Navigating change: Computime CEO on 45-year journey from accountancy to cloud IT and fintech

In this sit-down interview with Computime Group’s CEO, Andrew Borg, we delve into Computime’s identity, its origins, what sets the company apart from the competition and what the future holds.

Computime was established over four decades ago. In the world of information technology, this is indeed a very long time. Curiously, it was the brainchild of a small group of certified public accountants who first pioneered computer time-sharing and software development. Today, Computime is heavily active in the cloud IT space and the development of its own fintech software solutions, coming full circle to the solutions it initially provided.

It prides itself in organic growth, with a tight management team that makes strategy-implementation and decision-making quick, yet very effective. All this supported by a fantastic operational team.

“We have seen whole industries come and go during this time, yet Computime always managed to remain true to its core values, growing and morphing modestly to the circa-hundred-multidisciplinary-team, almost 20-million-euro-revenue-organisation that it is today” says Andrew Borg, CEO of the Computime Group of companies.

Computime is now organised in three divisions: Systems Integration, providing IT infrastructural solutions within the IT Security, Network, Cloud and Managed Services space; Business Software, offering ERP, Financial Management and custom software development solutions; and Fintech, offering products developed and owned by the Group, mainly in the financial regulatory and AML areas, with BRSANALYTICS, and the internationally-focused ComplyRadar suite of products. Computime Fintech’s clients number in excess of one hundred, locally and internationally.

The Computime corporate client base includes the vast majority of the local financial institutions, gaming, professional services, hospitality and a wide range of other industries. Some of these companies have been clients of Computime for decades. “We are firm believers in nurturing a casual yet professional relationship with our customers. The whole organisation is available to them and when occasionally things start to get challenging, we adopt a hands-on approach at all levels to resolve issues, with the client’s business being the priority. This sometimes means that we have to sacrifice some of a project’s profitability, but in the long run, it ensures we retain the excellent relationships we have. This 40+ year story of relationships has translated into a  solid, recurrent revenue stream, which is critical and central to our ability to plan ahead and ensure further growth,” adds Andrew.

Computime has been and is led by a team of seasoned IT professionals, who have witnessed the IT industry and business change over the years. “We have seen the way business is conducted change over time. Working with global leading manufacturers has evolved from the ‘exclusive representative’ of the past, to the dynamic value-add-based-multiple-representatives we see today. This pushes us to retain partnerships with global brands like HPE, Cisco, Check Point, and Acumatica by investing in our teams’ technical training and meeting our financial targets. The recent industry transformation of ‘everything cloud’ was an opportunity for us to transform parts of our model, successfully embracing it. We are now one of the leaders in the local space.

“We give advice on when and when not to go cloud; sometimes an on-premise solution can be more cost-effective and give better control; other times a cloud solution is the optimal one. We invest heavily in training (some 20 per cent of our operational time is dedicated to keeping up with manufacturer certifications), employ a strong business development team concentrating on nurturing relationships with hundreds of clients, and most importantly, we grow our own intellectual property through our own products. This makes us a ‘manufacturer’ with full control of our future. It is precisely this thought process and business prerogative that led to the creation of the Fintech division, which has become a fast-growing area for us. A similar parallel is with our own Managed Services offering where we provide ‘IT-as-a-Service’, Computime-branded and helping clients concentrate on their core business,” explains Andrew.

All three divisions are highly relevant, profitable and have a bright future. “IT has now become a utility for corporate clients, ensuring an all-time requirement for Systems Integration solutions. Business Software solutions such as ERP systems are not a ‘nice-to-have’ anymore, and the ever increasingly onerous compliance and regulatory requirements for financial institutions are always on the rise, making the Fintech division, a strategic and pivotal pillar to our business. We are constantly adding to our own intellectual property products, and we have new products in the R&D pipeline which will continue to grow and further enhance the sophistication of our AI-powered solutions.

“As is the case everywhere, finding the right talent, training and retaining them is a constant challenge. We take pride in employing smart, creative, technical people and we take even greater pride seeing them growing with us and contributing to their professional success as well as the company’s,” emphasises Andrew.

“We look forward to the future, to taking on new challenges and to further growth with confidence,” concludes Andrew.