For Elizabeth Naidoo, integration of risk with financial management is critical in building business resilience and driving the company’s vision. The goal is to support informed decision making by providing facts and associated risks of those decisions allowing for agility. CFOs and CROs need to consider themselves as Chief Value Officers now, for their enterprises, supporting top management to achieve organisational resilience.
Datacentrix is an African-born ICT systems integrator and managed services provider that operates in Africa and the Middle East. Datacentrix has a strong national presence in South Africa. Operations are managed from the company’s head office in Midrand and from regional offices in Cape Town, Durban, Gqeberha and East London.
A state-of-the-art logistics centre is situated in Samrand with service centres in George and Polokwane. Datacentrix’s partnership with a leading services provider in Central, East and West Africa extends local operations to 35 countries across the rest of Africa. Datacentrix Solutions operates in Doha, Qatar and supports the digital business in the Middle East.
The company’s mature portfolio incorporates intelligent infrastructure, hybrid cloud solutions, data management, digital business platforms, and comprehensive managed services such as everything as a service, security services and resource augmentation.
According to Elizabeth Naidoo, Chief Financial, Risk and Compliance Officer, Datacentrix, traditionally, the CFO’s role at Datacentrix focused on financial oversight. Today, it has evolved into a strategic function that supports competitive and sustainable value creation. The position has expanded to focus on performance optimisation, capability building and support to the CEO, the Board, executive management and other internal stakeholders.
For Naidoo, who has served for over 22 years at Datacentrix, integration of risk with financial management is critical in building business resilience and driving the company’s strategic vision. This involves evaluating resource allocation and implementing support structures and activities that impact value creation.
With direct reporting to the CEO, Board and other executives, the goal is to support informed decision making by providing the facts and associated risks to allow for agility and efficiency in business decisions.
For Naidoo, revenue, margins and profits are key metrics to measure and project growth and value creation, which are considered in totality by the executive team. Growth of revenue on the prior period and current budget, together with a comparison against industry performance indicators, demonstrate the effectiveness of Datacentrix’s business strategy and help identify target markets.
Datacentrix’s gross margins are important health indicators for assessing business growth and effectiveness of pricing strategies, technology and services mix. The non-tangible elements of customer satisfaction, customer and partner relationships, business excellence, credibility and value delivery are also core to Datacentrix’s success.
Transforming to Chief Value Officers
CFOs and CROs need to consider themselves as Chief Value Officers of organisations, recommends Naidoo. This entails more than financial oversight and evaluating financial KPIs. It involves supporting top management in their efforts to achieve organisational resilience and supporting innovation and employee engagement.
Financial stability, risk management and sustainability are major factors that support long-term growth for Datacentrix.
At the top of management’s list of challenges are talent acquisition and retention. Finding individuals who embody both technical and analytical expertise, with practical application in the work environment, is not an easy task. In a highly skilled environment, the attraction and retention of staff are critical to maintaining a competitive edge. Linked to creating a pioneering work environment are worthy recognition programmes that encourage loyalty and boost productivity.
Digital transformation and AI integration are a close second on the list of business challenges. Datacentrix continues to adapt as the technology and business environments evolve. It is a dynamic arena, and the company is constantly driving its transformation into a services and solutions-oriented business.
Realising that risk is part of normal business operations and implementing a robust risk management plan have already shown results.
Risks around growth, culture and information management – both internally and externally – are realistic obstacles to a business’s success. These are real conversations within the work environment at Datacentrix, as it assesses, manages and mitigates these risks.
Datacentrix’s management team considers risk in all elements of the operations, as, ultimately, risk identification is the key success factor. Competitive risk is high up on the risk register, and accelerates innovation and growth in the organisation’s plans, keeping the discussions interactive with business.
Investing in human capital
Keeping Datacentrix’s employees at the forefront of its guiding principles is key to maintaining the business’s competitive edge. From a financial and risk perspective, employees create the processes; and they are empowered to execute on these processes and assess areas of continuous improvement.
Naturally, it makes sense to invest in the company’s biggest asset – its people – in the form of wellness, training, digitisation tools and more. Creating and supporting an environment of continuous learning allows Datacentrix’s employees to thrive and contributes to the business’ return on investment.
Datacentrix provides tools for monitoring productivity levels, staff turnover and staff tenure, which ultimately links to the growth of the business. Realistically, it is not possible to place a value on human capital, but it is possible to foster an environment that encourages collaboration, innovation and continuous improvement.
The company recognises that that there is significant value in the expertise and innovation of its employees, combining knowledge and assessments to link this back to compensation, communication and training initiatives. Ultimately people want to work in rewarding environments where the culture is ethical and transparent.
“While we aspire to create a dynamic, digitised environment for our workforce, and enhance financial processes and controls to create efficiencies, a further watchful eye in terms of governance is still required. The integration of AI into workflows is exciting and stressful at the same time; it necessitates the support from the right team to formalise the changes while maintaining agility and mitigating risks,” says Naidoo.
Solutions for sustainability
Datacentrix tracks its emissions and carbon footprints on two levels. The first addresses the business’s internal consumption of fuel, diesel, flights, travel, and related activities. The second extends to the full lifecycle of the products the company sells, including energy consumption across networks, data centres and more.
Datacentrix collaborates closely with its vendors to track and manage these from source to end user, and continues participating in education and awareness initiatives.
There is no doubt that energy efficiency is a key factor in reducing carbon footprints. The methods of tracking and managing this vary across ICT organisations, depending on their roles in areas such as design, manufacturing, and distribution to end users. Datacentrix uses a data-driven approach, gathering relevant data to set realistic sustainability targets in collaboration with like-minded vendors and customers.
Transitioning from legacy systems, which are typically energy inefficient and generate higher emissions, to more efficient, modern technology is an important goal for Datacentrix. This applies to the business internally and forms part of the value that the organisation offers its customers by providing guidance and support along their sustainability journeys.
The company’s commitment to transformation has guided its efforts in developing policies and defining its stance on ESG issues. The HP Amplify Impact Programme’s focus on human rights, diversity, training and education, and community development, emphasises the need for all organisations to priorities these topics.
It was a logical step for Datacentrix to integrate HP’s additional toolkits and strategies, to support its ongoing initiatives and build on these core principles.
The HP Amplify Impact Programme incorporates pillars of measurement that align with Datacentrix’s strategic focus, spanning sustainability, climate action, human rights and diversity, digital equity, and community education. This alignment made it easier to meet the programme’s guidelines, as Datacentrix shares a commitment to creating a better future for its families and the communities it serves.
Company and executive value system
Environmental, social and governance considerations are core to the success of any company in today’s world. Previously viewed as cost centres, these areas now form priority items on management’s agenda that must be embedded in decision-making processes and have measurable targets to show how value can be created and sustained.
The impact of climate instabilities has become a more urgent consideration in how Datacentrix assesses its technology partners. Naidoo ensures that the organisation’s corporate decisions consider its sustainability and environmental responsibility objectives to leave a positive legacy for future generations.
Creating employment, planning for contributions to social programmes and achieving digital equity have positive financial implications for the organisation. Datacentrix leverages education, training and its graduate and internship programmes to support its social governance stance. Digital equity will help shape the future by giving individuals equal access to opportunities to participate in society.
The interplay of climate change, business transformation and human dignity must be embedded in every business decision. Datacentrix has incorporated human rights as a core component of its strategy to address the evolving landscape of both technology and people.
Datacentrix’s efforts are focused on the point where climate action, human rights and digital equity influence people. Climate change poses a threat to basic human rights to life, health, food, water and shelter, highlighting the need for greater awareness of the business’s impact on the communities within which it operates.
The company culture places an emphasis on this responsibility, guiding its engagement, activities and investment initiatives that contribute to progress and upliftment in South Africa.
Many of Datacentrix’s projects focus on education as it empowers long-term, lasting change by improving people’s lives. The organisation further believes in the right of all people to share equally from scientific and technological progress. It continues engaging with community representatives, creating open communication channels, and listening to their needs.
“My job satisfaction stems from working with a dynamic team over the past 22 years, who embrace change, prioritise open engagement, who trust my judgement and who ask for my input in everyday business ventures. Being part of the executive team at the Board’s strategy table has allowed me to help shape the future direction of the organisation,” adds Naidoo.
“In my capacity as Chief Financial, Risk and Compliance Officer, I have had the privilege of stimulating and driving business improvement initiatives, guiding strategic deals and contributing to value creation, aligning business profitability with sound risk management, regulatory compliance and sustainability,” Naidoo reflects.
Snapshot
Since 2008, Datacentrix CEO, Ahmed Mahomed, has spearheaded a strategic shift in focus from a primary emphasis on infrastructure to a more robust suite of managed services and solutions, centred on delivering business value to its clients.
The main drivers for Datacentrix’s business in South Africa include sustainable digital transformation, hybrid ICT and cloud adoption, cyber resilience, data-driven decision making, cost optimisation, delivery of strategic business outcomes and more.
As a hybrid ICT systems integrator and managed services provider, the organisation offers a wide array of services, including intelligent infrastructure and cloud services, comprehensive managed services such as everything as a service, cyber resilience services, and resource augmentation, catering to a diverse range of business needs.
Datacentrix has established long-standing relationships with the world’s foremost technology partners, who endorse the company’s deep technical expertise. These tier-one vendor relationships allow the business to design and deploy customised, future-proof solutions that deliver rapid return on investment. Its global partnerships enable direct technology sourcing from vendors, enabling cost and time efficiencies that are passed onto clients.
