Durban IT company, pilotfish, will cement its international footprint next month when it travels to Hannover in Germany to exhibit at the renowned CeBIT fair.
CeBIT is the world's largest showcase of digital IT and telecommunications solutions for home and work environments.
Pilotfish, led by Durbanites Adam Shapiro and Hannes Bantjes, will be among 6 200 companies exhibiting products and tracking trends in the globe's most dynamic industry.
"We're really excited to be going, it will be awesome exposure," said Shapiro.
In the last five years, pilotfish has grown from a fledgling IT concern to a top-notch company designing and maintaining Web sites and applications for blue chips like Unilever, Deloitte and Quiksilver.
At CeBIT it will be part of a South African delegation sponsored by the Department of Trade and Industry, in Germany hoping to attract the attention of the 430 000 visitors who attend the prestigious event.
CeBIT targets users in the retail, services and government sector and commands the attention of big international banks and the world media.
Last year visitors from 70 countries attended CeBIT.
Shapiro said pilotfish would punt its Web development and specialist applications business.
"We'd like to maintain the 30% of our business that is offshore, because it keeps us in touch with global trends. Although, we're just as keen to talk to the world market about the applications we are developing for our local clients, which we think is cutting-edge in itself," said Shapiro.
Pilotfish has a diverse array of clients. It has built an online booking system for a fancy diner in London that counts Madonna as a patron, and a specialised recruitment tool for financial services giant Deloitte.
Pilotfish was also recently awarded Microsoft gold certified partner status for, among other projects, its work in developing Sharepoint applications for a US-based IT company.
Last year, pilotfish was chosen to participate in a programme funded by the Netherlands government, to provide marketing and networking assistance to South African businesses dealing with European companies.
The five-day programme in Rotterdam allowed South African IT companies to test their readiness in outsourcing.
In Hannover, Shapiro says pilotfish will hook up with the Dutch mentors who helped the company learn so much about the European market last year.
"Of course, at CeBIT we will also be flying the flag for Durban, because the city has some awesome IT talent that is doing phenomenal things," Shapiro said.
By the way, if you thought pilotfish was bait, think again: ichthyologists will tell you that a pilotfish is a small, pelagic fish found in warm waters (Durban), blueish in colour, with a few broad black stripes, swimming alongside in a symbiotic relationship with larger sea creatures (pilotfish's big clients).
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