Corporate Vision March 2017

66 CORPORATE VISION / March 2017 , Danny Singer of software developer Noetica talks to us about the firmand what it takes to be an award-winning CEO as he is crowned UK CEO of theMonth. In Close Contact Noetica is a software development company specialising in the delivery of advanced technology to organisations that operate contact centres. The company will this month be celebrating 20 years in business, is headquartered in London with further offices in Durham. Noetica’s product range consists of three separate yet tightly integrated modules: Synthesys™: a user friendly contact centre productivity suite aimed at non-technical users SmartBound™: patented outbound technology designed to promote responsible and considerate yet super-efficient dialling. NVP™: highly cost effective telephony platform dedicated solely to the contact centre. Noetica’s products are deployed across most verticals with particular focus on blue chip clients within market segments such as contact centre BPOs, insurance, media, fundraising as well as many others. Danny Singer explains that, as a software development company, the firm’s approach has been rather unorthodox, however it has certainly served it well over the last decade. He embellishes on the company’s ongoing strategy. “About 7-8 years ago we decided on an early transition from a capex to an opex/subscription model for software licensing, whether delivered on premise or in the cloud. Although initially we had to take a hit on revenue, over time this has delivered significant benefits. Most of our revenue is now recurring year on year. This means that we have been able to break the addiction to acquiring new clients each and every month allowing us to focus on our existing customer base and support them with their growth plans whilst offering a level of service that our competitors would struggle to deliver. “We have restructured the company so that we not only provide state-of-the-art software but also expert consultancy services which assist our clients to make the best use of the technology we provide. To this purpose, we set up a brand new Client Services department staffed with people who are not techies but instead have long-standing experience in utilising technology for setting up and managing complex contact centre operations. In addition, we are now also offering infrastructure (servers, networking, telephony, database, etc.) consultancy to our clients. These new service offerings have proven extremely popular and a major differentiator in our markets.” One of the many qualities that Danny possesses as an award-winning CEO is having the ability to make decisions in a dispassionate way and accept the opinions of others. He tells us more about the key attributes which have led to his success, and about what keeps him motivated. “Personal pride has no role to play in decision-making and the CEO doesn’t have a monopoly on wisdom,” he says wistfully. “Listen to your staff and your customers and be open to be persuaded and change your mind if need be. “Success is a great motivator. Together with my excellent, passionate management team we have been able to grow the company profitably and deliver innovation to our growing client base on a continuous basis. Having successfully completed an MBO in 2010, we are now the masters of our own destiny, have no external shareholders to appease, are debt free and financially secure. The contact centre market is currently in the midst of a period of fundamental change. Technology and telephony are moving to the cloud and millennial customers choose to contact organisations using new channels which need intelligent new technology. This makes our lives as a technology company extremely interesting and rewarding. We live in exciting times.” One of the main challenges that Danny has faced in his rise to the top is the temptation to micro-manage and get involved in everything. He explains how he overcame this issue, with fantastic results. “This issue is often what stops brilliant small companies becoming great medium sized or large companies. Having started as a software developer and system analyst, there is always the temptation to get involved in the minutiae of the day to day. This can be disastrous for a CEO whose main task is to provide a clear vision and ensure that staff are fully aware of it, contribute to it and buy completely into the strategy. The trick is to build a management team that you can trust and let them get on with it. As a CEO, it is important to keep that vision alive both internally and externally by reinforcing it and amending it as circumstances change. These are treacherous waters that we navigate and the role of the CEO is to be a skilled, alert and attentive skipper.” With regards to the future, Danny hopes to be managing a Noetica that is at least four times larger than it currently is today. He has aspirations for the firm to be trading globally and widely recognised in the industry. “It is my aspiration to bring to market an offering which seamlessly combines contact centres with social mobile apps and cloud computing to create a seamless experience for the mobile, wireless oriented generation. I believe that such a platform could completely revolutionise the contact centre market. At this stage, it is purely an idea and I am thinking of ways of making it a reality.” K Company: Noetica Ltd. Name: Danny Singer Email: [email protected] Web Address: www.noetica.com Address: The Hop Exchange, 24 Southwark Street, London SE1 1TY Telephone: 0845 0181 070 1702CV19