1. Infomet
Infomet is both an Organization as well as a Business Information Systems Methodology.
The Infomet Organization provides world-class business information solutions to large and medium scale organizations.
Infomet is headed by directors Pieter Viljoen Jr, Pieter Viljoen Sr, Carl Koen and Jacques Steyn. The organization is driven by extremely capable and well qualified staff. These individuals are well known and successful in the Business Industry.
The Infomet Business and Information Systems Methodology is highly regarded in the industry for solving many of the business and information technology problems encountered by most organizations due to the lack of proper architectures based on formal theory, methods, tools and the lack of training.
As the socio-economic environment rapidly changes and continues to become infinitely more complex, organizations are finding it increasingly more difficult to stay abreast of these factors to ensure a well-organized and operationally healthy organization and systems. The lack of skilled resources and the costs of acquiring quality solutions have become a daunting challenge.
Infomet responds to this need by extending its offerings to provide extendable pre-built solutions for selected industries. More particularly to the Financial, Insurance, Health and Banking Industries. It will continue to extend to additional vertical segments as the need in the market for this arises.
The Infomet Organization was founded during 1985/6 by Pieter N. Viljoen and Cedric G. Tyler, whilst working together on an IT Development Project for the South African Wheat Board.
Initial Infomet Training courses were presented through Don Gray, a prominent Training Organization at the time.
Infomet was launched aggressively. A small company with a very big vision, it set out to conquer the world. In its very first year of operation Infomet grew to a consulting, development and training organization of 40. It managed to acquire an R1m training contract with Standard Bank. Its client list soon included the most prestigious and successful companies in South Africa. It included organizations such as the Departments of Water Affairs, Internal Affairs, Finance, Justice, Police; Standard Bank, Absa Bank, FNB, Rand Merchant Bank; Sanlam, Old Mutual, Rennies; Umgeni Water; Middelburg Steel Alloy; BMW, Volkswagen, Delta Motor Corp.; Infoplan, Kentron and Koeberg. More than 800 big name companies were all part of the Infomet movement.
What was even more important was the recognition from the Academic Institutions. The Technikons included Infomet as part of their formal curriculum. Collaboration with the University of Pretoria as well as Unisa took place. Infomet presented at conferences and demonstrated at technology showcase exhibitions.
Very soon Infomet not only set the standard, but became the benchmark by which other methodology organizations would be judged. Infomet consultants were prestigious. They were known to be knowledgeable and capable.
Many of these pioneers went on to become highly successful in their own right. Cedric Tyler became professor at the Denver University and an entrepreneur of futuristic IT thinking. Hannes Van Rensburg became Chief Architect at Sanlam and subsequently pioneered Fundamo, a mobile money infrastructure and offering set throughout Africa, still unrivalled in features in the world. Bruce Moore heads a division of more than 2800 consultants for a USA based IT Company. Rob Katz who was Executive Director at Infomet became the first managing director of Microsoft South Africa. The late Coert Vorster, who started Infomet System Builders, was probably the most well- known personality in the IT Industry in South Africa. Desmond Seeley and Helen Cooke started e-Volution, first of the South African dotcom Companies. There are many others, too many to mention here.
Soon after Infomet was established in 1986, it became a subsidiary of the Information Services Group (ISG), South Africa's largest Information Technology Company, which in turn was a member of the Barlow Rand group of companies. At this time ISG was the official representative of IBM in South Africa, and was in fact derived from IBM South Africa, which withdrew earlier from South Africa when sanctions were imposed by the world against South Africa, pre-1994. Brian Mehl, Managing Director of ISG, was also appointed as the Chairman of Infomet.
When IBM returned to South Africa after the establishment of a new free democratically elected government in 1994, ISG was re-acquired by IBM, Infomet shareholders were bought out and the Infomet organization became IBM South Africa’s IT Consulting Group.
It was also during 1994, that Infomet received a Top 100 Company Technology Excellence Award for the patented Infomet Methodology.
In 1995 Pieter Viljoen returned to South Africa and re-acquired the name as well as the rights to the South African operations.
In January 2005 Infomet opened its new offices in Sandton. The directors and staff have been carefully selected to uphold a long tradition of excellence. The new Infomet is fully geared to meet its new challenges.
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