Creating Success from Passion

 

“Nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without passion”. GWF Hegel ~ Inventor

 

As many great leaders have illustrated time and time again, from the likes of Richard Branson to Bill Gates; in order to become successful in business and the attainment of goals a company and its team must have passion. Excellent companies are made excellent through constant innovation and change and we at Kathea believe that our Passion For Your Success keeps us striving towards becoming a world class organization.

 

Not only are we passionate about our service delivery and high quality products but we are ardent in our support of our CSI initiatives.

 

“It’s not what you take but what you
leave behind that defines greatness”.      
 

We are proud to support the Ithembilihle Lsen School established to cater for children with physical disabilities. The school’s mission is to teach their learners some skills to enable them to function within society.

 

In August a Kathea Team was entered to partake in the Tour de Tulle challenge, a mountain biking event organized to raise funds for the Children of the Wilderness non-profit organization. The money raised will be used to help educate rural children on life skills and the importance of conservation.

 

 As we are all faced by current tough economic times we at Kathea believe that there is no elevator to success. Only hard work, perseverance and passion that makes a company stand head and shoulders above the crowd.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Greg Darke - CEO

 

Kathea News and Events

Braam Malherbe Speaks at the Best of the Best Dinner

 

Kathea was proud to welcome Braam Malherbe, extreme adventurer and author, to speak at the Polycom Best of the Best Dinner in October. Braam is well-known for the “Miles for Smiles” challenge in which he and David Grier ran the entire length of the Great Wall of China.

 

In an address to our Partners, Braam Malherbe discussed the incredible feat of traversing the Great Wall, some 4200 kilometres. A feat that even those close to Braam said was certainly an unachievable goal. What can drive two regular men, despite insurmountable physical obstacles, to run a 43 kilometre marathon 6 days a week for 92 days? The accumulative ascent of climbing back to back was the height of Everest 14.8 times over! The answer, according to Braam, can be found in one word. Dream.

 

“All too often we as adults give up on our dream in favour of nightmares” Braam pointed out, explaining that we need to think like a child again and rediscover our passion for dreaming. Malherbe believes that an individual CAN make a big difference. That the difference between success and failure lies only in your mind.

 

The “Miles for Smiles” challenge was taken on to raise money for Operation Smile SA. The charity organization assists children suffering from cleft lips and palates through corrective facial surgery. Braam explains that the reason for running the Great Wall was because “I wanted to find a charity involving children that would motivate me to get through the journey, because it was something beyond myself and it would better the lives of others that were less fortunate than me”.

 

Braam firmly stands behind the simple fact that the greatest gift in life is the gift of giving. It is when businesses adapt this philosophy that a paradigm shift is made and profits will naturally flow.

 

To embark on such an immense challenge is one thing but to maintain the feat for 98 days, weathering temperatures as high as 41 degrees Celsius at times, is in itself a huge task. Braam puts the achievement of this goal down to two things. Together Everyone Achieves More, or TEAM, is essential to the success of any dream and the attainment of it. To make the team as effective as possible every person within it must be an asset and not a liability. A passionate team is going places, just like a passionate company will accomplish great things.

 

Secondly, the goal must be re-kindled. The feat of running The Great Wall was achieved by breaking the goal down into small chunks. “Hold the dream, keep holding the dream but bring the goal down into do-able sizes”.

 

Braam encouraged everyone at the dinner to take the knocks if you’ve got the dream. “In life there are two ways to elevate yourself. The false way is to read negative stuff around you and then you don’t really have to move. The other way is to stand out in the crowd, which means you’re going to be pulled down – but that is the real way to elevate yourself”.

 

He believes that companies that are changing and testing the boundaries are the ones that will achieve. It is individuals that make up companies; individuals who embrace their potential and are not afraid to dream.

 

In their successful attempt to traverse the deemed impossible challenge of running The Great Wall of China, David Grier and Braam Malherbe achieved their goal of raising funds for Operation Smile SA, and showed us all that if you dream big, plan well and take risks then “Nothing is Impossible”.

 

The Durban Roadshow Success

 

Kathea concluded yet another successful Roadshow as we visited Durban this time. The objective of the Durban Roadshow was to showcase the latest Polycom video conferencing and infrastructure technology. 

 

We specifically took the equipment to Durban so that End-User Customers  would interact with it and experience the kind of collaboration that Polycom makes possible. For Partners, this Roadshow demonstrates our genuine commitment to supporting them in selling Polycom solutions in the KZN market.

 

Any questions relating to this event kindly contact Venessa Dewing on 082 928 8292.

 

Kathea Go Green Winners

 

As Kathea continues on with our committed effort to Green Sustainability (as indicated in the previous months newsletter) we are proud to announce our winners for our top performing Sales and Support staff member competition.

   

Since joining the company in March this year Pamela Rodda has continued to offer exceptional sales support to both our Polycom Sales team and our customers. Pamela Rodda is involved in the organisation of our Polycom Training and does so with a constant smile and an “anything is possible” attitude.

 

 

Christina Bizos takes on all challenges of receiving our stock from overseas with a never-say-die attitude. Often faced with much red-tape as she negotiates with Customs and Excise, our Logistics Co-ordinator always strives to seek out solutions to any problem encountered each and every single business day.

 

Polycom Channel Manager, Luke Marthinussen has shown an incredible zeal for developing a solution oriented approach to each and every customer. He is proving himself to be a valued asset to the Polycom Sales Team and is constantly in search of new avenues of business to explore. 

 

 At our 3^rd Quarter Staff Conference all winners were applauded for their exceptional work service and were awarded with an indigenous plant in an effort to promote an attitude of giving back to the environment. Congratulations to all of our winners for their dedication and passion for Kathea.

 

 

 

11 November 2009 – Annual Kathea-Polycom Awards Evening   

 

 

Kathea will be inviting its partners to a Magical Awards Evening where a mini-conference will be held, followed by an award handover for our Partners that have exceeded in the area of sales.

 

We are pleased to have the following Polycom representatives joining us for the Awards Dinner: Daniel Schmierer (Regional VP Middle East/ Africa), Dan Engel (Regional Sales Manager Polycom EMEA), Ramy Alam (Pre-Sales Engineer EMEA), David Stirling (Business Development Manager EMEA) and Dave Brown (Sales Training Manager EMEA).  

 

 

Kathea and Polycom: Passion for Innovation

 

 Recent research confirms Polycom’s dominant position in the videoconferencing industry 

 

The global economic slowdown has seen many industries negatively affected by an economic recession.  Yet, data suggests that in the field of videoconferencing solutions the economic slowdown is much less severe than that of other industries. What makes this industry stand out?

 

In a recent report leading analyst firm, Wainhouse Research, ranked Polycom as the global leader for total installed systems as of July 2009. Polycom, a leader in telepresence, voice and video communications, boasts a total market share of 35 percent.

 

 

 

 

 

 This research illustrates that Polycom has always shown great passion for constant creation of innovative industry solutions, thus ensuring its leadership position in the communications industry. Despite an economy in recession, Polycom has forged on to continue innovating, and supplying superior product and service solutions.

 

As the distributor of Polycom voice and video products within Southern Africa, Kathea’s passion for superior products and exceptional service both correlates and augments these pioneering conferencing  solutions for our customers. Our partners and end-users are supported by Kathea’s first-class Business Unit team. With numerous resources and specialised skills to ensure passionate support for our Partners and End-Users, our team of Pre-Sales personnel, Channel Managers and Post-Sales support ensure that the solutions offered are implemented successfully.

 

Kathea aspires to add tremendous value to not only the exceptional Polycom products but also to the application of this technology. We strive to continuously find innovative ways of enhancing our customers’ experience. It is this passion that drives our Partners and End- Users to be successful through the adoption of videoconferencing as a means to reduce travel costs, increase productivity and improve collaboration.

 

 

 

Polycom RealPresence: The Evolution of Communication Technology

 

Since the beginning of time people have been communicating with each other. Businesses have functioned on face-to-face interactions – often sealing important deals with a verbal promise. With the dawn of the 20^th century communication had evolved to such great proportions that monumental events could suddenly be captured on television.

 

The 21^st century heralded the next step in this evolution: interactions could be created without the obstacles of distance and time, and the technology that made this all possible? Visual Communication. Bandwidth is now driving new applications that a few years ago were seen to be an impossibility.

 

Telepresence is a new kind of visual communication that provides an experience of “being there”. Telepresence makes visual communication a life-like experience, the technology so innovative that a face-to-face meeting becomes a reality.

 

Since November 2008 Kathea has been offering the first Polycom RealPresence Room in South Africa. As Kathea strives to bring passion and innovation to our customers we highlight with pride our Polycom RPX suites. The rooms, based at Vodacom in Midrand and Cape Town, provide a full-immersive experience in a luxury environment. The suites offer a seamless video wall with a panoramic view of the remote room. It offers a true-life experience with realistic interactions for your business conference needs.

 

As communication continues to evolve Kathea ensures that our RealPresence rooms deliver unique and new communication experiences to suit your conferencing needs.

 

For further information on the RealPresence experience click here.

 

 

CEO of Polycom, Robert Hagerty is interviewed by Fox News

 

Robert Hagerty, Polycom Chairman and CEO, discusses how to make money in a down economy and why it’s “good to be Polycom right now”.

To view this interview click on the picture below.

 

 

  

 

  

Kathea Leads the Way in Headset SLA's in SA

 

In today’s world the Call Centre is a strategically imperative business unit for many organisations. The ability to service, and or, sell to massive customer bases in a cost effective manner can only be done through a call centre in many environments.

 

On the back of huge growth in the number of agent positions over the past 10 – 15 years and increased adoption of call centres across businesses, technology, both hardware and software have also developed alarmingly. Suppliers continue to develop technology to assist companies to drive down costs, increase utilisation and improve service. The result is a highly advanced IT environment that is increasingly dynamic.

 

Add to this, the large requirement for people in this space as well as customers who are ever more demanding when it comes to service and responsiveness; and you start to see the complexities facing the modern call centre.

 

One of the most widely accepted tool, with virtually 100% adoption in call centres is the headset. Here too, the technology has changed with the times and headsets have become a vital tool. They are however also a significant cause of problems for call centres due to their portability and high levels of agent usage.

 

Many call centre managers complain about the hassles that headsets cause for them; and how time consuming managing them ends up being. The reality is however that if they are not effectively managed then the costs creep up too. But highly skilled and paid managers would prefer, and should be more focussed on the business of managing people and other higher cost resources – not headsets! For this reason more and more call centre customers are looking to their suppliers to take some of the hassles off their hands.

 

Kathea pioneered the headset SLA in South Africa and assist clients to manage their headsets through a dedicated service team. We work with customers to understand their specific requirements and customise the offering to suit individual needs.

 

Our standard offering includes:

• A dedicated service manager
• Repair of all headsets and amplifiers in warranty and excluding malicious damages
• Preferential pricing to replace out of warranty headsets
• Guaranteed 72hrs turnaround (3 working days)
• Hospital Stock onsite – 5% of total holdings
• Acoustic testing of environment where required
• Collection and delivery of all headsets for repair
• Engraving of headsets
• Annual audits for assets
• Hygiene headset services will be conducted every 3-6 months depending on customer requirements and will include the following:

⇒  Ear cushions will be replaced.

⇒  Microphone screens will be replaced.

⇒  Headset cleaning swabs to sterilize the units.

• Training for agents, team leaders etc will be conducted on implementation and during quarterly services – on request by customer
• Cost includes all services listed above for the relevant contractual period including technical labour and parts.
• Unlimited technical support including technician visits
• Monthly repair/service reports    

The Benefits of this for the Clients are:

• Hygienic equipment and happier agents
• Decreased agent downtime through hospital stock
• Improved management information through reporting
• Improved cost management  in terms of technical call outs, training and consumables

 

Discuss your company’s requirements with one of our Headset Sales Team for a more comprehensive overview of what we can do for you. Contact Scott Gilbert, Jabra Business Unit Manager,  on 011 844 9900. 

 

 

UPDATE! Jabra's new Environmentally-Friendly Packaging

 

Last month’s edition of Yezindaba highlighted Kathea’s Going Green initiative and we are proud to inform you that GN Netcom will be introducing new headset packaging that promises to be environmentally-friendly.

 

The brown GN box is optimized to fit the GN2000 while utilizing recycled cardboard that is in addition also recyclable. Minimal chemicals have been used in the creation of the box – with no printing appearing on it, as well as no bleaching processes employed on the box material.

 

Every little step we take towards green sustainability brings us a step closer to preserving our planets resources!

 

Wireless Internet Solution for your Guests...

 

Use your existing Internet access to add wireless access for your guests without blowing the budget.The Teleadapt DeskPoint™ product line works right out of the box with most hotel Internet networks, so your guests can enjoy WiFi access while still remaining cost effective for you.

 

The DeskPoint can be plugged into an existing Ethernet wall jack, DSL, or cable modem, which instantly provides wireless internet access throughout the room. The product also offers both wired and wireless options within one unit.

The functions and benefits of the Teleadapt DeskPoint include:

• Variable power wireless access point

• Plug-and-play installation

• SNMP remote management

• Sleek, aesthetically pleasing compact design

• Provides wireless as well as a wired access point at the desk

• Integrated instructions holder

• Eliminates Wi-Fi dead spots usually found in

 

It’s as easy as plug-and-play which makes the DeskPoint the simplest solution for adding WiFi.