Marshal Software has had phenomenal global acceptance over the past five years with internet technology enabling it to 'punch above its weight' delivering software to minimise business security threats.

The Manukau-based company took the top spot in the Deloitte Fast 50 chart in October, with measured growth of 870 percent over the past year. Its MailMarshal product was also selected as the best real world 'Junk Email Management' solution by US-based W2Knews in its 2002 Target Awards programme for Windows NT/2000 utilities.

"Our competitors and customers really have no idea of our size because we're seen as an international company. Africans and Europeans have no problem dealing with us but Americans tend to see the US as the centre of the software universe," says Marshal chief executive John Skeets. "So these days we list our US address first.".

Marshal has 55 staff including 18 offshore, where it now achieves 80 percent of its sales.  "The internet has been essential in developing a global business which would not have been possible otherwise. For example the Police in Columbus, Ohio downloaded their software from our web site after finding out about us from our Irish distributors," Skeets says.

Marshal (www.marshalsoftware.com), sells internet content security products, MailMarshal and WebMarshal, which sit between the firewall and the mail server of medium to large firms. 

The software is customised to suit 'acceptable use policies'; isolating security breaches, malicious code, unnecessary bandwidth consumption and workers who use the internet for unproductive and illegal activities.

As well as allowing hundreds of customers to download software, updates and fixes from its web site it also offers extensive support including access to a knowledge base, case studies and a web forum. The locally managed site is mirrored in the US.

Using the Heat helpdesk package Marshall has also been able to provide email support for customers in the Northern Hemisphere more effectively than they've had from competitors in their own markets.

Skeets says the internet is the new bar companies must jump to remain in business.  "Having a presence and being able to be found is important but over time you're going to have to build up functionality and maintain dynamism and freshness. That requires a commitment."

While the internet can be an amazing tool for improving communication and efficiency it can also be a time waster if on line attention is unrelated to work. Atlantis, for example, saves $100,000 a year policing its perimeters for time wasters with Marshal software. 

Atlantis rising

Atlantis is another of New Zealand's fastest growing companies which leverages the internet to sell its marketing and data analysis skills in Australasia and the US.

Atlantis was second in last year's Deloitte's Fast 50 with a growth rate of 414.6 percent. It dropped back to thirteenth position this year but is still growing - currently at 220 percent. Company CEO Michael Whittaker was named Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year for 2002.

Whittaker says the group made an early decision that its web presence would be for business functionality rather than just as a glossy brochure. Its wise use of the web is a major factor in its rapid growth.

His company set out to fill an obvious gap in the market because multi-national marketing companies weren't offering the flexibility or level of customer service businesses wanted, says Whittaker. "They weren't being dynamic enough or keeping up with customer demand. They had legacy systems that limited their ability to react and their attitude was unresponsive. Atlantis however saw the need, built a good database and just went to it."

Atlantis (www.atlantis.co.nz), formed in 1996 by Mr Whittaker and two friends, now has 200 staff specialising in data capture, response management and analysis, helping direct marketers get their message across using hard copy, smart cards and internet-based strategies. A separate division, Visible Results, has become a world leading customer relationship management (CRM) business, using smart card technology.

Atlantis has customers in 15 countries and operates in five languages. Its key customers are in the banking, telecommunications, petroleum and service industries. It has offices in New Zealand, Australia and Singapore and a stand-alone unit focusing on the pharmaceutical industry.

All marketing material, case studies, press releases, market watch information and data on products and services can be downloaded from the web. Customer data, internal call centre, data entry and standard documents system are all web-based, resulting in cost and resource savings, better version control and centralised global distribution. 

For example, Atlantis has a client in Hong Kong, managed out of Sydney. Data entry is done in Singapore in Chinese characters, the international data centre  manages the information, technical support is handled in Auckland and the hardware is maintained in Kansas City. "Everyone has the same application and maintains a central view of the client. To me that's practical use of the internet," says Whittaker.

Atlantis invests a million dollars a year developing its internal systems. It's just bedding down the third re-work of its distributed architecture, which will determine how the company moves forward. "This is what has enabled us to grow and handle millions of transactions a week."

The company has developed its own Java-based applications, which work with Oracle and SQL Server databases and ASP hosted applications. Management and staff can easily work away from the office by dialing into the corporate data network using a secure virtual private network (VPN).

Whittaker is on the road 20 days a month and prefers to keep in touch using the telephone or email from his laptop using wireless connectivity. "I prefer a full screen and an environment where I can sit down."

Atlantis is now beginning to make major inroads into the US market. "We're signing up a significant number of clients including gas and convenience outlets, general retail and quick service restaurants."

The key has been the provision of accurate data and the use of the Visible Results (www.visibleresults.co.nz) loyalty card. GraphiCard, a thermal read/write card enables the message on the card's silver area to change with every transaction. It can update points earned, provide 'instant winner' prizes, promote special offers and provide media space for customers to obtain extra revenue.  The card is now used by many retailers in the US and has been adopted by a number of firms in New Zealand including Mobil, Blockbuster Video and Dymocks booksellers.

Whittaker's advice to companies moving into web territory is not to incur cost for the sake of it. "You need to ask what kind of on-line presence you need. Things have moved way past the brochure. You need functionality that improves business processes and efficiency."

Breaking the ice

New Zealand's pioneering Icebreaker clothing brand recently gave members of the rag trade from around the world a grass roots view of how it is evolving into an international company. Icebreaker launched its 2003 product range alongside Auckland's Fashion Week in October.

Managing director Jeremy Moon and his team hosted trade representatives from Canada, Japan, Switzerland, Australia and England who had previously only communicated electronically. They were taken on a South Island tour to a Merino station so they could see the story of Icebreaker clothing from the beginning.

Accompanying them were local retailers who had 'given the brand a chance' and opened the way for it to expand overseas. "There was a real sense that we were a global company," says Moon.

Icebreaker clothing is made of 100 percent Merino wool from leading high country sheep stations and has the reputation of being soft, strong and is machine-washable. It's branded as 'the warmest and best performing thermal bodywear available'. 

In 2001 Icebreaker rated fifth on Deloittes Fast 50 with 345.7 percent growth. This year it had dropped to tenth place but is still rapidly building its reputation with 271.7 percent growth. Its approach to technology is a cautious one that ties investment to a business case.

Icebreaker has a staff of 20 in the capital city selling to 500 stores across 10 countries and a network of one to 20 people representing the brand in each export market. "We don't have an intranet and rely mainly on email and a 'sophisticated' information system anyone in the company can access remotely," says Moon.

The adventure-wear exporter formed in 1995, and initially saw its web presence as a means of building brand loyalty, but is now expanding its site to become more interactive.

"We've always viewed the web cautiously (www.icebreakernz.com). It can be a black hole of expenditure. When you are a fast growing company you need to be careful what you invest in. We only wanted to put the face of the brand on the web and keep it simple until we understood more about what it could offer us," says Moon.

Until now that's been limited to placing the consumer catalogue on the home page - essentially "transferring some graphic design from one medium to another rather than some complicated web strategy". 

Icebreaker has just come through a three-month process of planning its next steps with the web to create greater customer involvement and ultimately increase traffic to the retail outlets. This will be achieved through "good design, ongoing freshness and having people behind the scenes supporting everything we do".

The key will be integrating a database to run surveys to improve the level of customer feedback so it can learn more about who's wearing Icebreaker clothing and what kind of activities they're into. "This will help us progressively tailor packages and provide better services through the web as different customer segments emerge," says Moon.

 "If we can build up a profile of customers who wear Icebreaker for sailing, snowboarding or mountain biking and involve other organisations then when we can notify them of experiences that suit their taste," he says. Messages with web links will be generated from the database over the next three to six months.

"We try to stay small and focused and not let technology get in the way. It's so easy to over complicate things. We've had to have the discipline of looking at the web as a business case before we start throwing too much money at it," says Moon.

 "What we do on the web we want to execute superbly because there are so many web promises that simply don't work and its so easy to fall flat on your face. We are looking at cautious, strategic initiatives," he says.

November 2002
By Keith Newman

John Skeets

Michael Whittaker

Jeremy Moon