N E W S
S&T sets acquisition targets
S&T, HAS been pushing its consulting, But profitability has to increase
solutions and service operations, as they for it to make its target numbers in
are less affected by seasonal influences 2010. CEO Christian Rosner says
than the IT infrastructure business. that because, in previous years, the
During the traditionally weak business company did not have the cash “we
period at the start of the year, S&T were buying cheap, not the most
recorded growth in sales of 12% and profitable businesses”. But he is
EBIT growth of 40%. As expected, after preparing further acquisitions: “eW ’ve
record results in the Q4 2007 and for never had so many projects. There is
the 2007 financial year as a whole, S&T’s a huge potential for acquisitions. The
Christian Rosner
growth is set to continue. S&T has won problem is finding reasonable targets.
new and strategically important business. There are plenty of opportunities, from restructuring, and a clear go-to-market
The IT consulting and solutions area Turkey to Germany,” he tells IT Europa. has now been established, he says. But
of the business recorded particularly But he needs to be selective and Turkey, which he says is now back on-
good results in the Q1 of 2008 – rising concentrate only on those that will build track, may take until the end of Q2 to fix.
55% to €34.6m. By 2010, the company his earnings. And while managed services www.snt-world.com
plans to generate more than 60% of its is nicely up, the enterprises systems has
sales from both this and the Managed suffered a 5% fall, possibly due to being OUR VIEW:
Services business areas. Particularly in billed and billing in dollars, so lower cost In a period when other companies are
the DACH region S&T has achieved goods at the same margin directly affect complaining of a squeeze and poor
in the managed services business area the top line. But he is ready for the big margins, S&T has managed to produce
a good market position by assuming deals, now, he says. “Four years ago we figures well up on a year ago. And
responsibility for the servicing of entire IT weren’t ready.” only some of this is due to acquisitions.
areas. Numerous large contracts in this And there remains Turkey to be turned Everyone was complaining about the
area in Q1 led to an organic sales growth round fully. Problems identified here, early Easter eating into billable days,
of 18% to €23m. and in Hungary and Russia have led to but S&T has shown how to do it.
CISCO CHALLENGES IT TALENT SHORTAGE
CISCO’S Partner Summit earlier this year, was a chance for the vendor to confirm its commitment to address the global
IT skills shortage through a number of initiatives. Indeed, after the success of Cisco eighteen month-old Networking
Academy, which boasts 2.5m students worldwide and registered a very high response across Europe, it also connected
the partner talent portal to Cisco website, enabling partners to look for suitable candidates while allowing graduates to
become more visible to potential employers.
According to Celia Harper-Guerra, Cisco director of Worldwide Partner Talent, attracting and retaining IT talent is
one of the biggest issues that companies across the globe have to come to terms with.
“As I meet and talk with partners around the world, they consistently tell me, regardless of the location, that their top
growth issue is attracting, developing and retaining talent,” she declares.
A view shared by Keith Goodwin, Cisco VP Worldwide Channels: “When I ask to our partners across the globe what
we can do to help their business grow, I always receive the same answer: talent.”
With a shortage of around 700.000 IT professionals, Europe is no better place to recruit highly-skilled workforce.
As Thierry Drilhon, Cisco VP Worldwide Channels, European markets points out, voice is definitely the most sought-
after skill, although there is a very high demand for any kind of IT specialisation, in the fields of engineering and sales.
This doesn’t come as a surprise, if, as the company claims, 42% of students are not enrolling in IT. According to
Cisco’s figures, at a European level, France seems to be particularly needy, given that it reported a 40% IT talent
shortage over the last year.
This is why the company has set up a Partner Talent Network, due to launch this year, as a web platform using social
networking and interactive video to foster better communication between employer and candidate.
The new platform will replace Cisco’s existing Partner Talent Portal, providing targeted candidate matching,
interactive talent maps and personal branding capabilities, along with career-exploration tools available to students and
graduates worldwide. The company has also launched recruitment service solutions as well as the professional career
accelerator, a partner-development programme which provides critical on-the-job training.
“e wW ork closely with recruitment agencies,” Drilhon explains. www.cisco.com
06 8020 EUROPA JUNE 2008
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