Actimax has been in business for 12 years but its Managing Director, John Massey, has channel roots that reach back over 25 years. That experience, he says, has helped the company to deliver recession defying results.
It might be tempting to think that recession-busting growth is based on an approach that is flamboyant, aggressive or fiercely acquisitive, but you'd be wrong. "Less system hardware is being sold and you can only cut one margin from each sale," said Massey. "Our model concentrates on infrastructure and value added services. This year, our sales have risen by 15 per cent, our profits by 28 per cent and our recurring revenues by 48 per cent. Most importantly, recurring revenues represent 68 per cent of our total turnover.
"We are in a recession and we'll probably have to wait for well over a year for conditions to ease. Our customers can't afford to indulge themselves with vanity assets, their aim is to eliminate unnecessary costs and save money. So we concentrate on these needs by delivering telephony, LAN switches, WAN connection solutions and WAN maintenance. We sell all relevant infrastructure apart from servers, PCs and applications."
Massey deals in sophisticated solutions but he stresses that the Actimax business model is centred on simple principles. "Essentially, we're applying a tested model to deliver solutions based on the newest technology. Recurring revenues is a concept that's worked in other industries for ages. Take life assurance, where a salesman who sells 100 policies a year could collect a renewal commission, allowing for death or surrender, on around 800 contracts after ten years. In our case, we recognise that the hardest part of the client relationship is to get it started in the first place. Then, and especially in a recession, you don't need to concentrate on much beyond delivering a solid, reliable service that makes advanced technology easy to live with while cutting costs and enhancing profitability."
Actimax offers value added services such as voice and data networks, managed call logging and alarm notification, and NGN IVRs. "We also have a substantial and growing base of Inter-Tel, Alcatel and Mitel maintenance contracts," added Massey. "We have no intention of going on a takeover spree but we're always interested in purchasing maintenance contracts to augment our maintenance base. It's a core part of the business and we're able to apply economies of scale that are good for both us and our customers."
Actimax's performance hasn't gone unnoticed by its peers. Massey has a trophy cabinet that would do credit to a top flight football club, and in 2009 he added to its haul by winning three titles at the Comms National Awards, while in 2008 Actimax was recognised as Mitel's top UK SME reseller. The company's client list is equally impressive. Recent landmark projects have included advanced solutions for the All England Lawn Tennis Club, The Salvation Army and WiFi for The Restaurant Group.
Massey keeps a close eye on the bottom line and is disciplined in applying profits to growth. "We plough everything back into the business. Our prime objective is simply to do more of what we do best. We are particularly keen on investing in continuing training for key personnel and right now we are training eight people for CCNA Cisco accreditation," commented Massey.
They say that it's easy to be a genius in a bull market, the test comes when you have to show a profit in adverse conditions. Actimax has bucked the trend by turning in impressive figures this year but how does Massey view prospects for the future? "We intend to keep doing what we are doing successfully now, only more. We shall concentrate on increasing sales of data switches, WiFi and wires only networks. I'm quietly confident that a 24 per cent increase in sales and a 33 per cent rise in profits is achievable. And I expect the vital recurring revenue figure to rise to 72 per cent of total sales."