets for more than 40 years. It is
therefore likely that each of us has, at some
stage, had a transaction processed through
an NCR-manufactured device, be it an ATM or
a point-of-sale device.
The key objectives of the roadshow were
As a provider of NCR technologies to the
banking sector, including the ‘big four’ retail
banks, Bytes MS arranged a roadshow for
12 NCR subject matter experts to visit South
Africa and personally meet with each of the
banks.
Alan Anderson, the Bytes MS Business
to arrange personal sessions between the
NCR representatives and the banks, for NCR
to become familiar with the banks’ specific
needs and aid Bytes MS in providing tailored
solutions using the broad spectrum of NCR
products and services.
Another objective of the roadshow, says
Development Director, was for NCR to
share its global technology strategy and to
workshop how NCR and the banks could align
their respective growth strategies to ensure
optimal solutions are provided for the banks.
The roadshow took place over one week at the
Radisson Blu hotel in Sandton. Each day saw
a delegation from a different bank participate
in the high-level forum with the agenda split
over three sessions. The first session was an
overview of NCR’s financial services and ATM
innovations strategies. The second session was
NCR’s branch transformation strategy together
with the new NCR Consumer Experience
Platform (CxP) solutions offering.
The third track after lunch was experiential as
the delegates moved across to the Innovation
Hall where the physical products spanning the
breadth of the NCR offering were showcased.
Bytes MS employees were on hand with their
NCR colleagues to demonstrate the solutions
to the banking executives. The sessions were
interactive with several of the latest NCRmanufactured ATMs on display for bank
executives to test. NCR executives were also
available during the third session for one-onone discussions with their counterparts from
the banks.
Neill Harris, Global Marketing Director for ATM Solutions,
demonstrates the capabilities of the NCR SelfServ 24, an interior
multi-touch cash dispensing device.
The subject matter experts from NCR included
top global executives such as George Flouros,
Regional Vice President, NCR Middle East and
Africa; Neill Harris, Global Marketing Director,
ATM Solutions, NCR Financial Services; Martin
Shires, the Marketing Manager for Global
Branch Transformation within NCR Financial
Services; and Frank Gauld, the Vice President of
Software Strategy and Enterprise Architecture
for NCR Financial Services.
A highlight was the unveiling of the Kalpana
ATM solution, a revolutionary change from
traditional thick client-based ATM solutions to
an android-driven thin client-based solution.
The advantages of Kalpana over traditional ATM
solutions are significant, including reduced
costs through deployment, update, hardware
and support. The ability for banks to remotely
manage and service ATMs through Kalpana
ensures that suitable cash flows at the ATMs
are maintained.
According to Alan, the feedback from the
customers was extremely positive. Based on
the success of the roadshow, Bytes MS plan to
hold a similar roadshow in 2016. In the period
between, Bytes MS will continue to engage
with the banks in order to create customised
solutions and for Bytes MS to remain their
solutions provider of choice.
Dimitri Kanellopoulos, NCR Country Manager:
SA, gives a presentation on NCR’s South Africa
roadmap.
Dimitri Kanellopoulos (left) and Neill Harris
demonstrate the NCR SelfServ 24 device.
MANAGED SOLUTIONS
THE
EVOLUTION
OF AEDO
In 2006, Altech NuPay was the first
customer service provider in South
Africa to go live with an authenticated
early debit order (AEDO) product.
During the same period, the company
also started processing NAEDO (nonauthenticated early debit order - card
not present) transactions and is
currently the leading AEDO customer
service provider in the micro finance
industry.
With over 4 000 terminals presently in the
field, giving Altech NuPay the fifth largest
point-of-sale footprint in South Africa, the
question is – where did this technology evolve
from?
A poorly governed micro lending
industry
In the late 1990s, the micro finance industry
in general was not properly governed from a
payment and collection perspective. Methods
such as retaining a borrower’s ATM card
and PIN were used as an acceptable form of
collecting repayment from borrowers.
Micro lenders would, in the early hours of
the morning on the relevant pay dates and
with the help of security guards, use the ATM
cards and PINs of their clients to withdraw
the amount required for repayment. This in
itself was dangerous as the micro lenders
were easy targets for robbery.
In June 1999, the SA government declared
that it would be illegal to retain personal
information such as bank cards, PINs and
identity documents as security for collection
purposes. During this time the management
of Altech NuPay (known as NuPayment
Solutions at the time) was approached by the
industry to find a workable alternative to the
retention of the ATM card and PIN.
The first Altech NuPay system is
launched
In the years following the implementation
of the new legislation, Altech NuPay held
discussions with various banks on providing
the industry with a solution to not only
protect the lenders but also the borrowers.
The solution at this point was called NuPay
“Classic”. The basic principle of the system
was to install a device into a micro lender’s
environment. The device would communicate
using a telephone line or a radio pad, the
lender would capture the desired value on
the terminal and the device would prompt
the borrower to confirm whether he agreed
with the debit and enter his bank PIN without
disclosing it to the micro lender.
The device would then connect with the
Altech NuPay system, after which the
transaction would be routed to the bank to
verify the PIN. Once this was confirmed, a
future dated transaction was created and
stored on the Altech NuPay system for use on
the desired future action date.
Absa subsequently came on board as the
official sponsor of the product and partowner of the business.
Initially Absa was the only recognised bank,
but Standard Bank soon followed suit when in
2003 they joined the Altech NuPay system.
The next stage – A unified product
offering
In 2005 government began to standardise
practices in the lending industry with the
introduction of the National Credit Act and
the National Credit Regulator. A new payment
clearing house (PCH) was created for the
AEDO system and Altech NuPay was the first
provider to go live with the now-renamed
Altech NuPay Classic product in October
2006. The “Classic” product was in essence
the blue print for the new AEDO system.
AEDO was now interoperable with other
banks such as Nedbank, FNB, Capitec, Bank
of Athens and Mercantile Bank.
Since 2006, Altech NuPay has become the
leading service provider in the AEDO market,
processing on average more than 700 000
transactions per month and achieving more
than 70% market share.
The success of AEDO was built on the
premise that the AEDO transaction could not
be disputed which meant if a micro lender
collected successfully, the borrower could
not go to the relevant banking branch and
return the debit order. The non-disputability
was guaranteed with the borrower’s card and
PIN being present when the transaction was
authenticated.
In recent years, various banks have
expressed interest in using Altech NuPay as
a technology partner for managing a white
label AEDO solution. The AEDO white label
solution in essence consists of the same
AEDO product functionality, just with the bank
acquiring the transactions charges.
In September 2013 the Standard Bank
AEDO model was launched. In this model
Standard Bank sold AEDO to their customers
and Altech NuPay acted as the technical
service provider and managed the back end
system. The major difference was that the
acquiring bank was rebranded as Standard
Bank. Essentially, it had the look and feel
of a Standard Bank product but was driven
by Altech NuPay technology. Altech NuPay
is also providing Absa with an AEDO white
label solution and the project is well into the
development phase. The project will go live by
the end of the third quarter of 2015.
Altech NuPay’s recipe for success over the
years has been based on its ability to develop
and adapt solutions for evolving market
requirements in conjunction with everchanging legislation. The organisation has
also proven itself adept at understanding and
using new technologies to assist its clients in
providing products that are secure, reliable
and novel.
from concEption to EXEcution
Marketing shared services’ role in the
Altech Fleetcall marketing campaign
when it was announced in 2014 that hytera, a leading Chinese
designer and manufacturer of professional mobile radio
communications equipment, had won the contract to upgrade Altech
fleetcall’s existing analogue radio trunking network to a digital
mobile radio network, nico Els, general Manager of Altech fleetcall,
and brett nash, Managing director of Altech radio holdings, sat
down for an important chat.
Historically, Altech Fleetcall had not allocated
extensive budgets to large marketing
campaigns. It preferred to rely predominantly
on direct relationships with customers.
However, with the Hytera partnership being a
potential game changer for the business, both
men knew that the partnership and expanded
products and services offerings required a
comprehensive marketing strategy. And so it
was that they enlisted the help of Altron TMT
Marketing Shared Services (MSS), specifically
Marketing Manager Charnel Hattingh, to
assist them in conceptualising, planning and
executing a marketing strategy.
FORMULATING A MARKETING STRATEGY
At the initial briefing session, Charnel needed
to firstly ascertain what the nature of the
partnership with Hytera was, together with
the specific benefits of the digital mobile radio
(DMR) network in order to understand what
the strategic objectives and outcomes of the
campaign would be.
Brett told Charnel that Altech Fleetcall
had explored many options to upgrade
the analogue network to digital in order
to provide customers with the benefits of
digital radio technology and chose Hytera
based on its strong R&D reputation and the
quality of its products. Nico emphasised
that the key benefits of the DMR network
were significant and needed to be marketed.
These included: higher data speeds, GPS
tracking, accelerometer applications, flexible
dispatching, multi-level monitoring, larger
subscriber capacity and superb voice quality.
The overarching objective of the campaign was
to build brand awareness.
One month after the initial briefing, Charnel,
together with marketing co-ordinator
Mpumi Khasana, presented the preliminary
marketing campaign. It focused on three
key objectives: external awareness through
an advertising campaign across all media
platforms (web, print, social media, outdoor),
internal awareness consisting of a roadshow
for channel partners, and a direct marketing
campaign to Altech Netstar Fleet Solutions’
database.
HOW DOES IT ALL WORK
Once a budget and campaign date were
approved, a target audience was identified and
the media platforms (including radio, outdoor
billboards and online) were chosen. The
campaign was conceptualised and designed to
resonate with potential customers and graphic
designers were consulted at MSS to create
the desired visual appeal that would draw the
attention of the targeted audience.
Specific industries were identified as those that
would potentially require the Altech Fleetcall
solution. Some of these included: freight
and logistics, security, transport, mining,
hospitality and eventing, marine and coastal
management, and municipalities and local
government.
Charnel, together with her team, also identified
specific decision-makers within these
key industries. These included: managing
directors, fleet managers, operations and
logistics managers and financial and IT
managers.
ADVERTISING: CHOOSING SPECIFIC MEDIA
PLATFORMS
Media research was undertaken to ensure the
right radio stations and websites were selected
to achieve the maximum desired effect when
targeting the identified list of key individuals
and businesses. Geographical locations were
purposely chosen for the billboard component
of the campaign, in association with MSS’s
buying agency Carat.
Radio was specifically identified as a key media
channel. According to Charnel, radio remains
especially relevant in today’s world of timestarved consumers. Radio station 702 was
selected as a means of reaching key decisionmakers based on listener profile research.
“It is a reach medium, delivering messages
24/7 to consumers personally, one-on-one,
in an attentive environment. When used
synergistically with other media, it increases
brand awareness, brand recall, and return on
investment,” says Charnel.
Charnel adds that in various studies, radio
has also proven to increase website traffic and
purchase likelihood.
“Radio, especially for those willing to invest,
is a great way to generate brand recognition
and customer loyalty. The channel provides
frequency of advertised messages - it is
about awareness and brand building, allowing
repetition of the brand’s name constantly,”
Charnel adds.
Outdoor advertising was identified as another
platform to reach the desired audiences.
“Outdoor advertising is used for tactical as
well as brand building and theme-based
advertising. The channel is an effective
marketing vehicle and should be included as
a component of the optimal marketing mix
across a broad range of industries,” Charnel
says.
Not only can outdoor advertising provide a
direct sales lift by increasing brand awareness
and consideration, the medium can also
increase the effectiveness of other marketing
vehicles.
“Outdoor advertising can provide marketers
with the ability to identify and focus their
spending in designated market or geographic
areas that provide the greatest response to
their product and marketing efforts, in addition
to the direct impact on sales,” Charnel adds.
After several months of preparation and
strategic briefing sessions, the campaign
went live in the first week of May 2015 and
has generated much interest for the Altech
Fleetcall brand and the associated new product
line. The campaign was complemented by a
launch event and a media release.
At the conclusion of the campaign in July,
Charnel will meet with Nico and Brett for a
strategic debrief where the results will be
assessed and the original objectives and
outcomes will be measured against the
cumulative response.
The whole experience for Altech Fleetcall,
concludes Charnel, was the perfect example
of how an integrated marketing campaign is
managed from conception to execution.
We will provide an update on the success
of the campaign in the next issue of Let’s
Talk TMT.
ChAngIng wITh ThE TIMEs:
two 40+ year BDS veterans share
their stories
When Paul Haglich and Howard Marks joined
Bytes Documents Solutions (BDS) in 1971
and 1974 respectively, neither thought that
in 2015 they would still be employed and
thriving at the same organisation.
hOWArD’S 40-yEAr JOurnEy
Howard Marks, Xerox’s regional technical
manager for Johannesburg, recently
celebrated his 40th anniversary with the
company and is still going strong. Howard
joined what was then known as Rank
Xerox in June 1974 as a trainee technical
representative.
“My starting salary was only R200 per
month and I was given an additional monthly
scooter allowance of R25. Looking back,
I am fortunate to have been offered the
opportunities that Xerox offered me over the
years. I’ve watched the entire industry move
from being mechanical to electronic, and it’s
been a hugely rewarding journey. I have seen
massive technological breakthroughs during
my time with Xerox and BDS. One example is
the evolution of the copier. Never did I think
that today’s models would be copying up to
125 pages per minute,” recalls Howard.
Howard worked his way up the corporate
ladder, becoming a branch product specialist
in 1978, a technical training officer in 1986,
and a technical training manager by 1991.
A year later he was promoted to national
product manager, and then given the
additional job of quality assurance.
the exclusive sub-Saharan distributorship
for Xerox products in 2000, BDS winning the
Xerox Middle East & Africa Partner of the
Year Award in 2010, and the 2014 milestone of
BDS and Xerox celebrating 50 years in South
Africa as his three most notable highlights.
pAul hAglICh rEmEmBErS…
His career further accelerated in 1994
when he was promoted to the position of
regional technical manager for Gauteng, a
position which he continues to hold. Howard
currently has a team of five service managers
and 96 technicians reporting to him and
is responsible for providing the level of
customer service excellence that clients have
come to expect from Xerox and BDS.
The career of BDS veteran Paul Haglich has
been a remarkable one. Paul has been with
the organisation, in various capacities, for
almost 44 years and is currently marketing
manager for production systems. The secret
to his endurance? “Fascination. I’ve just
never been bored in this highly dynamic
industry,” says Paul.
Casting his mind back to the beginning of his
tenure, Paul remembers joining the company
as a technician in March 1971. Known then
as Rank Xerox, there were just two copier
models on the market: the 813 and 914.
At 60, Howard has witnessed many
memorable milestones during his tenure
with BDS. He singles out Xerox SA securing
“Back in those days Rank Xerox only rented
copiers, they were never sold outright. This
strategy changed in around 1976 when
and carry on as usual without being seen to
care about the rights of black workers. “The
company subscribed to the then Sullivan
Code for equal opportunity employment and
employee development, long before it was
taken up by other multinationals,” he says.
frOm humBlE BEgInnIngS
Looking back, he says it is astounding to
compare the era of when the company
started with its original product range of just
two copiers and where it is today.
Howard Marks (far left) and Paul Haglich (third from left) recently had the opportunity to meet with
Dr Sophia Vandebroek, CTO: Xerox. Here they are pictured with her and Johan Basson, CEO: Bytes
Document Solutions.
customers could either rent or buy copiers,”
Paul says.
According to Paul, in the early days of Xerox’s
operations, there was very little competition
in the growing copier market. “Sales people
were virtually ‘order-takers’, making a very
good living from selling xerographic or ‘dry
writing’ copiers. By the 1980s, many new
copier models were launched, including the
auto-duplex Xerox 4000.”
WhEn DuplEXIng WAS WIZArDry
Cutting-edge technology in those days meant
the ability of the Xerox 4000 to print on both
sides of a sheet of paper.
Paul also reserves mention for the world’s
first laser printer: the Xerox 9700. “Printing
would never be the same after the invention
of this machine. Soon, full colour laser
printers were developed. I remember going
to the COMDEX show in Las Vegas where
Xerox presented the Majestic, a four page per
minute, high quality, full colour copier which
astounded everyone.”
Things have changed dramatically from
those early days, with an explosion of new
competitors driving innovation further and
faster than ever before. However, there are
some constants, among them the company
culture within BDS.
Another impressive product in the early
1980s, he says, was the Xerox tele-copier,
capable of sending a document via telephone
wires to another similarly connected copier.
“I have witnessed the evolution of the
organisation from Rank Xerox SA to Xerox
SA to Team Xerox to XeraTech and now Bytes
Document Solutions - but it is essentially the
same company. Even through the unsettled
years of sanctions, we maintained a focus
on serving our customers with innovative,
out-of-the-box thinking in order to ensure
uninterrupted services,” Paul says.
“You can imagine how Xerox transformed the
communication industry, particularly when
the fax machine eventually emerged. Soon,
thousands of these devices were installed
as virtually every business had to have one,”
Paul adds.
With some pride, he relates that Xerox
Corp and Xerox SA were at the forefront of
social responsibility initiatives during the
turbulent period of sanctions. This was
particularly courageous as it was far easier
for organisations at that time to be silent
“Imagine that,” quips Paul. “This is
something we completely take for granted
nowadays, yet it was entirely revolutionary for
its time.”
“Now, BDS sells a vast range of copiers,
printers and associated equipment and
software. Many people take such superb
technology for granted nowadays, but for me,
seeing the quality of modern Xerox digital
presses is nothing short of miraculous. I’m
privileged to have had the opportunity to
participate in the industry from its infancy,
and I truly believe that I’ve lived through the
most dynamic, creative and exciting times
ever.”
tO thE futurE
There is a lesson in the rewards of long
service that Paul is enjoying, though not in
the clichéd form of a gold watch. “There
have been numerous recognition of service
awards over the years, but more than
that, I’ve learned so much from working
in this industry, from technical skills, to
management, sales and marketing, and
more,” he adds.
He’s not quite done yet either and believes
the industry remains a fascinating place.
“This business is dynamic and evolves with
market forces. Xerox continues to innovate
and patent new technology and is also a
global leader for IT services. BDS is similarly
evolving, with a diverse range of solutions
and services. There are many opportunities
that present themselves and I believe it will
remain exciting and challenging for many
years to come – long after I have retired,” he
concludes.
Bytes People Solutions
Assists Standard Bank with
E-ASSESSMENT SOLUTION
Bytes People Solutions (BPS) recently hosted another successful
deployment of the Questionmark Perception (QMP) e-assessment
platform for one of its customers in South Africa. Although Standard
Bank has been using QMP for quite some time as an on-site application
and e-assessment tool, the bank requested BPS to pilot two projects as
hosted solutions.
QMP provides us with the flexibility
to tailor a solution to meet our
customers’ specific needs.
The first project was a workplace skills audit
for a business area with employees in South
Africa and other African countries. Hosting
the solution made it much easier for the
employees, especially those in Africa, to
take part in the survey. The second project
relied on one of QMP’s latest features,
namely observational assessments, which
enabled the bank to evaluate and assess new
employees, in their roles as tellers, in the
workplace.
As the preferred distributor of
Questionmark’s products and services in
South Africa, Bytes People Solutions has
been assisting local companies over the last
10 years to improve their internal employee
assessment processes via the Questionmark
Perception software platform. The platform
is an assessment management system and
the software covers a variety of internal
assessment practices such as formative
assessments, placement tests, course
evaluations, needs analysis, job task analysis,
knowledge checks, summative assessments,
observational assessments, as well as
certification and licencing examinations.
According to Madeleine van Tonder, Business
Unit Executive: Online Technologies at Bytes
People Solutions, the platform allows BPS
to provide customers with an automated,
cloud-based solution for activities that,
until recently, were time consuming, costly
and resource intensive as most tasks were
performed manually.
The main objective of the first pilot was to
identify skills gaps in order to determine
required training interventions to bridge
these gaps. As all the responses were
electronic (real time), BPS could provide
managers with dashboard reports at regular
intervals, assisting them to make timely and
informed decisions with regards to future
training needs. The automation of a tedious,
manual process also freed up the human
resources department to better apply their
time to core activities.
The second project allowed supervisors to
assess new employee intakes electronically
and online through observational
assessments, making results immediately
available for reporting and feedback
purposes. This also allowed the bank to move
away from the time consuming, traditional
ways of assessing learners. Because
feedback is more quickly available to the
learner, the assessment becomes part of the
learning process.
One of the standout advantages of the system
is its versatility. The system can be deployed
and customised to meet the needs of any
organisation regardless of its size, language,
geographical location or other demographic
factors.
Other benefits of the application are:
•Standard assessment screens,
controls and login pages in 20 different
languages.
•A translation management system to
streamline translation, management
and delivery of localised content to
multinational workforces.
•Online delivery of assessments,
optimised for different devices as output
is auto-sized according to the device’s
screen dimensions.
“In addition, QMP provides us with the
flexibility to tailor a solution to meet our
customers’ specific needs. The partnership
What are workplace /
observational assessments?
Standard assessments are designed
to demonstrate what a participant has
learned in a setting that is removed
from the process of learning. As they
are usually confined to a screen or piece
of paper, standard assessments are
geared to knowledge recall and may
not accurately reflect actual cognitive
knowledge or challenges found in
everyday tasks.
Workplace assessments are intended
to provide a way for observers to asses
participants in their everyday tasks and
rate their cognitive knowledge or abilities
that would not normally be reflected in
answers to a standard assessment.
An observer can assess a participant’s
performance:
• Before a task;
• During a task; and/or
• In conclusion/follow up to a task.
The observer can grade the participant
on a variety of pre-elected criteria
and assess their ability. Workplace
assessments can also be completed
online through the use of mobile devices
such as the iPod touch, iPhone, iPad and
Android devices.
with Questionmark also represents a great
opportunity for Bytes People Solutions to
(Source: Questionmark)
become the local market leader in providing
internal workplace assessment solutions for
companies with a large employee component
for which the traditional, manual way of
doing assessments has become too much,”
Madeleine concludes.
PEOPLE SOLUTIONS
XErOX
AfrICA ops
confErEncE
2015
The Xerox Africa Operations partners met in
May for their annual conference at the Spier
wine estate in Stellenbosch, Cape Town.
Usually held in Johannesburg, 2015 was
the first year that the Africa conference was
decentralised and focused only on distributor
partners in Africa.
Hosted by Bytes Documents Solutions (BDS),
the conference was attended by delegates
representing distributors from across the
sub-Saharan continent. The more than 40
delegates represented Swaziland, Lesotho,
Angola, Mauritius, Seychelles, Mozambique,
Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, D.R.C,
Malawi, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and
Zambia.
BDS shared its African growth strategy for
the current financial year with the central
conference theme being Sustainable Growth
Through Collaboration.
One of the key objectives of the conference
was for BDS’ partners to collaborate on how
to maximise value from shared resources
and discuss possible operational synergies.
Another objective was for BDS to strengthen
its own relationships with its partners and
strategise with them on how to build on
the success of 2014/15 that saw the Africa
Operations division achieve excellent results
in revenues and profit.
Speaking at the conference, BDS’ CEO, Johan
Basson, emphasised to delegates the Xerox
value proposition that they were selling. The
following topics were discussed during the
various workshops held:
• Overcoming operational challenges in
Africa.
• Alignment with Xerox Corporation’s
goals and programmes.
• Effective post sales offerings to
customers.
• Revision of the Xerox products and
services offering.
BDS’ executive team acknowledged the
partners for their positive results and
indicated that growth in Africa surpassed BDS’
expectations.
A particular highlight of the conference
was the excursion to Robben Island where
partners experienced first-hand the repressive
conditions that the late President Nelson
Mandela experienced during his time in prison
there.
At the annual awards evening, the top
performing distributors were announced. XRX
Technologies in Kenya, Bytes Technology Group
Botswana and DIGIprint in Zambia received
awards for surpassing their respective targets.
The Africa Distributor of the Year award was
presented to DIGIprint from Zambia.
Johan Basson, CEO: Bytes Document
Solutions; Christos Diakosavas: DIGIprint,
Zambia; and Craig Schweitzer, Divisional
Director Africa Operations:
Bytes Document Solutions.
Johan Basson, CEO: Bytes Document Solutions; Zahid Mir: Keytech,
DRC; and Craig Schweitzer, Divisional Director Africa Operations: Bytes
Document Solutions.
Johan Basson, CEO: Bytes Document Solutions; Albrie Rossouw:
Maseru Business Machines, Lesotho; and Craig Schweitzer,
Divisional Director Africa Operations: Bytes Document Solutions.
Johan Basson, CEO: Bytes Document Solutions; Nasser Tayub: Xerographics,
Malawi; and Craig Schweitzer, Divisional Director Africa Operations: Bytes
Document Solutions.
Johan Basson, CEO: Bytes Document Solutions; Bonolo Ditirwa: Bytes
Technology Group, Botswana; and Craig Schweitzer, Divisional Director Africa
Operations: Bytes Document Solutions.
Solutions; Stephen Faure: Victoria
Computer Services, Seychelles; and
Craig Schweitzer, Divisional Director
Africa Operations: Bytes Document
Solutions.
Johan Basson, CEO: Bytes Document Solutions; Alice Ngigi:
XRX Technologies, Kenya; and Craig Schweitzer, Divisional
Director Africa Operations: Bytes Document Solutions.
Solutions; Rogerio Levy Fonseca: Xero Serviços,
Mozambique; and Craig Schweitzer, Divisional
Director Africa Operations: Bytes Document
Solutions.
Solutions; Vitor Costa: Prosys, Angola; and
Craig Schweitzer, Divisional Director Africa
Operations: Bytes Document Solutions.
a cut ABOVE thE rESt!
bytes People solutions continues to
exceed samsung sA’s customer care
contact centre expectations.
Having taken over the operations and
management of the Samsung South Africa
customer care contact centre in 2012,
Bytes People Solutions has achieved a top
10 ranking from Samsung as one of the
organisation’s best managed contact centres
world-wide (Samsung has 49 contact centres
across the globe).
This is a remarkable achievement for Bytes
People Solutions which is now one of the
major contact centre service providers in
South Africa.
WHY OUTSOURCE?
A business will outsource some of its
operations to a reputable third party because
it does not have the internal capability to
handle that particular area of its operations,
it is considered a non-core function of the
business, or that area of the business is
under-performing or is non-productive. Other
benefits of business process outsourcing
(BPO) include a reduction in operating costs
and increased operational efficiencies.
Samsung has realised significant gains from
outsourcing its contact centre to Bytes People
Solutions as the business provides Samsung
with an end-to-end solution encompassing
the latest technology (both hardware and
software), sought after contact centre agents
and specialist contact centre processes. The
setup is unique: although the contact centre
is based at Samsung SA’s headquarters in
Rivonia, everything and everyone contained
therein, is provided by Bytes People
Solutions.
Where other contact centres remunerate
their agents through a regular monthly
salary structure, Bytes People Solutions has
created a unique pay-for-performance model
that incentivises the agents based on their
performance as rated by customers.
This structure, says Dr Madelise Grobler,
Managing Director of Bytes People Solutions,
has catapulted the contact centre to its
global top 10 position (from being ranked in
the bottom half of Samsung’s international
contact centres during the first year of
operation).
“This is a remarkable, collective achievement
from our agents at Samsung. To receive this
recognition from Samsung, an organisation
that promotes excellence internationally,
is a credit to the people, processes and
technologies employed by Bytes People
Solutions. Our goal is to become established
as the people solutions and business process
outsource provider of choice in South Africa.
The strength of the Bytes People Solutions/
Samsung partnership lies in the collaboration
between the two companies to excel in
customer service and we hope that this
recognition from Samsung is the catalyst for
further achievement within the organisation,”
Madelise added.
SKILLS DEVELOPMENT
It is an important part of the Bytes People
Solution philosophy to encourage the growth
of its employees and assist them along
their career paths. The contact centre is
the perfect starting point for a new agent
to develop and upskill himself/herself.
Bytes People Solutions’ online portal and
e-learning solutions are two of the cost
effective enablers for young employees to
enhance their skill sets within the demands
of a contact centre environment.
“With South Africa currently earmarked
as a BPO destination of choice for large
offshore organisations, it is critical for local
companies such as ourselves to provide
platforms of opportunity and growth to the
many job-seekers who lack the necessary
skills to start a career. With our Samsung
and other contact centres performing so well,
Bytes People Solutions is well positioned to
expand further and play its part in addressing
the critical skills shortage in South Africa,”
Madelise concluded.
PEOPLE SOLUTIONS
the proof is in
the pudding
shared services is showing results
facilities shared
services is
about planning, directing
and coordinating effective
operational processes,
policies and governance for
optimal utilisation.
The implementation of shared
services across Altron TMT, be it in
the areas of Marketing, Information
Technology, human resources,
Legal or facilities, is beginning to
have a major impact on the bottom
line.
Altron TMT has seen a significant reduction in
costs over the past 18 months through shared
services and this is backed up by some
remarkable savings in facilities management.
Mkhuseli Tindleni, the Shared Services Lead
at Altron TMT Facilities, elaborates on some
of these savings.
Mkhuseli is responsible for managing
facilities across Altron TMT. This entails the
strategic planning and day-to-day operational
management of the organisation’s building
and premises. His areas of responsibility
include:
• Procurementandcontract
management.
• Buildingandgroundsmaintenance.
• Cleaningandhygiene.
• Cateringandvending.
• Utilities.
• Leaseandspacemanagement.
Mkhuseli’s team is responsible for managing
100 sites totalling in excess of 170 000m2.
Buildings can range from as little as 60m2 in
size to 13 000m2.
According to Mkhuseli, the focus for the past
year has been on business unit cost savings.
The first step in the cost savings journey
was conducting an intensive audit of Altron
TMT’s property portfolio and investigating and
renegotiating lease agreements as they came
up for renewal. And it is in the area of lease
agreements that Facilities has seen some of
its major savings.
Following his appointment, Mkhuseli
engaged with the businesses in Altron TMT to
forward him copies of their lease agreements
and most current lease invoices. Then began
an intensive investigation of each contract
and the associated costs. Once Mkhuseli had
a clear idea of the terms and conditions of
the various leases and the costs - he found
anomalies such as paying more rent than the
lease stipulated - he began engaging with the
businesses and their landlords.
In those instances where leases were coming
up for renewal, exhaustive negotiations
with respect to services provided and costs
were undertaken. In one particular incident,
Mkhuseli found that the landlord had not
Over the past 12 months we have seen in excess of
r13.9 million in sustainable savings. This is expected to
escalate to r33 million for the financial year ending february 2016.
passed on a significant municipal rates
reduction and instead had upped the rental by
the savings amount.
When a lease comes to an end, it is not
simply a case of renewing and signing on
the dotted line. He and his team conduct
a thorough investigation of market related
prices for similar properties. In addition,
he takes into account the ancillary services
provided and paid for by Altron TMT, such
as security, cleaning, air conditioning
maintenance and the like. Armed with these
facts and figures, Mkhuseli begins the
negotiation process with the landlord.
Long term leases are another favourite of his.
According to Mkhuseli, leases of five years
or more, in which the landlord is assured of
annuity income, provide the lessee with the
upper hand when it comes to negotiating
terms. In one instance he was able to
reduce the rental for one of the Altron TMT
businesses by some 48% from R169 million
over the five year period to R81 million, and
at the same time negotiated a low annual
escalation fee!
When it came to querying existing leases,
Mkhuseli is adamant that while he may not
be able to negotiate new or better terms, it
is made clear to the landlord that when the
lease does come up for renewal, there will be
some serious discussions.
we succeeded in
reducing a five-year
rental by 48% from r169 million
to r81 million.
Aligned to the lease negotiations has been
the consolidation of the various Altron TMT
businesses where certain businesses have
relocated to shared premises. This has
resulted in significant savings as redundant
lease agreements have been cancelled and
existing leases renewed at better rates due to
an increase in the size of space required.
Mkhuseli is adamant that managing an asset
the size of Altron TMT’s property portfolio
requires a team of dedicated employees.
While the renewal of leases were managed by
finance managers or operational managers
in the past, who have done a great job in an
area that is outside their scope of operations,
it is important that dedicated resources
who understand the property management
business and whose core focus is facilities
management be appointed. This ensures
that the business receives the best deal and
provides employees with the best services.
Asked about his long-term plans, Mkhuseli
says that he would like to see Altron TMT
Facilities Shared Services become a true
property management organisation and
change from a cost centre to a profit centre.
Will he achieve this? Only time will tell but he
and his team are well on their way, judging by
the successes attained thus far.
ThE fACILITIEs TEAM
When Facilities Shared Services was set up, a number of existing employees from across
the Altron TMT organisation became part of the team. A number of them were office
managers who were subsequently equipped to take on a variety of new responsibilities as
facilities managers. According to Mkhuseli, they were given “a new lease on life” as they
were exposed to a broader environment with its own challenges and opportunities.
FACILITIES – ORGANOGRAM MKHUSELI TINDLENI FACILITIES LEAD: SHARED SERVICES SHARMAIN VENTER FERIEL BAUMGARDT BRIAN STEYN BRIAN LEDWABA WENDY HESSE ALTRON TMT HEAD OFFICE BYTES -‐ MIDRAND BMS -‐ SELBY INTER-‐ACTIVE CAPE TOWN RECEPTIONIST: MAINTENANCE: ADMINISTRATOR: MAINTENANCE: RECEPTIONIST: Linda Meyer Andrias Mayaba Andronicah Natshongolwe Amanda Walker 1x Vacant DRIVERS: SWITCHBOARD/ Edward Seopa GARDENER: Sidwell Nofemele Wellard Tshidino OFFICE CLEANERS: ADMINISTRATORS: Nesta Mdluli Gillian Lewis Topsy Dlamini Valencia Mabuso (incl. Solomon Rathupa photos for security tags, Block E) James Ritchie – Supervisor Campus Lazarus Nemukula -‐ Supervisor Randburg MAINTENANCE STAFF Abram Goba – Randburg George Mpheko – Randburg Howard Simelane – Campus Zolile Mgwili – Campus CLEANING STAFF/TEA LADY Claudette Nonjakazi – Randburg Ivy Hlongwane – Randburg Petronella Magano – Randburg Phyllis Xorile – Randburg Elizabeth Selahla – Randburg Josline Biyana – Randburg Thobile Ngwenya – Randburg Catherine Masangu -‐ Randburg Thulisile Sebogodi – Campus Priscilla Masina – Campus Anthonette Tekis -‐ Campus NIGHT SHIFT Laeza Mabaso – Randburg Laeza Mabaso –
Randburg
Aletta Kepeyi – Randburg Aletta Kepeyi – Randburg
Maria Selahla – Randburg Maria Selahla – Randburg
Joyce Mokoena -‐ Randburg RECEPTIONIST: Nakedi Lekgothoane Eugenia Mlangeni Belinda Sherif Margaret Vezi Zainonesa Isaacs DRIVERS: William Magopheni OFFICE CLEANERS: Pauline Hartnick Mary van Rooy Mkhuseli and his team also maintain a close
relationship with the Altron TMT legal team.
As he says, he is not a lawyer and leaves it to
the experts when it comes to the fine print.
Negotiating terms and price, however, is his
forte.
AltECh
AlCOm mAtOmO
drivEs cost
EfficiEnciEs
at EkurhulEni
mEtropolitan
municipality
In the 1990s video conferencing entered
the corporate market primarily as a way to
reduce business travel expenses. Although
the initial intention was achieved it was at
a cost that left the market with a lasting
negative impression of an unreliable,
complex and poor quality solution
associated with costly communication
requirements. However, as technology has
evolved significantly over the last quarter
of a century, so has the Internet and the
ability to communicate over IP networks in
high definition. With these developments,
organisations have discovered that the
use of video conferencing not only reduces
business costs but also increases operational
efficiencies and environmental sustainability
through a reduced carbon footprint.
The Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality
(EMM) recognised the potential gains
associated with video conferencing and
in an effort to deliver on its mandate to
improve service delivery through efficiencies,
recently appointed Altech Alcom Matomo,
in partnership with global electronics
manufacturer Huawei, to install the latest
video conferencing technology across its
municipal offices with full live functionality
and bridging facilities that have the ability to
connect multiple video conferencing systems
together.
This state-of-the-art technology will benefit
the citizens of Ekurhuleni by enabling quicker
decision-making and implementation at
executive level and will facilitate greater
productivity, efficiency and, ultimately, faster
service delivery.
THE BENEFITS
According to leading global research firm
Frost & Sullivan, few businesses have
remained untouched by the evolution of
the networked society, distributed work
teams, and a growing trend for work shifting
that allows people to intersperse work
and personal lives seamlessly. Leading
organisations are developing approaches from social networks to video conferencing
- to break down communication silos among
dispersed teams and promote productivity
through better collaboration and knowledgesharing.
With the new video conferencing technology,
meetings can be scheduled instantly, face-toface, for a more personal experience, across
the various communication platforms such
as smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktop
PCs.
Other key benefits include:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Accelerated decision-making.
Enhanced control of projects.
Improved use of executive time.
Cost-effective training to remote
locations.
A medium to conduct interviews.
Reinforced close relationships with
suppliers, clients and remote staff.
Meeting notes can be saved as a full
record that can be recorded on to a DVD.
Provide an organisation with
the capability to respond to a
communications need immediately.
The ability to conduct ad-hoc impromptu
meetings.
• The ability to enable joint planning,
training and education, multiorganisation co-ordination and
collaboration, continuity of operations,
and secure communications.
In addition to the operational efficiencies, the
other long-term benefit is cost savings.
With the video conferencing solutions that
have been installed, simultaneous content
sharing will allow for a more collaborative
meeting-room experience, without leaving
the work place. Usually, an executive board
meeting comprises travel costs (if the
delegates are travelling from a distance) or
significant time wasted in traffic coupled with
a hefty carbon footprint (if the delegates are
travelling locally). This results not only in lost
time in the field but possibly additional days
lost on either side of the meeting through
travel.
The technology installed by Altech Alcom
Matomo helps alleviate the above-mentioned
efficiency burdens and the installation of
the video conferencing facility represents
a milestone in the municipality’s quest to
become the leading municipality in South
Africa.
mED-E-mASS BOOStS hEAlthCArE
InnOVAtIOn with thE acQuisition of
hEalth-soft
Med-e-Mass, a provider of front-end practice management
applications and part of bytes secure Transactions solutions,
has acquired health-soft, a leading provider of ground-breaking
technology services for the south African healthcare industry.
Health-Soft’s innovative range of electronic
solutions designed to specifically and
effectively address day-to-day needs in many
areas of healthcare delivery will now be
available as part of Med-e-Mass’s extensive
practice management solutions.
Health-Soft’s market leading Health-Suite
solution improves the clinical interaction
between practitioner and patient by
offering various types of information such
as e-prescribing, disease information, a
comprehensive pharmacopoeia in medical
and layman’s language, medical illustrations
and pill identification.
One of the most innovative modules of the
Health-Suite offering is e-Scripting, a world
class e-prescribing application developed by
leading specialists to facilitate the worldwide
drive to move from handwritten to electronic
prescriptions.
The benefits of electronic scripts versus
the traditional handwritten version are
numerous. The use of Health-Soft e-Scripting
software enables a seamless process,
making the lives of prescribers, dispensers
and patients a lot simpler. The application
assists the medical practitioner by saving
time, lessens the incidence of adverse
drug events, and reduces erroneous script
interpretations by pharmacists.
Furthermore, the electronic delivery of
prescriptions to pharmacies is essential in
closing the loop between prescriber and
dispenser. Not only does the software include
all standard functions and forms such as
favourites, mixtures, medical certificates and
referrals, but also information and images
about medical conditions and drugs.
Participating pharmacies retrieve the
prescriptions electronically.
With the acquisition of Health-Soft, all
leading Med-e-Mass practice management
applications, including ME+, Elixir and
Mastermed, will now have fully functional
e-Scripting features. This complete solution
combines the following features with HealthSoft’s e-Scripting application in practice
management systems:
platform which allows two-way
communication between the user of
e-Scripting and any third party, e.g.
pharmacies and medical aids. Currently
this platform is used to deliver electronic
prescriptions to pharmacies.
• ScriptCollect - An in-box application
used by pharmacies to receive electronic
prescriptions for import into the
pharmacy software application. This
application also allows viewing and
printing of electronic prescriptions in
PDF format.
Gideon Brits, Managing Director of Med-eMass, says: “The acquisition of a marketleading company such as Health-Soft is a
world class move on the part of Med-e-Mass,
serving to broaden the scope of services we
have to offer. It is a testament to our strong
focus on product development and our
dedication to offering our clients the best
tools to meet their business needs.”
• ScriptSignature - An embedded
electronic signature functionality which
requires a “positive act of acceptance”
by the medical practitioner. Using
the electronic signature allows the
electronic transmission of prescriptions
without the need to print and sign.
• ScriptCloud - An electronic gateway
BytES mS pArtnErS with the
university of Johannesburg
in work integrated
learning (wil) project
South Africa is faced with a critical skills
shortage, particularly in engineering and
skilled trades. With unemployment currently
estimated at 25%, it has become essential for
organisations in the private sector to partner
with institutions of higher learning to help
facilitate a smooth and productive transition
for graduates as they embark on a new life
in the workplace. While the skills shortage
affects organisations at a micro-level, viewed
in the macro-economic context, it is regarded
as a serious obstacle to economic growth, job
creation and the expansion of small, medium
or large businesses.
According to ManpowerGroup’s 2014 Talent
Shortage Survey, skilled trades have replaced
engineers as the most difficult position for
companies to fill in South Africa. The survey
found that 35% of respondents quoted
technical competencies as a challenge in
employing new candidates, whereas 25% of
respondents said that lack of experience or
work readiness was a challenge with new
candidates.
As a services-led, software driven and
hardware enabled organisation, the skills
shortage presents Bytes Managed Solutions
(Bytes MS) with a significant challenge and
in order to fulfil its skills requirements,
Bytes MS has concluded a partnership with
the University of Johannesburg (UJ). The
partnership aims not only to give young
students the necessary practical training
required for skilled trades, but is also a
strategic initiative by Bytes MS to bolster its
own employee ranks.
According to Bertie Da Silva, Logistics
Operations Manager at Bytes MS, the new
Bytes MS / UJ Work Integrated Learning
(WIL) partnership will provide opportunities
to young students that require an internship
or practical experience as part of the
fulfilment of their diploma obligations.
According to UJ, WIL refers to applied
learning that focuses on practical experience
through mentorship in the workplace and
aims to:
• expose students to the real world of the
workplace while still studying.
• assist students to gain general work
experience in a professional work
environment.
• help students develop a range of valuable
generic skills.
• make the transition from student to
employee easier.
“We have found that fewer and fewer school
leavers are entering the skilled trades and
graduating with the necessary NQF 3 or NQF
4 certification to join an organisation such
as Bytes MS on the workbench or as a field
technician. This initiative will assist Bytes MS
in ensuring that the most suitably qualified
candidates get an opportunity to develop their
short-term skills through practical training
with us, but will also result in the long-term
upskilling of Bytes MS as an organisation,”
Bertie says.
The WIL internship takes place over
six months and gives the employer the
opportunity to assess the students, their
performance and general work readiness
before choosing to employ them on a
permanent basis. The upside for Bytes MS
is that although their WIL candidates will
be paid, it is still a cost effective means of
training students and identifying potential
employees.
Bytes MS hopes to benefit from the
collaboration with UJ by creating a
sustainable skills pipeline to ensure that
there will be a steady flow of young graduates
into the organisation and that more of their
employed technicians themselves become
upskilled and graduate to managerial
posts.
MANAGED SOLUTIONS
Gerhard GreefF
receives international recognition from MESA
Gerhard Greeff, Business Unit Lead: Process
Manufacturing and Control at Bytes Universal
Systems, was recently recognised by the
global Manufacturing Enterprise Solutions
Association (MESA) for excellence in his
work with the Metrics Working Group and
Global Education Programme. Together with
seven MESA colleagues from around the
world, Gerhard was named as a recipient of
the 2015 Outstanding Contribution to MESA
Award. The annual award was established in
2008 to recognise the efforts and dedication
of individuals whose personal contributions
have greatly benefited the entire association.
according to Gerhard, have taken the best practices principles taught in the workshops and
implemented them at their respective organisations.
Gerhard researched and developed two of the nine courses that are presented at the four-day
MESA Certificate of Competency (CoC) Programme. The other seven courses were developed
by four other subject matter experts in the USA and Europe. The MESA courses are accredited
locally by the Society for Automation, Instrumentation, Measurement and Control (SAIMC)
through the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA), and internationally by the International
Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET). Engineers who successfully
complete the course are awarded CPD and CEU points towards their annual requirement.
The programmes address the critical need of manufacturing practitioners and executives to
understand the power of real-time decisions for manufacturing operations linked to financial
and business level metrics, through a combination of internationally recognised standards,
models and best practices.
Who is MESA?
MESA International is a global not-for-profit community of manufacturing companies,
information technology hardware and software suppliers, system integrators and
consulting service providers. Members of the organisation engage in person and on a
virtual online platform to share best practice methodologies for the manufacturing industry
with the goal of improving business and production operations.
Through this, organisations can approach investment decisions in technology with more
confidence.
The MESA organisation, of which Gerhard is a director in EMEA, aims to provide the
required knowledge to improve manufacturing operations through industrial systems
standards and best practice methods for optimising work processes and for supporting
industrial IT applications and best management practices.
Gerhard Greeff.
“The recognition by MESA is particularly
rewarding. To be recognised by one’s
professional peers shows that institutional
bodies such as MESA value the importance
of further education. Ultimately, the industry
as a whole benefits from manufacturing
professionals taking these courses,” says
Gerhard.
Gerhard has been an authorised instructor
with MESA for several years and has initiated
programmes locally that have cumulatively
trained over 90 people. He has also trained
engineers in Australia, India, the USA and
the Middle East. These learners received
accredited certification from MESA and,
The Metrics Working Group initiative for which Gerhard was recognised dealt primarily
with Time-in-State (TIS) management methodology through a series of three MESA
White Papers. The TIS methodology has been developed to identify gaps within existing
business processes and procedures, quantifying the impact of the latter and facilitating the
development of mitigating actions to address inefficiencies. The methodology also provides
a way to measure the effect of decisions closer to real-time through the TIS Metric.
Gerhard believes that a properly designed and implemented manufacturing operations
management (MOM) system can add tremendous business value to any manufacturer.
MOM, when done right, will improve operational effectiveness and efficiency and will assist
in increased business value for companies from discreet manufacturing to continuous
processing.
UNIVERSAL SYSTEMS
BytES DOCumEnt
SOlutIOnS honours
salEs achiEvErs
Each and every achiever contributed to BDS realising a record annual turnover of more
than R2,2 billion for the financial year. Bytes Technology Group as a whole also produced an
exceptional result with a 19% increase in headline earnings compared to the previous financial
year.
The trip took place from 30 May to 6 June 2015 at Club Med Phuket, Thailand, with deluxe
accommodation, gourmet cuisine and water sports included as part of the package.
According to Johan Basson, CEO of BDS, the awards were thoroughly deserved as each
individual had played an integral part in the ongoing success of the business last year.
An all-expenses paid trip to the Club
Med resort in Phuket, Thailand,
was the ultimate reward for bytes
document solutions’ top sales
achievers for the year. Thirty-two
employees together with their
partners were wined and dined as
a reward for exceeding their sales
targets for the 2014/2015 financial
year.
“Management acknowledges that it took an immense amount of determination and sacrifice,
for the sales achievers to product the results that they did. We are proud of their achievements,”
Johan said.
THE AWARD WINNERS WERE:
• Alexander Scoble
• Anton van der Berg
• Barry Hasleham
• Bruce Pasley
• Craig Schweitzer
• David Van Ghent
• Debbie Gericke
• Estelle Jansen
• Fanus Heyneke
• Frans Maphanga
• Garth van den Bergh
• George Hawke
• Grant Long
• Hennie van Schalkwyk
• Henriette Delport
• Ian Schulein
• Ismail Moosa
• Jan Steyn
• Jonathan Osbourne
• Laureen Storror
• Lucy Njoroge
• Mario Pereira
• Mark Thomas
• Mukesh Singh
• Olga Masondo
• Olivier Merven
• Quinton James
• Roopanand Lala
• Russel Carter
• Stephen Graham
• Tertia Wilken
• Warren Mande
LET’S TALK
SCompetition
TA F F
rEAD thIS EDItIOn Of lEt’S tAlK tmt
TO FIND THE ANSWERS
and stand a chance to Win a
R500 Altech NuPay NuCard sponsored by Altech NuPay.
QUesTions
QUESTIONS
1. who is the Xerox Chief Technology Officer?
2. who is the Chief Information Officer of Illovo sugar?
3. how many years has Craig venter worked for the Altron group?
4. what is the name of the latest product offering from Altech Card solutions?
5. name one of the 40+ year bds veterans.
* Please note that this competition is open
to employees of Altron TMT only.
send your answers to: Chris van Zyl ([email protected])
by 9 October 2015
Congratulation to Janine Gruijters of Altech Autopage, the winner of the R500
Altech NuPay NuCard (Issue 06, January - March 2015).
SYSTEMS INTEGRATION
Bytes Systems Integration (Bytes SI) is a specialist
Outsource Service Provider that designs, implements,
services and manages customised ICT services and
solutions.
We provide a full range of IT infrastructural services, such
as service desk, end-user computing, server support,
data security, network support services, data centre
011 205 7000 I [email protected]
www.bytes.co.za
storage solutions and IT outsourcing, as well as contact
centres, biometrics and identity life-cycle management,
workforce management and cloud-based solutions.
As an end-to-end ICT Solutions Aggregator, Bytes
SI maintains extensive leading vendor partnerships
to deliver world class technology across the African
continent.
Altron TMT Marketing Shared Services
DELIVERING
SuStAInABlE
VAluE

LET`S TALK

Transcription

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