Spescom: Shaping up

Source: Technology Digital

Date :01/10/2008 00:00:00

31 years on, an innovative and entrepreneurial company’s buoyancy is boosted by a dynamic new CEO Jené Palmer.

Written by Ian Armitage and produced by Aaron Wells

In September Spescom celebrates just over three decades of success. During its lifetime the company has become one of the most enduring, wholly South African-owned brands in the technology sector. The new CEO Jené Palmer was recently nominated for South Africa’s Businesswoman of the Year, and is leveraging the company’s strong legacy with solid financial and strategic direction.

“We are defined by our unique skills set and our international alliances,” says Palmer. “We are unique; we have video, voice and data all under one roof and we also develop our own voice and mobile technologies and applications.

“Our corporate ethos is to be proactive and to deliver solutions that make a real difference. Achieving that means being passionate about business,” she adds. “However, our attitude is always influenced by a deep respect for human dignity and ethics.

“At Spescom, we believe in the notion that a ‘deal is a deal’. It is expected that all who interact with Spescom mirror this strong sense of business ethics that characterise our operations. This sense of dignity is harnessed in entrepreneurial individuals who are businesspeople, who respond to quick-paced action and change effectively, realising the opportunities and outperforming the competition.”

Spescom, Palmer says, conducts business in an atmosphere of “professional entrepreneurship”, which requires a “visionary mindset” capable of “evaluating long term value”.

Over the last 31 years the Spescom brand has become synonymous with excellence, innovation, and customer satisfaction. It is also widely acknowledged as possessing the best people and talent and the most outstanding technical expertise in the market.

STRONG RETURNS

Palmer is enjoying her new role, taking up the challenge of building on the work of Spescom’s founder and former CEO, Tony Farah. “I’m enjoying the challenge, most definitely,” she tells Exec. “We have focused on steadily improving the company’s operational performance. Debt levels have been restructured and we are generating strong returns.

“Our strong focus on making sure that we deliver what we promise, defines us as a business,” she adds. “We do this by making sure that our solutions are built around a comprehensive understanding of our customers’ environments as well as their specific business communication needs. This is followed up by effective and efficient delivery as well as after sales support.

Loyalty to customers is at the very heart of Spescom’s success, and delivering cutting edge services to them is therefore a key component of the company’s strategy.

“Our credo is: Understand, Innovate, Deliver. It is vital to understand your customer and his environment, build relationships of trust based on respect, and innovate appropriate solutions. Very importantly, though, you must also ensure that you deliver on what you promise.”

OPPORTUNITIES

Palmer believes that there are currently “ideal opportunities for growth”, explaining that Spescom’s solutions are “geared towards improving our client’s abilities to communicate with their customers and hence improve efficiencies.”

“We believe that our solutions provide our customers with the means to improve efficiencies and effectiveness and hence give them benefits that enhance their competitive advantage,” she says.

Other factors that are driving growth in the South African market, include the 2010 World Cup, the conversion to High Definition TV and the launch of a second fixed lined telecommunications operator .

Palmer says increasing bandwidth bodes well for growth in Spescom’s niche markets. “A stronger emphasis on risk management is also driving sales for our locally-developed voice recording solutions and workforce optimisation products. Greater deregulation of the industry also points to increased growth.”

South Africa’s current skills shortage is another challenge that Spescom is working to overcome. “It can’t be addressed overnight,” says Palmer, “but it is the collective responsibility of government and the private sector to ensure that the skills pool is developed.”

“The problem needs to be addressed at a school level. More children must be encouraged to do maths and science so that the technology sector remains open to them as a career option.

To that end, Spescom has implemented a variety of internal initiatives that provide on-the-job training to newly-qualified engineers and is also involved in further education for mathematics and science teachers. Palmer is determined to “take the programme industry-wide in order to ensure maximum impact.” The company has also aligned itself with the South African Institute of Electrical Engineers and the University of the Witwatersrand.

ORGANIC GROWTH

Asked how she sees the industry developing, Palmer says that while the South African economy is an emerging one, “as bandwidth becomes more available and cheaper, it will have a follow-on effect on the economy as a whole, and this in turn will give rise to continued organic growth industry. In addition, there are a number of global corporations establishing themselves in South Africa, seeking springboards into the rest of Africa. This too bodes well for growth.

“I would like Spescom to continue to be known for innovative business communication solutions and its ability to deliver,” Palmer concludes.

After all, the technology industry is an environment in which the survival of any significant player is dubious without it continuously reinventing itself, which is something Spescom has been able to do very well. From modest beginnings, it has grown and diversified into a listed, multi-national company. ¬