Pastel Software`s International conference, which opens in Sandton on Monday, 13 May, is part of the implementation of a strategy that aims to make the company a truly global competitor in accounting and payroll software solutions for SME businesses.
"We have some challenges ahead before we can claim to be globally competitive. We need to dig deep and rethink our provision of services to channel partners and end-users. The conference, with 60 overseas and 300 local channel delegates, is therefore a vital forum for the exchange of ideas," says Terry Kier, managing director of Pastel Software, a Softline company.
Additional investments in infrastructure, state-of-the art telephony systems, CRM solutions and training are required for Pastel to reach its global goals, adds Kier. "This was really brought home to us in the first quarter this year. We were simply not equipped to deal with the high volumes that came through the business and failed to keep up with the support and services demands of our customers. Changes are being made to enable us to sustain these volumes and we`re grateful to the many customers who provided us with formal feedback. Infrastructure investments are now being made to provide more meaningful and responsive services to customers.
"There is huge potential for growth in the local accounting software market. It is nowhere near saturation, ultimately one of the benefits of being the dominant player in an emerging market. High growth is being sustained by steady increases in the numbers of new small businesses. Factors such as large company rationalisation, affirmative action/empowerment and the trend towards setting up specialist business units as self-contained profit and loss centres, are creating strong demand for SME accounting and payroll software solutions."
Kier adds that while this new business growth is resulting in record volumes for Pastel, it is also vital that the company maintains its installed base, which is significantly larger than those of its major competitors. A major challenge facing the company over the next two years is the delivery of added value services to the installed base to ensure that Pastel products continue to be used.
"We intend focusing on our existing products with the goal of achieving improvements in speed, stability and reliability. Our intention is bring out more frequent upgrades with focused and defined features -- features that customers tell us they want. Because the development teams will be more focused on fewer feature sets, we expect to see stability and reliability improve significantly.
"It is our intention not be exclusively prescriptive in terms of functional specifications -- our customers are encouraged to tell us what they want and we`re listening. Our development focus is on giving users what they want."
Also high on Kier`s forward thinking list is the development of strategic relationships with other companies because he believes that organisations that do not align themselves will not prosper. "These relationships can apply over multiple levels and I believe they will strongly influence which companies will become the dominant players of the future.
"To expand our services provision and to add greater value we need to develop synergies with other major service providers. To this end we have spoken to major banks and other financial institutions providing loan capital to new businesses. There are benefits to all parties if the use of a tried and tested SME accounting software package is an integral part of any loan. It not only ensures sound financial controls and management information are in place for the company taking the loan but it also facilitates secure e-mailing of the required regular financial reports and returns to the designated manager at the bank."
Kier concludes that Pastel is looking to its World Conference at the Sandton Convention Centre to provide a "greenhouse" for the cultivation of new ideas and global strategies for improving services to SMEs. "We are interfacing with our channel both locally and overseas. There`s a wealth of experience there that I believe will help us to come of age as a global organisation."
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Pastel Software is SA`s largest accounting and payroll software developer. A company in the JSE-listed Softline Limited group, Pastel has for more than a decade exported products to Africa, Europe, the US, Australia and Asia. Accounting software programs from Pastel are used by more than 150 000 companies operating in 40 countries.
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