Voted one of SA`s top emerging empowerment companies in the software sector, Maxxor is justifiably proud of its early successes, and working hard to secure its future. CAPE TOWN-BASED Maxxor Business Solutions is a young company less than two years old, in fact, and yet it has already attracted its fair share of the media spotlight. Earlier this year, it was nominated by Impumelelo as one of South Africa`s Top Emerging Empowerment Companies in the software sector. Last year, it was the overall winner in SAB KickStart, one of SA`s largest entrepreneurial development initiatives.

The company provides a range of services, including IT consulting, systems integration, systems development and e-business services, to both the private and public sector.

Clients range from leading blue chips, like Siemens Business Services and MWEB, to NGOs such as the Cape Town Regional Chamber and Triangle project, active in the health services field, as well as numerous SME clients.

Although co-founder and MD Mustapha Baboo is loathe to disclose project details, largely at the behest of clients, he will reveal that Maxxor has recently finished a new billing system for use by one of the country`s largest Internet service providers, while doing ongoing development on its portal. It is also developing the technology platform and management system for the Cape Provincial Government`s Cape Access project. "This is a community development initiative that seeks to provide Internet access to rural communities in the province," he explains.

THE EARLY DAYS

Baboo recalls how the company started out as an open source systems integrator - "at least that`s what our business plan spelled out. But after three months of knocking on doors, with no success, we quickly realised that most of corporate South Africa is not really interested in open source. And those that were interested had their internal teams tinker with open source rather than using external companies." The company quickly readjusted its strategy. "We now do enterprise systems development across .Net, J2EE and open source technologies." It also has a separate division that serves as an e-business enabler for smaller businesses by providing services such as Web marketing, e-commerce and hosted applications.

Co-founder and operations manager Shana Kassiem indicates that Maxxor`s founding trio, which also includes technical director Raj Moodaley, aim to build the company`s capacity from its current 15 staff members to a team of 50, and to bed down its national presence. The company is busy setting up a Johannesburg office, in addition to its Cape Town presence.

"We also have some product development projects that we would like to complete within the next few months. With the proliferation of broadband in the coming years, I think that there are a lot of opportunities for South African companies in the consumer Web space, so we are positioning ourselves for this," says Moodaley.

He reports that he does a lot of research into leading-edge Web technologies, and also keeps abreast of the Web 2.0 phenomenon. "We are constantly looking for ways to bring those types of technologies into current business applications. For mainstream businesses, use of these technologies might be a few years off, but that is hopefully where small innovative companies like ours can assist," he says.

CHALLENGES APLENTY

Being small has its challenges, though, admits Baboo. The company`s original loan funding applications were all rejected because the funding agencies thought that there were just "too many small IT businesses out there and that the barriers to entry are just too low. I think that`s true, but even in an over-traded space, there is always scope for a company that is willing to provide better service than the incumbents," he maintains.

Kassiem points out another less-spoken-of challenge in the world of small business: the management team having to learn to manage a team of people and trusting the team to deliver, rather than doing the work themselves. "This is always a challenge, but I think we are doing well," she remarks.

"The sector has seen a definite increase in activity over the last few years, which I think is a reflection of the growing economy. As for being black empowered, I don`t think we`ve gotten any work because of our BEE status. I think companies will do business with you if you have integrity and you have the skills to deliver," insists Baboo.

"Having said that, I believe that the industry has a long way to go before it can be considered inclusive of the broad range of the country`s population. There are still way too few females in the ICT sector, and discrimination (both sexism and racism), whether intentional or not, is rampant," notes Kassiem.