What do record-breaking space jumper Felix Baumgartner and the world’s top provider of secure communication solutions, Commend International, have in common? Not only are they both Austrian, but they also share a passion for ‘breaking the barrier’, if only in a different way: the focus at Commend is indeed more on perfecting their Intercom solutions to offer record-breaking customer value to its worldwide clientele with the best systems and software applications. To be able to serve the rising worldwide demand for secure professional communication locally, Commend is currently expanding its global partner network to South Africa as an essential strategic market.

For more than four decades, integrated Intercom solutions for security, communication and control have been associated the world over with the name of Commend International. In the days of Web 2.0, traditional intercom solutions have long outgrown the image of the single-line, single-button door buzzer panel. As a result, Commend solutions are versatile communication hubs that bring together everything from audio and video communication to networked and centrally controlled support of building security, door and gate access, as well as parking and facility management.

Passion meets perfection
Although the Salzburg, Austria-based firm has been around since 1971, their solutions never were ‘just intercoms’. “Our focus has always been on people and ways of supporting their need to communicate in challenging situations where every word counts,” explains Georg Winkler, Commend’s Head of Business Development. In achieving this goal, Commend has developed a unique standing as an integrator and innovator with a special passion for solutions that are designed not just to satisfy customers and end users, but to amaze them. Previously (literally) unheard-of levels of speech quality, smart noise and echo cancelling capabilities, IP-based networking options, and world-firsts such as a 100% software-based Intercom Server and Mobile Intercom Client application are just a few examples of Commend’s efforts to go the extra mile in serving customer demands. All solutions are made up modular components, which can be combined and interfaced with auxiliary security equipment – such as video, PA, recording and alarm systems, and many others – to meet any individual communication and control requirements across market segments from office buildings to industrial and private premises, mining sites, traffic and public transport, public areas, health care and educational institutions, and various other environments.

Customers who rely on Commend solutions every day include rescue services, police and other security institutions, hospitals, nursing homes, as well as industrial and mining operations, parking providers, traffic and tunnel facilities and business complexes, and many more. Terminals, modules and call stations by Commend that integrate voice and video communication with control components and data flows can be found in the automobile industry, in emergency call terminals for public transport providers such as London Underground, as well as numerous buildings, where they control barriers, gates and lifts and help to ensure security in car parks. In accordance with Commend’s ‘Evergreen’ philosophy, products and solutions are designed for long-term future compatibility, as they can be upgraded and extended to meet the growing needs of operators and users. As Georg Winkler explains, “The focus is on total cost of ownership. That is why every Commend solution is a future-proof investment and a real asset for the customer in many ways.”

Plan global, serve local – in South Africa!
As a family-owned business, maintaining close long-term relations with local customers and partners, and being sensitive to their needs are principles that rank very high on Commend’s corporate agenda. This view is also reflected in Commend’s core values, which emphasise reliability, sustainability and, most prominently, quality. “Service and quality are in our corporate genes,” says Georg Winkler. Maintaining Commend’s high standards in these areas is essential and requires efficient, competent local representation.

To extend its global partner network, which currently spans more than 40 countries worldwide, Commend has recently established a Business Hub in South Africa. Operated by Johannesburg-based partner Evolving Management Solutions (EMS), this will serve as the regional headquarters for the local Commend partner network. “South Africa is a phantastic developing market, with a strong trend towards new and emerging network technologies and an impressive potential for latest-generation communication solutions ‘made in Austria’,” as Anne Brooks from Commend Business Hub South Africa emphasises. Regarding Commend’s partner network she adds, “We are currently evaluating potential partners to cooperate in leveraging the potential of this exciting, growing market.” A partner certification and support programme is already in preparation to ensure the high standards in product and service quality that have become Commend’s trademark in the industry. With all these efforts in place, ‘breaking the sound barrier’ with Commend Intercom solutions may become a trend in South Africa as well.