Member Article

Behind the business with Paul Marry of Intact

Intact Software was founded by myself, Paul Marry and my business partner, Aidan Lawless, 20 years ago this summer. We established the company after identifying a niche in the business management software market for a superior, fully integrated solution capable of fully combining all departments across financials, commercials, CRM and business intelligence into a single database system. I am originally an accountant by profession and prior to founding Intact Software I gained extensive hands on experience within large accountancy practices in both Ireland and the UK. As a follow on during this time I was also simultaneously implementing accountancy software into SME’s. Being involved in the accountancy and software implementation trade for over 10 years immersed me in the real business issues, pains and requirements of the SME sector. It is this in-depth understanding of the needs and requirements of the market and customers that has driven Intact Software to become the pro-active, R&D committed, software developer it is today. It may not be the biggest player in the global market, but we are certainly positioning it as one of the best!

What key challenges has your company recently faced?

The biggest challenges that we have faced during these difficult economic times have in fact involved the ramping up, growth and expansion of Intact Software. The challenge for us has incorporated a number of critical objectives occurring concurrently. They included the final development of our new revolutionary product Intact iQ and the effective introduction of the product to the market. All whilst still aggressively driving forward planned foreign expansion and ensuring we continue to assist our customers and partners with the same high level of service and support we are synonymous with. These objectives have all been positive challenges and the type that we, as a company committed to R&D and foreign expansion, have been eager to conquer head on.

What is your biggest achievement over the past 12 months?

The biggest achievement for me in the last 12 months has been the successful launch of Intact iQ and the demand generated by it. Customers are enthused by Intact iQ’s ability to offer a fully integrated system including commercials, financials, CRM, stock control and business intelligence in one single database as standard. For our customers, the fact that it can be implemented 5 times quicker than all comparable offerings, the smooth transition of all processes and data is guaranteed and the need for numerous isolated systems, support providers and future capital outlays are eradicated gives them confidence in the ease of changeover and benefits of Intact iQ.

One of the biggest achievements for me when we launched Intact iQ was with one of our very first customer implementations. One of the largest electrical wholesalers in the UK, a 170 user site with numerous branches across the county, decided after significant research into the market, that Intact iQ was the only solution capable of meeting and exceeding their requirements. The time taken for full implementation and training of all users was actually achieved in less than 50%of the outlined allocated time and the company actually increased their revenue by 15% during the implementation procedure. This was a huge success for me as it proved to customers what I already knew the product was capable of. Generating a ROI, showing the ease and speed of implementation and meeting all of a customer’s requirements during the implementation process speaks magnitudes in itself in both our and our products abilities.

What is your biggest focus for the coming year?

My biggest focus for the coming 12 months is on the foreign expansion of Intact Software. Currently, we are positioned throughout Ireland, the UK and across the Mediterranean. We’re looking for pro-active, energetic and driven partners to further expand our UK network and we are aggressively targeting further global markets. By the end of 2012 we intend to have an established presence in Australia, New Zealand, the Nordics and the Middle East. This involves a very dedicated and committed sales and marketing drive which is where my focus will firmly be to continue to move this expansion forward.

If you had to choose one top piece of advice for someone just starting out in business, or is currently operating within your industry sector, what would it be?

Listen to your customers and the market place and respond pro-actively to it. It is your response and understanding of the industry requirements and needs that will determine your success!

Can you share with us your view of the current landscape of business, in this region or generally and where your organisation sits within it?

Business today has reverted back to reality and focusing on the most vital criteria at the heart of it. This does not in essence mean a negative impact or outlook on future expansion or growth of a company, it simply means a more streamlined, dedicated and customer focused outlook. To succeed today it is imperative that you offer customers a genuine, value adding solution that can add significant benefits to them in their business. At Intact Software we had always prided ourselves on in-depth industry pro-activeness and R&D being the lifeblood of our company. For us the customer is and has always remained king and we have always remained committed to ensuring that our solution is driven by their needs and requirements. Understanding and being driven by customer and market needs has always differentiated us and continues to allow us to provide the most superior software, support and service solution to the market. Just like our software solution Intact iQ, we are and will continue to be pro-active to customer’s needs!

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Paul Marry .