Those were the companies that built and maintained the large mainframe computers that government and major companies used to store records and process large amounts of data. <\/p>\n
Some of those companies have dropped off the map completely. Others, like IBM, have been successful in maintaining their businesses through diversifying. And some, such as Unisys, have managed to survive by keeping their focus on providing and supporting the large computing infrastructures that clients of old still run, as well as expanding rapidly into the services market. <\/p>\n
Unisys Africa MD Henry Ferreira has had an interesting past five years. At the helm of Compaq's SA operations when the company merged with Hewlett-Packard in 2002, he was at the helm of the merged SA operations until he was redeployed to Britain. Ferreira says that in his experience those planning corporate mergers tend to forget the considerable difficulties of integrating different corporate cultures and instead focus on the technical aspects of the merger, such as the product sets or industry coverage. With the HP\/Compaq merger he quips that although the company was putting on a brave face for the media there was considerable internal conflict. <\/p>\n
Considering his views on the pressures of working inside a merged entity, it's amusing that his next career move was to Nokia, running its network division for the Middle East and Africa just before the division was merged with Siemens. Although claiming that the merger wasn't his reason for leaving, he says he hopes nobody buys Unisys – hoping to avoid another merger nightmare. <\/p>\n
Unisys now plays in a number of areas in both the Government and private sector but is firmly out of the consumer spotlight. And while Ferreira says that the company is meeting its internal targets, it's not where it should be, considering the enormous opportunities for growth both in SA and in the rest of Africa. <\/p>\n
"In working for Nokia throughout Africa it was clear that this continent is one of the last new growth markets and if we want to aggressively grow the business, then we need to tap into this market," Ferreira says. "The company has five main areas of focus: the traditional hardware and software business, which still accounts for between 20% and 25% of the business in SA; our outsourcing business, which is about 50% of the business; and three vertical specialisations – the public sector, financial services and global commercial infrastructure." <\/p>\n
"While some outsourcing business comes from contracts signed internationally, we're going to be aggressively targeting the SA market. However, with more South African companies operating globally there's an opportunity to drive global business from the SA operation. <\/p>\n
"We're putting the finishing touches to our first global outsourcing deal with an SA company. But such deals are more difficult to put together, as we have to make sure that the skills are available in every location in which the customer operates." <\/p>\n
He's spent his first six months putting the correct strategies in place and now that that's complete, Unisys is re-examining its forecasts and trying to put itself back into the competitive fray. That will mean stepping into an undeclared war between SA's three major players – IBM, Business Connexion and GijimaAst – which are all aggressively trying to build up their market share. For Unisys to play with the big boys it will have to ratchet its profile up a notch. <\/p>\n
Says Unisys Africa MD Henry Ferreira: "One of our strengths is that we know that we can't do everything ourselves. To deliver what the customer wants, we often have to partner to get appropriate skills. In the US we've even partnered with IBM on some contracts. We firmly believe in a strategy of 'co-opetition'. We have to work with some of our competitors in order to get the job done. <\/p>\n
"Along with any business plan there needs to be a corresponding plan to increase capacity – and those systems are already in place," says Ferreira. And Unisys is in the fortunate position of having a loyal workforce, with the average employee having spent more than 10 years at the company. "We had a long service awards ceremony the other day and I handed out awards to four people who had a combined 90 years with the company." <\/p>\n
The challenge is that with loyal staff comes the issue of an ageing workforce and the difficulty of ensuring that knowledge is transferred from the company's stalwarts to the next generation of Unisys employees. Getting the next generation on board is going to be a key issue for the company, as it will have to compete in one of the most competitive skills markets in SA. <\/p>\n
While Unisys will have to compete for always scarce skills to fuel its expansion drive, the thorny issue of black empowerment is one where it has the jump on many other multinational IT companies, having sold 30% of its African operations to an SA consortium in 2005. <\/p>\n
Ferreira says that while Unisys has a 42% representation at executive management level and 24% overall, middle management has been slower to transform. "One of the problems is that many managers don't fulfil management functions and we're in the process of re-looking at the structure of those positions to make sure that people's job titles accurately match the work they do. That should go some way to helping us resolve our issues concerning representivity in that part of the workforce. <\/p>\n
While change can be difficult, he reckons that the best way to minimise the stress placed on the workforce during any change is to have a clear plan and to communicate it to staff. "If you can do that then people will put their full effort into making it a success. One of the challenges facing the company is that the balance of power in the IT market has shifted from the vendors to the customer. While once the companies that supplied IT services to their clients were able to tell their clients what they needed, customers are now telling their service providers exactly what they want and the challenge is to meet those expectations. <\/p>\n
How long he'll stay at Unisys remains a moot point, as Ferreira admits he isn't the sort looking to collect long service awards. "I'm not good at sitting still – I like the challenge of driving change." <\/p>\n
How quickly he can bring Unisys up to speed and how effectively it can compete with multinational competitors, such as IBM and T-Systems, and JSE-listed entities Business Connexion and GijimaAst, will determine Ferreira's success.<\/p>\n