In an age where the financial melt down has shaken trust in CEOs, managing directors and captains of industry it is refreshing then to hear Asher Bohbot talk about prudence. The chief executive of business and technology solutions provider EOH, Bohbot believes that business is about people, that everything is connected and that empathy is everything.
Who are you?
Asher Bohbot, CEO of EOH
What are the three biggest lessons you’ve learnt since you established EOH?
1. Business is about people.
2. Prudence. Ensure you are extremely aware of the financial management of your business and are able to assess risk. This is crucial for business.
3. Cash is king.
If you could do it again, what would you change?
I do not believe in regrets and, thus, would do everything in the same way.
What’s the best advice anyone’s ever given you?
Everything is connected. Always understand the process and do not just see events in isolation.
What are the biggest challenges facing the software industry right now?
The software industry is continually reinventing itself and new players both emerge and consolidate globally. The acquisitions of Hyperion, Cognos and Business Objects, by Oracle, IBM and SAP are a reflection of this. Over and above the acquisition aspect of these transactions, the fact that all three acquisitions were of business intelligence (BI) companies, demonstrates the need organisations have to derive more value from their initial investments in enterprise software.
Bohbot believes foremost that business is about people.
Mandy de Waal, ITWeb contributor
Business application outsourcing also poses more challenges and opportunities to the provision of software services. Combining this with the technologies of software as a service (SaaS), off shoring and cloud computing, defines new software delivery models. Cloud computing is the newest of these ‘disruptive technologies’. Originally pioneered by Amazon and Google, Salesforce.com has brought it to the software applications market as a mainstream player. All new technologies need to be embraced in software delivery models of the future.
How has the downturn affected the software industry in general?
Across the world, companies are endeavouring to reduce costs and increase efficiencies. The software industry is not exempt from this, and companies are reducing spend in non-strategic technologies and extracting more value from existing technologies. With big technology expenditure being put on the backburner, companies are increasingly looking to services providers to extract maximum value from their existing IT investments. The software industry has to become more adaptable and more flexible to accommodate these changes.
How has the downturn affected CRM and ERP in particular?
ERP and CRM systems cannot be looked at purely as software initiatives. They are the strategic business architecture that drives strategy, efficiency, and effectiveness in organisations. The majority of organisations today have ERP systems implemented, or in various stages of implementation. Organisations are now striving to extract maximum value from their initial ERP investment. Companies are increasingly looking to service providers to advise them on how to better use their systems to reduce cost, increase efficiencies, and deliver better customer service. We are seeing a new terminology, ‘value engineering’, and a new breed of consultants, ‘value engineers’, who conduct this work. When we look at CRM technology, the downturn has driven home the need to better care for our customers. CRM technologies are being exploited to see how they can be used to get closer customer intimacy and, in turn, a greater share of the customer’s wallet.
How have clients shifted? What are they looking for?
If you were to ask a CIO today what their priorities are, I would expect the following to be on the top of their agenda:
1. How do I reduce cost?
2. How do I reduce risk?
3. How do I ensure better governance?
4. How do I ensure business delivery?
I do not think the clients’ needs have actually changed, but rather the weightings they put on them.
What are the biggest trends in CRM?
From a technology perspective, this is providing the software as a service: ‘on demand’. From a business perspective, companies are further mining their CRM databases to see how this may be transformed into:
* Better access to customers
* Better customer relationships
* More sales, now and in the future
How do/will social networks impact CRM?
CRM is all about business value and that includes adding social networks to the mix. Whether these are Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn, they all have a role to play in the future of customer relationship management. New generations are abandoning traditional e-mail and other electronic communication, like SMS, for newer social networking platforms. These will need to be kept abreast of and included in all customer relationship management strategies.
Isn’t the CRM market over saturated? Where will growth come from?
CRM systems are a fundamental part of an organisation’s enterprise system architecture and are becoming less distinguishable from the core ERP itself. Customer analytics, finance, order management, customer service, marketing, master planning, scheduling, and many more processes are underpinned by CRM and CRM data. There is no doubt that best-of-breed applications will be overtaken by integrated applications, but we see it as a growing space.
Can South Africa become a global outsourcing destination? If so, in which areas – which sectors will shine?
No question! EOH is doing it – we are servicing Europe from South Africa at the moment. Our time zones are decent, we speak English, and have a fairly neutral accent. We are in a unique position, have lots of new, young people, and our costs are reasonable. Once we resolve our bandwidth issues, I believe South Africa is well placed to offer valuable services to the world and we may displace India as the call centre and service desk capital of the world.
How do you relax?
I sing in a group every week, play tennis, and enjoy time with my family.
What business book are you currently reading and what’s your biggest take out from that book?
I prefer biographies and autobiographies, and am currently reading The Google Boys biography. I like easy reading and do not enjoy business books.
What’s your life philosophy?
There are two:
1. Always put yourself in the other person’s position.
2. Don’t be influenced by negativity – walk away from it.
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