Compuware SA capitalises on market change

Compuware SA is taking advantage of changes in the technology and business requirements of SA corporates to shrug off the gloom pervading the local and international IT sector.

The result, says Wade Gomes, MD of the local subsidiary of the Nasdaq-listed multibillion-dollar company, is that Compuware SA is consistently outperforming the market - and its own budget forecasts.

"After beating our budget by 140% last year, we are once again on track to meet our tough first-half target. The fact that we have grown our client base by some 20% over the previous half-year - including several SA blue-chip organisations - has certainly helped our cause," he adds.

Gomes attributes Compuware SA`s performance to the ability of the local operation to adapt to changing market demands.

"Tightening IT budgets are compelling corporate IT departments to do more with less - and that`s where Compuware SA is positioned. We have sharpened our focus on the client-server environment and provide the tools that enable every IT department - regardless of whether it`s a traditional mainframe shop, a distributed IT operation or a mixture of the two - to deliver the quality applications that add real value to a business.

"Importantly we can do this from early in the development of the application through its entire lifecycle."

In order to accommodate growing demand for lifecycle application management, Compuware SA has doubled in size in the past year and has undertaken a major drive to recruit and develop the specialist skills required to supply and support its sophisticated offerings in the local market.

"More than half our 50-strong staff complement in SA consists of skilled support people. Every one of these individuals is required to undergo skills training to meet the stringent requirements set down by the corporate headquarters at least once a year. This means our customers are assured of having local access to the latest skills at all times.

"In addition, the establishment of the Compuware Academy which offers both technical and life skills development to previously disadvantaged graduates from a range of SA tertiary institutions, is aimed at alleviating the severe skills shortage in the application development and testing arena.

"Globally, Compuware ploughs a significant proportion of its revenues into R&D every year. Our goal is to enable our customers to take advantage of these developments locally," he concludes.