Integr8 IT, South Africa's largest privately owned national BEE ICT network integration and infrastructure management specialist, has expanded the profile of its executive management, signalling a new chapter in its steady growth as a global operator and provider of managed ICT services.
Jan Roux, former technical director of Integr8 IT, has now taken up an official position as managing director of the company. At the same time the company's co-founders and joint managing directors, Robert Sussman and Lance Fanaroff, will take up senior executive positions as Chief Executive Officers.
Roux has been with the company since 2001 and has contributed extensively towards its growth, development and refinement of core services.
"This is by far the most significant structural change we have initiated at the company since inception. Over time Jan has proven to be an obvious choice for the position and all we have really done is formalise a situation that has taken place in the natural progression of the company. It is a challenging role with a number of key responsibilities - but Jan, being a shareholder and partner in the business, is more than up to the task. We are pleased to have someone internal fulfil the criteria, someone that is known and respected by all employees and the industry at large," says Sussman.
The re-positioning of management is a prerequisite of the company's long-term strategy to manage and leverage off projected growth and changes in the marketplace.
"The time is definitely right to take the business to its next level. A recent IDC report indicated that managed services will continue its exponential growth in the local and international markets. The provision of these services is expected to reach $1.7 billion within the Asia/Pacific market this year. Clearly companies must position themselves appropriately to take advantage of the positive ripple effect in emerging markets," Sussman continues.
Sussman names the continuing prevalence of key ICT and telecommunications services, such as software as a service (SaaS) and virtualisation as critical market drivers going forward.
He also points to media reports quoting Gartner research as stating that projected growth for global total software revenue for SaaS within enterprise software markets through 2011 will reach $11.5 billion.
"We see the emergence in popularity surrounding on and off-site premium hosting services, the offer of zero capital outlay and guaranteed access to the latest business-ready technology."
Against a backdrop of escalating rates of technology adoption, as well as a high demand for critical managed services, Integr8 IT has positioned itself to substantially exceed its documented 300% year-on-year growth for the 2007/2008 fiscal year.
Roux echoes this sentiment and believes the company has experienced an overwhelming amount of growth, with the future holding a continued positive outlook, underlined by 'quality not quantity' and a 'work smarter' approach to the application of its business model.
The core principle remains to sustain and enhance the value proposition of managing service and infrastructure support in order to turn it into tangible business benefit.
"There are a number of key aspects driving the company forward and compelling us to act on our long-term vision. These factors include intense focus on global and Africa business markets, effective recruitment and skills development, as well as rapid growth within various divisions of the group. As such we apply a carefully engineered operations model that complements and reinforces our overall business model," says Roux.
This operations model is based on the combination of certain automated processes and procedures to safeguard functionality, juxtaposed with strategic use of intellectual capital and human resources.
"Our focus is to ensure that systems and technology, like our Nerve Centre, is used strategically and also serve as critical business tools for consultants. The consultancy component of the business continues to play an instrumental role in sustaining and enhancing service levels to clients. Recruitment of the right skills is paramount to our vision going forward," adds Roux.
At this point, Roux has a strategy in mind and is meticulous in his approach to following objectives in accordance with the company's proven recipe. The company has not as yet committed to a JSE main board listing.
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The Integr8 Group is an established and dynamic provider of Managed Information, Communication and Telecommunication services.
The Group houses the following companies:
Integr8 IT - Focusing on the design, implementation and ongoing management of ICT infrastructure. The core focus is on the provision of Managed Services around ICT infrastructure.
Integr8 IS - Focusing on custom development with a core focus on Web 2.0 and SaaS, providing global hosted services.
Integr8 Rental - Focusing on ICT and all asset-related finance for southern Africa and Africa-based corporations.
Integr8 Fax - Focusing on the provision of electronic fax transmission via its global fax platform and footprint, with servers located on every continent.
Integr8 Telecoms - Focusing on the provision of telecommunication and voice switching services in the emerging markets of Africa, India and China.
Integr8 Property - Focusing on long-term strategic investments into prime ICT intelligent real estate.
With over 400 full-time, highly-skilled professionals and substantial market share, the company is the largest privately owned BEE ICT company on the African continent.
Integr8 IT is the innovator, founder and operator of the only South African based Nerve Centre (www.nervecentre.co.za), providing a digital hub to manage and regulate the ICT environment of many of the country's leading corporations.
The Integr8 Group - in its application of skills and transfer of value in each company - has been acknowledged and accredited with many awards, namely Microsoft Gold Partner of the Year, African ICT Achievers CIO of the Year for Africa, Best Customer Experience of the Year, Network Infrastructure Solution of the Year, Security Solution of the Year for Middle-East, Africa, & Eastern Europe, Advanced Infrastructure Solutions, and many others, every year, since inception.
Named as one of the country's Top ICT Companies, the most innovative company on the African continent, and honoured with a position among South Africa's Technology Top 100 Companies, the Integr8 Group, through its associated companies and organised network, has established itself as a strategic partner with numerous internationally-recognised industry leaders.
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