Hansa Financials, which has since inception provided enterprise resource planning and customer relationship management to smaller businesses, has added extensibility and mobility to its earlier versions to target larger customers.
"I believe it is possible for products like Hansa Financials to grow upwards from the small to larger businesses," says Stephen Jay, visiting Hansa Business Solutions international sales director. "However, it is more difficult for large enterprise applications such as those offered by vendors like Oracle and SAP to come down to the small and medium enterprise level."
Jay says he finds it difficult to see these companies succeeding with scaled down versions of their software in the smaller enterprise space because it is impossible to enter the lower market at a sustainable price.
"They are undeniably successful in the corporate and large enterprise market, but they lack the understanding of small enterprise culture that is necessary to succeed in that market.
"Hansa has realised that to take Hansa Financials to bigger business will involve restructuring our whole business," says Jay. "Our entire company has had to change as part of our strategy to move up to the upper end of mid-range market.
"Change is necessary whenever you change size of customers," emphasises Jay. "Change must take place from head office all the way down to distributors and resellers, and we have been recruiting aggressively to ensure we have the necessary skills and experience on board."
Keith Mullan, MD of local distributor M‑Five Software, says he expects sales of Hansa Financials to increase threefold in the coming year. Jay agrees, saying SA and other African markets will be an important focus in the coming months.
"I foresee dramatic growth in Africa because of Hansa`s ability to meet the requirements of a large number of businesses in this region, but at a much lower cost than competitors," says Jay. "The likes of Oracle and SAP will have to do something spectacularly different to succeed in the lower market, whereas Hansa has all the experience required.
"We know we will ultimately be capable of competing with SAP and Oracle in the markets they have traditionally dominated, but that is some years off," concludes Jay.
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