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Another dot bomb or boom?

In our preparation for the convergence feature in the September issue, we have come across a strange phenomenon, a maturing market. Or at least, that is what I am told it is. It seems there is a mood in the market for consolidation and whispers of eventual stock exchange listings.

The process is eerily familiar to me as I was fortunate to be an IT journalist during the whole dotcom boom and bust a few years ago. In that scenario we saw smaller IT companies merging or being bought and amalgamated into larger enterprises with the revenue and all the good hype to list. It seems there are a few smaller security companies in the process of getting together, or at least talking about getting together with a view to listing in a few years.

Some commentators say it is a sure sign of a maturing market, while others say it is a sign of a few people with money looking to make a fast buck. The former believe it is good for the ultimate stability of the market and to remove some of the cowboys (although I am not sure that will ever happen), while the latter believe it will lead to a few collapsing entities as we saw in the dotcom era, with only a few survivors.

I do not know if we will see a spate of mergers and acquisitions, followed by listings, but there are a number of small companies in this market that do a good job that could certainly be an asset in a larger concern. Although we have already seen a company going that route in this industry, only to fall apart rather horribly in the end.

Well, whatever happens, just remember that I am more than willing to accept shares in lieu of cash bribes as I prepare for a career in South African politics.

Erratum

It appears we make graphical mistakes as well as editorial gaffs. In our June issue we carried a piece on the G2 intercom system from Comb Communications. Our artistic flair overtook us and we inadvertently printed an image of an intercom that wasn’t the G2. Our apologies for the error.

And if our embarrassment is not causing enough of a red glow on the horizon, be sure to catch our fire feature in this issue. Our new writer, Allyson Koekhoven is all aflame as she looks at some of the burning issues in the minds of our local fire enthusiasts. It is sure to be a sizzling affair.

As always, any comments, criticisms and opinions are more than welcome. Send me an e-mail on [email protected].

Andrew Seldon

Editor

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