In the 18 months after Gary Lawrence was appointed as CEO to set up a local office for Business Objects, says business development manager Pete Laubser, the company generated revenue in excess of $1.4 million. Not bad for two people.

"We believe the business reasons to be involved in South Africa are enormous," says Laubser. "Worldwide the country is viewed as a very important market and if you look at the growth of between one and two percent that one can reasonably expect in Europe as opposed to our target of over 25 percent here, the reason for our presence becomes clear."