Business Support Services
KwaZulu-Natal has a lively and varied business support services sector.
Business support services routinely operate in specialist areas, freeing up the companies that buy the service to focus on their core business. Such services can include security, catering, cleaning, accounting, legal services, furniture and stationery supply, software and hardware management, recruitment, consulting, call centres, customer care and many other key services.
The FIFA World Cup South Africa™ has concentrated the minds of many businesses with regard to copyright and trade mark issues. KwaZulu-Natal has legal companies specialising in this field, such as Morrison Forster, which has offices in Durban’s CBD and La Lucia.
A popular method of delivering business support services is through national franchise operations. This ensures a set standard of service while at the same time ensuring that the local business is run with commitment. According to the Standard Bank Franchise Factor 2008, South Africa has 531 franchised systems operating 30 000 outlets and employing more than half a million people. The report, which was compiled by Franchize Directions, states that the sector contributed 12.5% to the national gross domestic product and was worth R256-billion.
Popular business-to-business franchise offerings include courier services, printing, signage, bin cleaning and organising travel. The economic downturn has encouraged companies to think carefully about what their core business is, and to concentrate on that.
Security
Security is another issue which has received a lot of attention because of the soccer tournament. The private security industry is one of the fastest-growing sectors of the South African economy. According to the 2008/09 annual report of the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSIRA), the number of companies has risen 16% over the previous year to 6 392 and the number of security guards has reached 375 315, an increase of 11%.
A 2006 breakdown of companies nationally showed 4 041 in the guarding sector, 868 cash-in-transit firms and 881 armed-response companies. A 2008 survey by Technews and Blue River Stone identified the main sub-sectors as alarms and detection; surveillance and CCTV; and access control and biometrics. Many companies have taken steps to protect their ITC hardware and information contained therein. Computer safes for servers and towers and antitheft cables are becoming more commonplace with companies like Compusafe able to serve KwaZulu-Natal clients.
