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One-man show turns into international performerPastel Software, the biggest software house in Africa, is celebrating its 10th anniversary. GREG GORDON looks at the growth of the company from a small local operation to an international success storyPASTEL Software is an unusual South African success story. While many local companies have blossomed and become players in the global market, Pastel is the first and only South African company to do so by designing, manufacturing, selling and exporting home-grown financial and accounting software. The software market is fiercely competitive, so much so that only a few global brands tend to dominate. Take the likes of Microsoft, Lotus and Symantec - huge names, all American. Few companies outside the US have managed to make any significant mark on international software markets. Pastel is the South African exception - there are 60 000 Pastel users in South Africa and about 15 000 in the rest of the world. The company's products are sold in 34 countries and Pastel has a subsidiary in Australia and an office in the UK. "On our 10th anniversary we're turning our attention to the tough US market," says Pastel's founder and managing director, Ivan Ferrer. In October 1987, Ferrer started a small software company. His goal was to create accounting software suitable for local conditions because accounting packages created in the US were not appropriate for the local market. For example, they had to be modified to deal with SA tax structures. He bought a PC and a book on software programming and has never looked back. "In those days it was possible for one person to write an accounting software package. I would put it on a disk, print a manual for it and sell it in a box," says Ferrer. Those days are long gone. The company now employs 135 people whose jobs range from creating next-generation software to physically copying disks and packaging products. Ferrer says Pastel accounting software accounts for more than 70% of the SA market. "We have complete dominance thanks largely to the fact that we were one of the earliest players in the marketplace. Our first software was a fixed assets package which was adopted by many large South African companies because, during the sanctions years especially, they couldn't get their hands on suitable software. While that was successful, we realised that we had to create a range of new products. "However, we have resisted growth for its own sake. While we have had the opportunity to make several acquisitions, we have resisted companies that we feel don't have the right management and products. We will remain a financial software company." Pastel develops, publishes, distributes and supports a range of financial, distribution and manufacturing software applications. The complete cycle of product development is performed in-house, from design to programming, manual writing to typesetting, package design to manufacture. The company's financial and accounting software is one of the most comprehensive suites of financial software in the world. Pastel SOHO Accounting caters for the small office/ home office market, the Pastel Partner range is aimed at small to medium-sized businesses and the modularised Pastel Premier range is designed for medium to large businesses. Says Ferrer: "We have always been, and remain committed to, the production of high quality, modern, leading edge, easy to use financial applications which encompass the requirements of as wide a range of businesses as possible. Having a range of software allows users to move up to more powerful and feature-rich systems as their needs change." It is an approach that has found broad appeal in many countries and Pastel continues to receive rave reviews in magazines across the world - going up against and, in most cases, beating bigger-name financial software brands. In countries where it is established, Pastel is a best-seller. Not bad going for a company that began with one man, a plan and a 386 computer a decade ago. "Now," says Ferrer, "we are going to pursue international opportunities vigorously."
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