Zeacom dials up growth target

Zeacom develops software and builds communication centres in New Zealand and has exported more than 3000 units to around 30 countries although North America, Australia, the UK and the domestic market make up 90 percent of sales.

CEO Miles Valentine said the company would focus on its existing large markets with huge growth potential for its call centre and voice mail product rather than break into new areas.

“The US, our biggest, is up 40 percent on last year and we expect to do $US15 million there this year,” Mr Valentine said, “but that’s not huge for the US which has 30 cities with populations bigger than New Zealand.

“The market is very tough, competitive and with strong buyer resistance but we do well because we have a product considered a market leader in functionality.

“We have a strong chain of re-sellers, which is critical for our success. We went into the US in 2000 and established our sales and distribution system from scratch, supplying directly to re-sellers rather than using distributors.

“And we chose them very selectively – we wanted people who were prepared to invest and work and spend time with us.”

Mr Valentine said Zeacom started its US operations with four New Zealanders who brought in locals as sales people and technicians. The company last year lifted its workforce from 30 to 50 despite the recession.

“We figured it was a good year to invest in people but not for making a lot of money,” Mr Valentine said.

Zeacom has US offices in California, Atlanta and New York and others in London, Melbourne and Sydney. The Auckland headquarters employs 85 of its global total of 165.

Mr Valentine ran his own phone equipment re-seller Telephone Technology from 1988 until 1993 when he sold the business to start Voice Technology, a company specialising in call centre and voice mail software development which produced features such as personalised greetings generated by caller-ID.

He amalgamated the call centre and voice mail products after Auckland re-seller Cogent in 1998 approached him looking for enhanced product and the following year his company became Zeacom to work on unified communications.