DEALER PROFILE - SkyNet Systems
Company Name
SkyNet Systems
Established September1996
Location Basingstoke, Hampshire
Other offices We've just secured new offices which we will be moving into in March next year.
Headcount Currently two people
Staff members David Carrington, managing director and Neil Pemberton, sales manager.
Industry background I learnt the networking business at distributor level with Data Translation. Then I set up my own business, which was bought out. With the proceeds from that I set up SkyNet Systems.
Do you have plans to increase your headcount?
Yes. Once the move to the new premises is completed we will be taking on about 15 more staff. Currently, we use a pool of about six contractors all of which are Certified Cisco Intranetworking Experts (CCIEs)
So are you actively recruiting?
It's actually more like a merger. We are taking on a sales director who will take a 50 per cent stake in the company. He is bringing his own team with him
Company year end 31 August
Last year's turnover #2.15 million. We've practically hit that already - just in the first quarter of this year.
And profit? The final figures are still being processed but will be available shortly.
Can you indicate what proportion of your revenue derived purely from sales and what proportion comes from value added services?
It's difficult to estimate because often the whole package is costed together. But I'd say about 75 per cent sales to 25 per cent services.
This will swing more towards services when we take on the permanent staff because then we won't have to use contractors.
Main product lines sold Almost exclusively Cisco
Main accreditation held Cisco System Premier Certified Partner
Core markets The media sector
Key Accounts BSkyB
Are you owned or financed by Sky? No - it's just a happy coincidence that we share a similar name.
European/international presence Not as yet. And we do not plan to expand into Europe in the foreseeable future.
Main competitors There are obviously a lot of dealers out there but I couldn't single out any names that compete with us directly.
Which distributors do you use and what do you see as the main role of distribution? Primarily RBR, but also Ilion and Azlan. Distributors ensure high-end products are available to us at short notice and provide a first line of technical support. The marketing support they supply us with is also invaluable, especially for a small operation like ours. It means we have to dedicate less resources to our own marketing efforts which gives us more time to get on with the job in hand.
The biggest challenge you foresee for the year ahead? Maintaining our level of growth while the character of the company is going through the changes already mentioned. We need to ensure our customers are kept happy and that means keeping up a high level of service and keeping reaction times down.
Is there a recession on the way? Yes, but I don't think it will be very bad. I'm sure it will prove to be less damaging and more short-lived than the previous one.
Following a string of crises at Azlan, Ilion is now having a hard time - the departure of chief executive Wayne Channon highlighting the problems. What do you think went wrong at Ilion or is it a problem with the network distribution market in general? I don't think it's the market. Ilion obviously lost some key members of staff and then, right in the middle of this, decided to change the system it used for running its internal business. But as I understand it, the new software wasn't ready and this caused problems with the company's delivery process. Orders were getting delayed, invoices were getting lost and resellers started looking to do business elsewhere. But Ilion is a strong organisation and I think it will come out of this an even stronger company. My experience of distribution is that it's a very cyclical business.