Tech Fast 500 AP: Smart Companies |
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Technology Fast 500 Smart companies:
With its unique software targeting the market’s need for information-based decision making, Futrix focused its sales and marketing strategies to put itself squarely on the radar of the right people at large organizations – and landed back into the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 Asia Pacific for the second year. CEO Clare Howden ascribes much of her company’s substantial growth over the past year to product performance – attested to by exceptional customer feedback and recurring sales – outstanding employees, and a focused approach to sales and marketing. “The recession made it imperative for companies to run more efficiently and to do so they needed to get smarter about their business. Our software holds an appealing promise for businesses during tough times because it enables them to better leverage the information they already have and make important decisions, whether they need to cut costs, identify risk, find new opportunities or improve the bottom line.” Still without visibility, recession or not, Futrix solutions and services would be a hidden gem. That’s why creating a strong sales model is essential, something that Clare believes passionately in. In fact, her drive to install an advanced sales and marketing strategy, along with a robust business plan for growth, gained her the CEO title in 2006, after three years running the company’s financial side. As CEO and major shareholder, Clare holds a strong vision to realize her company’s potential as a globally competitive business. And she demands no less from her leadership team. “My team has the ability to balance belief and passion with experience. To truly believe in what you are doing, to know the software you are selling helps businesses every day get smarter, and to bring your skills into line to make it possible, that’s the type of individual who shines at Futrix.” Clare initially trained as a psychologist and once ran her own recruitment consultancy in London and, although this kind of background may be atypical of a CEO, she credits it for fine-tuning her ability to understand people and motivate a team. She hits the same inspirational tone for start-up software companies. “Keep going, keep knocking on those doors and LISTEN to anyone that can spare the time to talk to you.” And equally important, “invest in sales and marketing,” she adds. For the future, Clare acknowledges that continued excellent software development will keep customers coming back and attract new ones. She places innovation as a central part of her growth plan. “We’re constantly monitoring our software, understanding our customers’ changing needs, employing a top notch team across New Zealand, Australia and the USA to identify and adapt our models, the list goes on.” The prevailing drive to innovate – an essential value of a Technology Fast 500 company. |
Being a small fish in a big pond presents its own set of challenges on an average year. For a technology business trying to grow its top line and expand operations around the globe during a recession, the waters can be particularly choppy. Yet for New Zealand-based Futrix Limited, a company in the business intelligence market since 1997, the course for growth was set.