Integr8 IT, a dynamic and agile IT company, was founded in March 2001, and is focused on network infrastructure and the design, deployment, support and maintenance thereof.

The company services are provided nationally with offices located in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and representation in Port Elizabeth, East London, and nationally across the southern Africa region, and on an international basis as well. Lance Fanaroff, managing director of Integr8 IT, says their model is quite different from other players. They will never attempt to sell someone technology if it is not going to ease a process, streamline a procedure or do something that results in a more efficient activity.

They first investigate how a company operates and then use the various technologies to provide the most viable solutions for each individual client’s respective business needs and requirements. The company’s service capabilities and lifecycle approach are structured to focus on the needs of a client’s project or existing infrastructure at the appropriate point in the life cycle -- whether it’s design and consulting, integration, operations or maintenance services.

Fanaroff believes companies should view IT expenditure as a long-term investment -- one that will not only help them remain competitive, but in the long run, save them money. Companies are tired of have technology products pushed onto them in order to solve business process requirements, this is where the solutions model is key.

Having established a pattern of organic growth, the company has made a significant investment in the creation and retention of a solid skills base. From its original eight founding members, in 2004, Integr8 IT employed almost 200 highly skilled full-time specialists.

Rob Sussman, fellow managing director, says the company only recruits brilliant people who are attracted to working with the best. Their approach is focused on transforming their intellectual capital, the knowledge that is retained in their employee’s heads and converting this into structural capital. Structural capital is knowledge retained within the organization and can be passed on to new employees. It doesn’t go home at night. This is imperative for the accumulation of the organizations experience in its lifetime. As such, they strive to improve their skills, nurture their relationships with customers and treat the accumulation of new experience, processes, systems and policies with the necessary respect.

The key component of any company is its people. In order to capitalize in this market and work towards a common goal, companies need a strong team of dedicated professionals -- people who are willing to learn and who are motivated to come up with new ideas.

A key factor to Integr8 IT’s success has been its strategic enterprise alliances and partnerships with Microsoft, Citrix, Computer Associates, 3Com, Intel, and MTN Network Solutions. These partnerships have enabled the company to combine industry-leading products and technologies with their services, aiding them in implementing next generation solutions.

Fanaroff believes there is a fortune of opportunity in South Africa and success lies in being driven and hungry enough to take advantage of it. He says there are a lot of aspects of South Africa that are first world, and a lot that are still third world -- the business opportunities lie in bridging that gap. He thinks IT can play a leading role in this arena. Fanaroff expects that Integr8 IT will double in size by 2005. They have been growing at a phenomenal rate and from their point of view, their next challenge lies in controlling their growth. The IT market is no longer driven by the large companies eating up the small companies. It is driven by the quick eating the slow. They believe that they have been ear-marked as the future giants within the industry.

Integr8 IT is a Microsoft Gold Partner in Advanced Infrastructure Solutions. The company has been accredited as the Mid-Market Infrastructure Integrator of the Year for the last two consecutive years. The company is also strategic partners with CA, 3Com, Citrix and MTN Network Solutions, and has been honored with a position among SA's Technology Top 100 Companies. In 2004, Integr8 IT was named Microsoft's Global Small Business Partner of the Year and Security Partner of the Year for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) at Microsoft's Global Partner Award ceremony held in Toronto, Canada.

Fanaroff says Microsoft's recognition of Integr8 IT as the number one international small business partner is an extraordinary feat, especially for a South African company that was born in 2001. He adds that it is a remarkable milestone for the company and a tremendous victory for the country and continent in terms of skills levels, expertise and capability within this increasingly competitive global arena.

Sussman says they are extremely pleased with these awards. Aside from the fact that it elevates SA's capability within the dynamic field of information and communications technology, it reflects very positively on the contribution Integr8 IT continues to make within these key market segments.

In September 2004, Integr8 IT added another coveted title to its growing list of achievements, clinching the prestigious Microsoft's Gold Partner of the Year award. Mark Reynolds, Group manager, Partner Development and Marketing, Microsoft South Africa noted that Integr8 IT has consistently proven itself to be an outstanding business partner providing significant value and consistently outstanding service to their mutual customers and that Microsoft was proud to be associated with Integr8 IT.

In the November 2004 African ICT Achievers Awards, which honor and reward excellence in ICT from both a company and individual perspective, Integr8 IT was a finalist in three categories.

"We are delighted to have received this recognition. It is an honour to be nominated, no less as finalists for three categories. Our vision is to continue to be leaders in our field and the African Achiever Awards represents a huge boost forward,"
- comments Sussman.