Not exactly. But what we are doing is embracing who we really are which includes amongst other things branding ourselves more “significantly”. So who are we then? We (and I use the proverbial “we” very loosely as most of us are just a one-man-trying-to-make-a-name-kind-of-business with hopefully some family support from time to time) are truly South African – a South African business embracing the spirit of entrepeneurship. Broadly speaking our aim is to empower South African business (much like our own) who are faced with the same difficulties.

Although I have a pet dislike for being thrown into the “IT” category (mainly because the IT industry on the whole no longer portrays the essence of how technology is supposed to help you, moreover its perceived as a “necessary evil”), I do believe that our current (and indeed future planned) software applications will be just that – helpful! That’s because it was primarily designed for our own business (uniquely South African in an SA climate with all its idiosyncrasies and nuances). The last thing we need are the “software giants” saying, ” this is the software, this is good and this is how you will use it.”, when it doesn’t actually come into line with how we do business. And for that you still have to fork out your entire (read: non-existent) capital budget for the software. Not only is our software designed for SA business, but it’s actually affordable generally only paying a fixed monthly fee for the “service” (use of the application).

We are of course more than just software. We also have a range of Internet services designed not only to help you get in the game, but to stand a fighting chance of coming up trumps! I could throw in a whole lot of jargon here but that is precisely what I dislike about the “IT industry”. All you want is to get your business moving in the right direction. You need a website and communication (email) that works (you shouldn’t have to concern yourself with all that “other stuff” you need to make it work – we’ll take care of that for you, because that’s what “we” do) and dedicate the rest of your time and talent to doing what you do best – i.e. your core business (which in most cases is not I.T.).

Are we prejudice towards IT business – no! Just the perceived reputation. And no, we don’t believe we can swing public perception (at least not any time soon), but what we can do is offer real, meaningful help for your business. So even if your business is IT, we’ll be more than glad to help you too.

I’m sure by now you’ve realised that I’m not your typical “sales person” (in fact I don’t consider myself to be a sales person at all). There is no “sales pitch” with me – I just like people using common sense. We are all in business together with the same common goal albeit in varying priority – making money, and if I can be of service to you and your business grows / succeeds because of it, then I grow and succeed as well. And when we’re all succeeding – that’s when we can look back and say, we have a truely, GREAT country!

Richard O’Brien
OBRIENWARE – Empowering South African business!