Professional IT services consultancy AVeS Cyber Security has won a slew of awards in the 2016 ESET Partner Awards. This is a vindication of the company’s people-centric approach to customised IT solutions, and an acknowledgment of the peer recognition it has garnered from both its clients and the industry, comments MD Charl Ueckermann.

The accolades were presented to AVeS at a gala awards ceremony at The Venue in Melrose Arch, Johannesburg, on 3 November. Based solely on revenue, the Awards cover 14 categories, in accordance with the differing sizes, market segments and revenue of the various ESET Partners. “For certain awards, percentage change above a minimum revenue threshold was the main criterion,” ESET Southern Africa MD Steve Flynn explains.

AVeS’s achievement was particularly significant given the tight competition, with a number of partners displaying significant revenue growth. This resulted in minimal differences between the top 15 partners. “AVeS has been a prized ESET Partner since becoming part of our reseller network in 2009, and quickly became one of our top resellers,” Flynn highlights.

“AVeS and ESET are both companies showing exemplary growth over the last few years. There is a natural synergy in ethics and principals that we both share. We look forward to exploring this. Investment in training, co-marketing and events have all contributed towards a mutually beneficial relationship. AVeS incorporates ESET into its strategy, which is a mindset planting the seeds for future growth,” Flynn stresses. Ueckermann describes AVeS as a creative professional services company that helps businesses of all sizes gain confidence in their digital information. “We combine expert knowledge and services with leading-technology products in order to provide comprehensive information security and advanced IT infrastructure solutions.”

With 18 years’ experience in the industry, AVeS prides itself on an out-of-the-box approach to the many tricky situations that businesses find themselves in on a daily basis. The company adopts a multi-phase approach to technology that, coupled with a keen awareness of the specific cost and risk issues, leads to security-compliant solutions that are both simple and effective.
“It is all about reducing the business risk. The products we use are the bricks-and-mortar of our solutions. Whatever we build, and whatever products we use, depends on the client’s environment, budget, risk appetite, and business strategy. Hence we look closely at the strategic level. IT truly needs to be an enabler. It must bring innovation into the business,” Ueckermann highlights.

AVeS is a keen proponent of the latest trend of ‘digital transformation’, which uses technology to empower a company. “Businesses need to operate in different ways than they have been doing in the past. The current paradigm is ‘business unusual’, and technology is needed to grapple with this.”

Ueckermann points out that, while most IT companies simply sell products, AVeS embarks on a journey with its clients. “It is fundamental to understand where a particular client is at present, where he wants to be in the future, and how we can assist him from a technical point of view in getting there, and beyond.”

This business model has proven so successful for AVeS that it has shown 100% year-on-year growth, culminating in its latest awards. In 2015 it clinched the title of ESET Top Partner Champion. “If you look at the current belt-tightening and retrenchments in the industry, it is clear we are doing something right, and that is due to our approach. We are an architectural business. We sell skills that cannot be imitated. What I often tell our clients is that we are a people business that, by the way, also does IT.”

What distinguishes AVeS from run-of-the-mill desktop support companies is that it is a specialist in an array of technologies. “We have very deep knowledge. At the same time, we specialise in specific technologies as well. We do not just try and sell our clients anything, but focus precisely on what is needed,” Ueckermann elaborates. Importantly, AVeS also excels at integrating the various services and technologies it is able to offer, which means clients are able to take advantage of the resultant synergies and opportunities to streamline and cut costs. One such area of expertise is virtualisation, which involves the consolidation of servers. “That is a massive trend that is just going to keep on going, and which will impact even smaller companies,” Ueckermann predicts.

The professional services offered by AVeS encompass Risk Reduction (IT security), Increasing Efficiency (advanced infrastructure), Improving Consistency (corporate governance), Empowering Expertise (AVeS Training Academy), and Boosting Revenue (customer relationship management).

AVeS received the following awards at the 2016 ESET Partner Awards:
• National Small Enterprise Sales Award Winner 2016
• National Highest Revenue Winner 2016
• National Sales Growth Champion Winner 2016
• Gauteng Small Enterprise Sales Award Winner 2016
• Gauteng Highest Revenue Winner 2016
• Gauteng Sales Growth Champion Winner 2016