The man who built a South African software giant with R38 to his name

English emigrant to South Africa Phil Duff founded software giant Syspro in 1978 out of a bedroom in Northcliff, Johannesburg, building a highly successful firm in which the leading global private equity firm Advent International recently acquired a majority stake.

Duff started the company with his brother Chris, who left the South African operation to manage Syspro Europe in 1992. Duff remained in South Africa as CEO of Syspro until 2022, before taking on an executive board position.

Duff retired from the executive board in September 2024.

Their ultimate goal was to build a leading financial, distribution, and production control application software manufacturer, beginning with South Africa before expanding globally.

Duff was born and raised in the United Kingdom. Little is publicly known about his early life there. However, he completed his A-levels at the leading Scottish boarding school Strathallan between 1966 and 1971.

After school, he attended the University of London and acquired a Bachelor of Arts degree specialising in psychology, French, and economics.

Living in the UK at the time, Duff said the Syspro journey began when his brother unexpectedly called him, asking him to join him in South Africa to start a computer company.

Knowing little about computers, Duff blames the gloomy UK weather for the thoughtless “yes” he gave his brother in response to the offer.

Several months later, Duff received a letter from his brother in the post: a contract to join the budding South African computer firm, offering a salary of R400 per month.

With the contract in hand, Duff purchased a one-way ticket to Johannesburg and landed in South Africa in 1977 with just £25 (then worth R38) in his pocket.

Considering inflation, the amount of R38 works out to roughly R1,830 today.

After landing in South Africa, Duff quickly learnt that the contract was fabricated and that the salary of R400 per month didn’t exist. His brother knew it was the only way to get him on a plane to South Africa.

Tenacity and a significant realisation

Despite the fabricated contract and salary offer and having moved to a strange country, 24-year-old Phil Duff knuckled down and quickly realised the value of being able to read the market.

His brother Chris had secured a contract with multinational fertiliser, metals, and specialist manufacturing firm ICL to develop and sell applications around Stars, so the pair got to work.

They began by developing applications for the Stars II Accounting system in 1978.

Their work with Stars II continued in 1979, with the brothers also developing a purchase orders module and the PAYPAC payroll system.

In 1980, the team added a third member and Bill of Materials and Work in Progress modules to its repertoire.

In the same year, they also established Syspro Management Services, a new manufacturing consultancy, and Syspro Data Services, a computer bureau.

Between 1981 and 1990, Syspro experienced significant growth and development. It evolved from a company focused on enhancing ICL’s software to becoming a leading manufacturer of its own business application software.

In 1982, the company gained considerable traction locally and in the UK through its enhancement of Stars II to operate on ICL’s System 25, leading to the establishment of a Syspro office in the UK.

In 1983, Syspro converted Stars to run on Unix minicomputers. It acquired the Stars source code, which was written in Assembler, and converted it to Micro Focus COBOL.

The move led to the creation of Integrated Manufacturing for Production and Accounting ConTrol (IMPACT), which became Syspro’s first flagship product.

By 1985, the company had installed the first three IMPACT modules at Sandton Clinic, a Unix site in Johannesburg.

Its global reach expanded again in the following year, when it obtained distribution rights to Seven Rivers in the Asia Pacific region.

By the year of Syspro’s 10th anniversary, the company had become a leading manufacturer of financial, distribution, and production control application software in South Africa.

The year also saw Syspro’s true global expansion, establishing Syspro Canada, Syspro USA, and Syspro International.

ASAP Computer, the company’s first Australian reseller, established a presence in Sydney in 1989.

Customer base grows fivefold

Between 1991 and 2000, Syspro experienced significant international growth and product development.

Phil became the company’s worldwide CEO in 1992, while Chris moved to the UK to establish Syspro Europe.

The company’s software sales grew significantly, enabling it to become a self-financing international player with approximately $12 million in annual software sales, employing 130 people and operating companies in various regions.

It also supported a network of distributors in 23 nations.

Syspro earned its ISO 9001 certification in 1994, before releasing IMPACT Encore, its first-generation Microsoft Windows and Open Database Connectivity application.

Subsequent launches included IMPACT Encore in 1999 and IMPACT Encore 5.0 in 2000. The release introduced a graphical user interface with a visually oriented menu.

By the company’s 20th anniversary, it had established a presence in more than 45 countries and had established itself as a leading international software house. Syspro says its customer base grew fivefold in the 1990s.

Syspro was selected as a pre-launch partner for Windows XP and named one of Start Magazine’s Hottest Companies in 2001.

The company’s IMPACT Encore software underwent a rebrand in the first decade of the new millennium, with the launch of Syspro 6 and the Syspro e.net Solutions Application Programming Interface in 2002.

The period also marked significant growth in markets like Australia and China, while the company’s South African operations moved to a new headquarters in Sunninghill, Johannesburg.

In 2005, Syspro’s development team began work on Syspro mobile applications using the .NET component framework, which could run on pocket PCs.

Between 2006 and 2023, the company released various updates to its software products and launched several new applications. It also received several accolades during the period.

In 2023, Phil received the CODiE Lifetime Achievement Award, and Forbes recognised Syspro as the Best ERP Solution for Manufacturers.

“The company excels at streamlining the supply chain, providing an integrated view of all operations and offering critical insights and real-time trends,” it said.

“Specifically, it can manage operating budgets, predict sales quotas and monitor progress across distribution centres, warehouses and the shop floor.”

Forbes identified Syspro’s products as being ideal for automotive, electronics, medical devices, industrial machinery firms, or any business in the manufacturing and distribution industry.

Phil retired from Syspro’s executive board in September 2024, leaving behind a legacy of 46 years of successful business growth.

His retirement came a month after leading global private equity firm Advent International entered into an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Syspro.