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Software AG seeks growth evolution

Nicola Mawson
By Nicola Mawson, Contributor.
Johannesburg, 29 Jul 2010

Software AG's South African unit aims to bolster revenue by shrugging off its legacy as a mainframe-focused company.

Software AG, headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, has been around for 40 years and offers business process management solutions. Its brands include Aris, webMethods, Adabas, Natural and IDS Scheer Consulting.

The company reported revenue of EUR847 million in 2009 and has more than 6 000 employees serving 10 000 enterprise and public institution customers across 70 countries.

Software AG recently appointed Emma Murray to head up its South African operation. Murray, who has been with the company for five years in various roles, was appointed as country manager and VP for sales.

Growing up

Murray says Software AG is “coming out of its adolescence” and the team of staff is ready to take the company to the next level, competing with companies that have larger marketing budgets than its revenue.

She says Software AG SA will grow organically, by understanding what solutions its clients want, and implementing them.

Software AG, says Murray, is often perceived as a mainframe solutions firm. This is the stigma she is trying to remove by interacting with customers to show them that the company has bolt-on applications that can make their current mainframe solutions more effective.

In addition, the company is pushing its integration technology so it can compete against its larger rivals. “We are getting bold in terms of our ability to go after projects that seem quite daunting,” says Murray.

Murray adds the company is busy working out how to incorporate IDS Scheer into its market plan. Once the company is able to communicate that message, she expects it to be able to open doors in enterprise architecture mapping of applications in the mainframe.

Africa can wait

Although the local office also has the responsibility of sub-Saharan Africa, Murray says expanding into other countries is a future plan, with no set timeframes. She explains that the local office is small, with 55 staff including consultants, and to move into Africa would stretch staff too thinly.

However, once the company has established its growth objectives firmly in SA, expansion into other African countries will become a possibility, says Murray.

“We need to get it absolutely right in our own backyards... We are not going tremendous distances to learn expensive lessons,” says Murray.

Software AG has had an office in SA for six years and contributes 3.5% to the global company's annual revenue, which is expected to reach EUR1 billion this year. Murray took over the local unit after Fred Brady, who held the position for about 15 months, left to pursue personal interests.

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