An independent survey conducted by Johannesburg-based research house, Genesys, has revealed that of the top 250 publicly traded SA companies, almost 30% have yet to acquire leased line access to the Internet. Ten of these companies have no Internet service provider at all. Including dial-up connections, 93,3% have some form of access to the Net. The survey was conducted to determine how much of the corporate market has been saturated and who the dominant players are. Of the top 100 publicly traded companies which are connected to the `Net, the market is divided among the major players as follows: The Internet Solution: 84,2%; UUNet Internet Africa: 3,9%; GiA: 3,9%; Intekom 2,6%; Spinerette1,3% (a SAIX-linked ISP); M-Web 1,3%; BT 1,3%. "The real money in the world`s fastest growing industry (the Internet) is in the corporate market rather than dial-up access provision," says IS sales director, Ronnie Apteker. "The Internet industry is analogous to the telephone industry, which also has two distinct markets: home users (stand-alone telephones) and the corporate market (PABXs, call-centers, etc.)." Apteker says corporate-focused ISPs which connect company networks to the Internet usually also implement those companies` firewalls, develop their Web sites, provide training, construct intranets, integrate into backend/legacy systems and databases and more, as part of an on-going value-chain. "A well-established corporate ISP can potentially provide all-encompassing Internet solutions indefinitely. Market share and the skill to be brilliant at what they do are the two determining factors. Without market share the value chain collapses, and without skill - well, you`d lose your market share before long," Apteker explains. He believes the dial-up market is far more competitive and the profit margins are small. "It is a numbers business," he explains, "and in South Africa the numbers are small, relative to markets like the US. The total dial-up market probably consists of 150000 paying users spread over almost 80 ISPs." M-Web is the most significant new entry to this market with plenty of financial muscle and a strong brand, which has been established in a very short space of time. IS is the undisputed leader in the corporate ISP market. Its experience, skilled staff compliment, and blue chip client base that prospects for growth on its existing client base are enormous. As part of the Dimension Data group, IS is in an excellent position to leverage serious corporate muscle by exploiting synergies between IS, SPL and Dimension Data Networking. It also holds the exclusive distribution rights to the Verifone product range, which will be instrumental in South African SET initiatives. IS has the largest IP backbone of all SA ISPs.
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