Madelise Grobler: DMA winner and multi-faceted ... - Words' Worth

14COMPANY PROFILEThe app is their oysterThe blue-sky thinkers who gave the world one of the firstSouth African-developed instant messaging systems, are stillthe backbone of Altech Swisttech. And they continue to pushthe boundaries.In 1997, a small software developmentcompany opened its doors in Stellenboschin the Western Cape. CalledSwist Group Technologies it initiallyprovided infrastructure services to the mobiletelecommunications industry. In 2000,the company’s research and developmentdivision developed a massive multiplayermobile game named Alaya. The game wasSMS based and way ahead of its time dueto the high cost of text messaging at thetime. Three years later, the game was reassessedand turned into an instant messaging(IM) system – today the largest socialnetwork in Africa.In 2006, the owners decided to split thebusiness in the interest of customer focus.The IM system was aimed at consumerswhile Swisttech’s core business wascorporates. The IM system has since beensold to deep-pocket investors such asNaspers and subsequently the World ofAvatar.Swisttech, under the leadership ofYanesh Ramiah, carved a niche for itselfin the software development market. Thiswas done so successfully that the AltechGroup acquired Swisttech in 2011.The company remains largely basedin Stellenbosch, but Pieter Reinhardt,business development manager, recentlyrelocated to Johannesburg to build theAltech Swisttech brand and market in thenorth.What we do best“R&D is still our strong suit,” saysYanesh. “We don’t limit our innovatorsbut encourage them to open their minds.As long as an idea makes business senseand is above board, we will look at it.”Yanesh allows her staff to explore, withinthe broad boundaries of job descriptionsand performance specifications. “We letpeople branch out and move around inthe company because we believe in exposureand career choices.”Swisttech’s team of 44 employees is aunique blend of youthful innovation andconventional values. Yanesh describesthe team as propeller-heads who arefairly conservative and loyal to the company,yet they are good at making quickdecisions and coming up with some ofthe brightest concepts in the industry.One such concept is revolutionisingthe mobile application space. Yaneshsays it all came about at the beginningof 2011. “We were creating a clientproposal when we realised we can offerthe market a unique mobile applicationdevelopment platform. Our architectureallows clients to build a generic code andthen customise it for all other mobileoperating systems and devices. It is muchsimpler than other developments andreduces total cost of ownership significantly.”The beauty of CrossCurve, as the architectureis called, is that it caters for allgenerations of mobile devices, from theolder feature phones to the latest tabletsand smartphones. One of its unique featuresis when the user clicks on the URLto download the app, it automaticallydetects the device and directs the user tothe applicable app store.The CrossCurve architecture hassprouted a number of value-add services:l CrossCurve Notify is a push notificationservice that allows a company tosend messages to its consumers andthey can respond. It is similar to ordinarytext messaging, but at a muchlower cost.l CrossCurve Spatial is a geolocationservice. A company can pinpoint“Swisttech has much to offer our sister companies. Conversely,partnering with the likes of Altech Eyenza is an excellentshowcase for our capabilities.”