BUSINESS CONNEXION
feature
Connective
in t e l l i g ence an d t h e roa d t o E X P A N S I O N
Business Connexion’s Rodwell Zvarayi and Eric Stokes on ‘connective intelligence’, an award winning mobile app and plans to expand.
By Ian Armitage 2
www.southafricamag.com
Business Connexion focus TECHNOLOGY
B
usiness Connexion is a company that we at South Africa magazine have come to know well. You might remember in our September issue we talked with TransUnion Credit Bureau’s CEO Geoff Miller. Mr Miller talked about a whole host of issues, including the rise in unsecured credit. He also talked at length about a new, award winning and innovative mobile app the firm developed with Business Connexion’s help. “It allows dealers to punch in a registration or VIN number and find out information about that vehicle instantly. We will be extending this service directly to consumers in the near future,” Miller said. The Dealer’s Guide app provides subscribed dealers with practically instant information about specific passenger and commercial vehicles, as well as motorbikes, giving them the information they need to make an informed buying or selling decision anytime, anywhere. Eric Stokes, Business Connexion’s business unit manager for mobile services, is delighted with it. “It is a great app,” he says. “It tells you what a car of any make, model, age and mileage is worth. It also lets
At Business Connexion we have enjoyed a long history of success with a keen focus on innovation
www.southafricamag.com
3
Business Connexion focus technology
you look up a vehicle by its number plate to see if it’s been stolen, been to the panel beaters, or has had it’s mileage tampered with.” A consumer version is available, with the first vehicle check for free. Thereafter a user can top up their account as and when needed. The software works on almost all handsets, whether it’s an iPhone, Blackberry, or uses the Window’s operating system or Android. “We have a long relationship with TransUnion,” says Stokes. “We partnered to develop this application that could leverage their information and make it accessible from anywhere. “It was originally for dealers, but we’ve decided to make it available to consumers too. “Consumers are empowered by this. It gives them knowledge and negotiating power. The same goes for dealers. It is a great tool.” Business Connexion describes itself as a “black empowered integrator of innovative business solutions based on information and communications technology” and its motto is ‘connective intelligence’. Customers include JSE-listed and key public sector organisations, parastatals and mediumsized companies. Innovation is its “key differentiator”. “At Business Connexion we have enjoyed a long 4
www.southafricamag.com
Real Time Network Protection
The threats stop here.
Healthcare Every day, Fortinet protects the networks of many of the largest and most successful organizations in the world. We deliver complete content
Government & Defense Education
protection to block hidden threats. Our consolidated security technologies
Multi-Threat Security
combine application control with identity-based policy enforcement. Learn
Service Providers
how you can increase security, improve performance, and lower costs.
Financial Services Retail Utilities
Visit us at www.nu.co.za for more information or call 011 304 6200 to find out how you can protect your network today. Š 2010 Fortinet, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Fortinet and the Fortinet logo are trademarks of Fortinet, Inc.
Business Connexion focus technology
history of success with a keen focus on innovation,” says group executive for international, Rodwell Zvarayi. “Our ethos is ‘connective intelligence’ and it underpins the very essence of our approach. Why? Well when it comes to operating in a market that is more competitive than ever, we always strive to distinguish ourselves from the competition, connecting the world in a distinctive manner. Our unique business model represents our approach to configuring and integrating business solutions. Our solutions are designed to meet our clients’ strategic and operational needs, which we develop.” The firm’s mission, he says, is to provide increasingly simple, content-rich and affordable solutions to Africa and the world. “We are Africa’s leading ICT services provider, renowned for high quality, high performance solutions. We are committed to delivering world-class services and solutions.” According to Zvarayi, the way in which businesses use technology is rapidly changing - driven by the pace of innovation inherent in the ICT industry. 6
www.southafricamag.com
He says Business Connexion is an integral part of that change. “We were ready for cloud computing when we opened the Midrand data centre in 2006. Today, cloud computing is the preferred model for rapid response, high-value and low-overhead ICT solutions, changing the face of doing business. “In an environment like Africa where change and cost consciousness is critical, we deliver at low cost with rapid results. “And importantly, which the TransUnion example shows, we are leaders in application development, data centre services and IT outsourcing.” Africa is Business Connexion’s “next frontier”. It is where growth will come from. “The global economy has undergone a paradigm shift which has impacted the way we all do business. It is therefore imperative for us to identify business challenges specific to our region and then provide ICT solutions to assist our clients in overcoming them. Most companies are facing challenges as their capital expenditure budgets have been cut. We believe that with our cloud solutions we
JHB 39448
Business Connexion focus technology
As a business we have a great deal of achievements
are able to assist many organisations deploy their solutions. “In Africa we are seeing convergence between IT and telecommunications, bandwidth is now available and we see mobile applications as key. We think consolidation will continue in many of the traditional markets and our focus is on growing our African footprint. Africa is the next growth frontier – east coast, west coast and southern Africa are very important to us. Seven of the ten high growth countries in the world are in Africa. We are seeing good governance in countries like Ghana and Zambia. “As a business we have a great deal of achievements to share including our rise in profit, our returns from our African expansion – we have offices in SA, Namibia, Zambia, Kenya, Nigeria and Tanzania, and locally the partnership with Rackspace in cloud computing, our recognition in the area of energy efficiency, and our investment in industrial solutions, as well as application development capabilities.” 8
www.southafricamag.com
What is the secret to Business Connexion’s success? Threefold: Strong management, proven solutions and a clear vision for the delivery of ICT services that “create unprecedented results”. “Even as we continue to scour the market for merger and acquisition targets, we have a sharp focus on customer value – going beyond all expectations,” Zvarayi concludes. “As IT products and services are increasingly becoming commoditised, we’re giving more focus to developing differentiated solutions that leverage our own IP. Our existing range of propriety solutions is being extended to provide greater business value in specific sectors – retail, mining, supply chain, oil and gas, financial services and the public sector. Ultimately these vertical solutions will cater for simplified access in select African markets.” To learn more visit www.bcx.co.za.
Blueprint for Success The pressure to innovate is accelerating. To meet the challenge IBM is partnering for innovation more aggressively, but also tackling more challenging and disruptive types of innovation. Instead of just helping partners to help their clients to create new products or implement more efficient operations, IBM’s pursuing more disruptive types of innovation to build a Smarter Planet. According to Asif Valley, Business Partner Organisation Executive at IBM South Africa , “Building a rich and diverse partner ecosystem is central to driving high-growth areas of the business technology marketplace as well as a key source of competitive advantage for IBM.” “At the heart of this ecosystem is our relationship with approximately 300 Business Partners, including consultants, integrators, software vendors, value-added resellers and distributors. The strategic alliances that IBM has struck with leading solutions partners is a key reason that IBM software brands have surged into leadership positions in key segments.” Approximately 30 percent of total IBM revenue comes from IBM Business Partners and IBM Business Partner relationships account for more than half of its small and midsize business practice. Valley says that working with partners they are responding to clients needs to: Turn information into insight The need to organise, store and mine the information scattered throughout an organisation; spot hidden trends before they occur; predict outcomes in weather forecasting, transportation scheduling, financial performance and more; and provide customised intelligence designed to gain faster insight and return on investment from all the different data is growing. “IBM has taken aggressive steps to remix its business so that it is positioned for leadership in the high-growth business analytics space.” says Valley. “The combination of our middleware and consulting expertise makes IBM well suited to help partners help clients extract new value from their business information and respond at the same rate at which the data arrives.”
Help Cities Work Smarter Technological advances have opened the door for a new order of intelligent infrastructure inside our cities. In city buildings, thousands of wireless sensors monitor everything from motion, temperature and humidity to precipitation, occupancy and light. Sensors, meters and radio frequency identification (RFID) tags are being embedded in cars, roads, pipelines—even the wheels on a train. “Our analytics tools sift through the collected information to help cities respond in real time to changing conditions and keep everything running more safely and efficiently.” says Valley. And with offerings like an intelligent command centers, cities can manage their IT and data centers as well as physical assets such as water mains, office equipment, heating systems and fire hydrants. Connect with the customer What used to be seen as a flow of goods from manufacturers through a distribution chain to customers has become an interactive feedback loop, where consumers, producers, distributors, the media and marketers all have new roles to play. “Smart companies see selling not so much as a traditional function of their organisation but rather as an ever evolving set of services they perform for their customers.” says Valley. In 2010 IBM added to its own IBM WebSphere® Commerce software platform with three acquisitions in Sterling Commerce, for order management and supply chain optimization; Coremetrics, for analysing customer behavior; and Unica, for comprehensively managing marketing campaigns. “Today this means that we can offer partners the leverage points that these powerful software tools and services provide to help clients better address the connected consumer.” “The kind of innovation needed to build a Smarter Planet happens in collaboration with strategic partners who help bring together the business insight and technology to give the client a distinct advantage in today’s rapidly changing environment.” adds Valley. It seems that with collaboration, strategies become actions and everything gets smarter.
South Africa Magazine, Suite 9 and 10, The Royal, Bank Plain, Norwich, Norfolk, UK. NR2 4SF TNT Multimedia Limited, Unit 209, 16 Brune Place, London E1 7NJ Enquiries Telephone: +44 (0) 1603 343367 Fax: +44 (0)1603 343502 andy.williams@tntmultimedia.com Subscriptions Call: +44 (0)1603 343502 andy.williams@tntmultimedia.com
www.southafricamag.com
Forum Building 5 / 6th Floor c /o 5th and Maude Street Sandton Tel: +27 (0) 11 290 9001 Fax: +27 (0) 11 290 9006
www.bcx.co.za