After 14 years with the company, nine of them as CEO, Guy Whitcroft has stepped down as CEO of Tarsus Technologies. He will take up the reins as director at its parent company, MB Technologies, from 1 March.
Pierre Spies, who presently occupies the position of COO, will take over as CEO of Tarsus.
Whitcroft says he is moving to seek new challenges, and adds that Tarsus also needs a "new person with a fresh perspective" at the top.
"The average CEO spends only about five years in the position, so I think it`s about time I made a move. Tarsus is doing very well and I am not leaving it for any other reason other than the fact that I want to make some room at the top for someone else."
When Whitcroft joined Tarsus as technology director in 1992, he helped the company acquire and grow the Compaq distributorship. Whitcroft notes that one of his biggest achievements at the company was to bring about the qualification criteria for product ranges such as high- and low-end servers, PCs and storage. He also helped introduce initiatives like the channel business college.
"One interesting thing to note is that Tarsus now does as much business by mid-morning tea as it used to do in a month when I first joined it."
Looking back
Reflecting on his 33-year ICT career, Whitcroft says he has seen some major changes during his years in the industry.
Top of his list is the commoditisation of hardware. He says that once these technologies became mere commodities, resellers have had the major challenge of adding value to them, as a differentiator from competitors` products.
He also says the sheer volume of products now being shipped is overwhelming. "I think this has outstripped any projections. When IBM launched its PC in 1981, it was projected that it would reach market saturation after shipping 280 000 units. SA alone moves more than that every quarter."
Whitcroft notes that another interesting fact is that even though the death of the desktop PC has been predicted many times, PC numbers increase every quarter.
"Another change I have witnessed is that whereas a long time ago the technology geeks ran IT businesses, today`s scenario is different in that one has to be a businessman first and then a techie second."
Looking ahead
Whitcroft is confident 2006 is going to be a good year for IT sales in a number of areas, some of which he says depend on the licensing of the second national operator and the deregulation of the telecommunications sector.
"Windows Vista is also due to be released this year. This will result in increased hardware sales as people upgrade to suit its needs."
Whitcroft concludes that now more than ever, companies that are offering just product will find their margins under continuous pressure. "They will have to get leaner and meaner or jump onto solutions."
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