Novell South Africa has announced that long-serving country manager, Richard Beytagh, is to step down at the end of this year to pursue personal business interests in the US. A successor will be announced in due course.
Beytagh, who opened the global networking software vendor`s South African office in 1993, has seen both Novell and the environment it operates in develop dramatically during his 10 years at the helm.
"Our business has changed substantially. In the beginning we measured our success by how much product we could jam into our distributors` warehouses. Indeed, there was a time when we had around 4 000 people selling the Novell product," he says.
"We concentrated on disseminating packaged product and rarely saw our customers. Today, Novell South Africa`s focus is on end-to-end solutions aimed at the large enterprise space and there are few deals where we don`t interact strongly with the customer."
The local operation, similarly to most others in the IT industry, has lived through a decade that has seen it expand through acquisitions and, at times, contract as some businesses were shed. Perhaps most notable in this regard was Novell`s acquisition of WordPerfect in 1994, which had major implications for the local office.
"Our staff complement at the time was 10 people and we had to absorb around 80 people from WordPerfect. The acquisition also saw our South African revenues double - it was an exciting time to say the least," Beytagh says.
It was also an exciting time for SA as an emerging democracy as well, and Beytagh was instrumental in ensuring that Novell played its part in assisting transition. "Back in 1993 we began initiatives to train up previously disadvantaged individuals and our bursary programme is still running today.
"This programme has produced over 135 Novell engineers and it is gratifying to note that many of them are now in leadership roles in our industry," Beytagh says.
Another success story has been the development of the local Novell channel. The company has invested substantially in training up partners in its technology and, says Beytagh, has built and consolidated strong relationships over the years.
"Our channel model has been so successful that it has become a de facto standard for other vendors to try and emulate. The channel has always been a key element of Novell`s strategy and will remain so."
And what of the downside? A major problem over the years, Beytagh says, has been to hold on to skilled staff, many of whom have taken up opportunities with Novell overseas.
"A number of our people now hold senior positions with Novell in the UK, Australia and the US and, while that`s been great for them, it`s meant we`ve had to constantly source new skills. Perhaps that`s one of the reasons I`ve been here so long," he adds ruefully.
That said, Beytagh will be leaving Novell in a strong position. The SA office has in the past been the top performer for the company in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region and, this year, despite the tough market conditions, has achieved 30% year-on-year growth.
"Our financial year ends in October and we`re confident that we`ll regain the top EMEA spot," he says.
An excellent performance, but why leave now? Beytagh points out that 10 years can be considered a lifetime in the IT industry. "In one way or another, I`ve been associated with Novell for the past 20 years - it`s time for a change.
"I`ve identified an exciting business opportunity with a colleague in the US and have several existing interests in SA which means I will be commuting between the two countries.
"In addition, my son is the All-Africa downhill mountain biking champion and is looking to try out the competition in the States, so I`ll be spending a lot of time supporting him."
And then there`s the yacht berthed in the Mediterranean. Beytagh plans to fulfil a long-held ambition to cross the Atlantic and explore the Caribbean and, somehow, fit in more time to spend with his family.
In terms of the succession at Novell, Beytagh is positive. "We`ve always had a close-knit team with a philosophy of work hard and play hard. Novell South Africa has never been a one man operation and I`m confident my successor will continue to deliver the customer and channel focus we`ve always had."
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