By being named the Top Private Sector CIO of the Year for Africa 2005, Rob Sussman has thrust his company, Integr8 IT, into the limelight yet again. The mid-sized IT services player is no jack of all trades, and proud of it ROB SUSSMAN is not oblivious to the weight of the mantle on his shoulders.

He`s been named the Top Private Sector CIO of the Year for Africa 2005 at the local ICT Oscars, the African ICT Achievers Awards, held in Sandton earlier this month.

Last year the award was won by the CIO of Old Mutual, who in turn followed the CIO of Telkom.

Sussman, though, is joint MD of Integr8 IT, a mid-sized IT services player which provides network technology services and solutions.

"Winning the award was a big shock. Being recognised for our work and expertise in the private sector by our peers puts our company on another level," he says.

Sussman was commended, in particular, for making "a significant contribution towards the growth and development of Integr8 IT and its position within the local network integration and solution development market, helping to lift its profile to a completely national entity serving both local and international clients".

He was also praised for his efforts in developing local skills, technology and infrastructure in the SA and African market.

But the kudos do not stop there. At the same awards, Integr8 IT was also named a finalist for the ICT Workplace Provider of the Year Award. It has also been listed as one of the top ICTe companies in SA for 2005/6 by the Corporate Research Foundation.

"What we need to do now is to continue to live up to these expectations. These awards are based on our performance in the past, but we need to drive the company down the right road into the future," he says.

Besides cost-effectively delivering enterprise-class services to any company regardless of size, the future also includes the lucrative, and for it previously untapped, public-sector market.

In March, after a nearly exhaustive search, Integr8 IT sold a 30% company share to black-owned Mononong Technologies. Mononong shareholders Jerry Mashinini and Harry Chakhala bring to the table their solid experience within the government sector.

Since then, Integr8 IT has been awarded a five-year multimillion-rand tender to service the Pan-Africa Parliament`s IT infrastructure at its Midrand premises, and has been engaged in a series of other contracts by the Department of Transport and Stats SA.

"We`re able to take the best of breed from the private sector and apply it to the public sector," he says.

"The reason for our success overall has been our unwavering focus," insists Sussman. "Although we service a number of vertical markets, including the financial, travel, medical and oil verticals, we have no intention of broadening our focus beyond managed services. The days of being everything to everybody are gone. These days success is about specialisation," he adds.

With a business model founded on best-of-breed technology partnerships (with the likes of Microsoft, Computer Associates, Cisco, 3Com, MTN Network Solutions and Citrix), industry-leading in-house technical expertise, and an outcomes-based service programme, the four-year-old company has come a long way since Sussman and fellow founder Lance Fanaroff started out from a bedroom in Cape Town.

Within four years Integr8 IT has mushroomed into a national operation, with offices in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban, and a presence throughout SA. It also has almost 200 full-time staff members and about 100 contractors.

Its service delivery model combines 24/7/365 call centres, manned by technical engineers, remote tools, monitoring stations and knowledge databases. Services are generated by its SA-based Nerve Centre, which can provide asset tracking, patch deployment and remote support to any global destination. In fact, Integr8 IT has provided services to clients venturing into Africa and Singapore, Sweden and the US.

"I believe we`re climbing the crest of the next wave. We`ve got everything right: a sustainable business model, a solid client base, skills that are the best of the best, and a phenomenal empowerment partner. We get a lot of interest in our business, which is understandable. But I think now we`re going to see some real growth, and it would be too immature to consider any outside influence."

Not one to rest on its laurels, Sussman explains that what separates Integr8 IT from the rest of the market is its ability to "obsolete its own model before the market does it for us". "We consistently evaluate what the market is doing, especially the US market, not to replicate it necessarily, because the SA market may not be ready for it. We believe we`re working about 18 months ahead of the curve," he maintains.

"We also watch our competitors very closely, learning not only from their mistakes, but also from their successes," he warns.