What is TSL, can you explain for us?
Sure, TSL is Technological Solutions Leaders and we are the Grenada branch of the TSL group which is headquartered in Trinidad. We are primarily involved in the IT industry we are an IT solutions and service provider.
Our goal is essentially to provide complete IT solutions to the business community of Grenada and the region as a whole.

When did you foster that relationship with Trinidad?  I ask the question knowing that you were called by another name before, Fusion.
I’ve been in the industry here in Grenada for just about five years now and I have been pretty much doing things on my own and through the efforts of myself and the team that I have put together. Over the years we’ve been able to develop quite a good customer base and a good relationship with our customers based on the excellent service we have been able to offer them and our dedication to ensuring that their needs are being met.
However what I think we were missing was that direct relationship with key vendors to engineer solutions that were sound from both a technical standpoint as well as support of those solutions.
 I was introduced to TSL in early 2006 and began talks with them. TSL has been an established company in Trinidad for over 25 years and they represent quite a large number of strong IT products. We took the decision to partner with them and officially became TSL Grenada in October 2006. Essentially we are now more equipped with a strong range of products which include brands such as IBM, Netscreen, Proxim, Fluke Networks, Juniper Networks, 3COM, Extreme Networks all very strong products in the It market.
We also represent a number of software products including TSL’s in-house developed HR product, HRP 5 which is a very strong payroll and HR package very popular in Trinidad and we have installations here in Grenada, in Barbados, Jamaica and a couple other places in the region.
Essentially we have found that this partnership has allowed us to increase the depth of our products and services as well as to provide a very strong support structure to what we do here in Grenada.

When the decision was taken to partner with TSL was it out of a desperate need for new products, new services and a new way of doing things in Grenada was it just a good business idea for you or was it both?
Well I wouldn’t call it a desperate need but I do think that we in Grenada are a bit behind when it comes to technology and one of the goals that we have set for ourselves is to empower the Grenadian community, businesses and consumers to use technology in ways to help enrich their lives, their businesses, make the businesses run more efficiently and be more profitable at the end of the day.
So I would say both but I wouldn’t call the need desperate however we certainly believe there is a lot to do in Grenada and we want to be part of that process in bringing Grenada into the era of technology.

As an associate with TSL are there strict operating procedures that you must adhere to when delivering services to Grenada?
No, I wouldn’t say that at all. We pretty much operate autonomously here in Grenada. We have full control of what happens here. We know our customer base here in Grenada is very different to Trinidad or Barbados or even St. Vincent which is a very close society to ours.
But we have full control over what we do here in Grenada and like I said we know our customer base, we’ve been dealing with them for years now and we continue to serve them in very much the same way as before; offering good customer service, dedication to seeing to their needs, if there is a problem we ensure that we are there until the problem is solved of if it is an ongoing installation we are there until we are satisfied that the customer has the solution that they paid for.
What we now have to offer that we previously did not have is a much wider array of services, a much wider array of products which when put together offer an integrated IT solution that will serve the customer better.
In addition to that we have the secondary level of support from Trinidad for certain products for which perhaps the expertise has not been transferred to Grenada as yet. I think there are many opportunities right now for Grenada to use some of these products to enhance businesses to enhance consumer experiences. I think we are just at the tip of the iceberg right now we have a lot of great things in store.

You mentioned new technology being transferred, how is this process being realized?
Essentially the onus is on us to market the technology that we now have available to us. Of course if there are relationships that exist between Trinidad and Grenada that our partners in Trinidad have access to then certainly they would put us on to their local counterpart and we can begin discussions but essentially the onus is on us to market ourselves, to get out there and speak to businesses to find out what their needs are what their challenges are and to identify where IT and technology in general can assist them in curbing the issues that they may be having or streamlining the processes that they have in place already.

Initially you said that Grenada is behind in technology so I take it that we are not fully driven by technology?
I would say so. I think we look at other countries which have totally transformed their societies by the use of technology. We are talking about places like Singapore and other places in the Far East and the general belief is that we can’t achieve that but I would strongly disagree with that. We as a Grenadian people can achieve a society which is driven, using technology to its fullest. It will take a partnership between Government, business and consumers to achieve that but we certainly want to be making the effort to see that happen as soon as possible.

In the interim who are you targeting with the products that you are offering especially those that are not already in existence in Grenada?
Essentially it would be the private sector. Our main revenue resource comes from the private sector but I think my personal desire would be working a lot more with government. I believe there is a lot more government can do to use IT in redefining their processes and I am talking about all aspects of government. Security when it comes to the police. I think the police can use technology a lot more than they currently are to do their job. We are talking about also the port system, the Registrars office, all these departments from what I am aware of don’t tend to use technology, even simple technology that are quite readily available, as much as they should to help keep things running efficiently. Simple record keeping are things which currently are not done electronically.

Five years ago when you started your organization what was the vision and the mission then and what is the vision and the mission today?
I don’t think the vision and mission have changed really. The words may have changed slightly but essentially our mission and vision is to be a full IT service provider to the community in Grenada and to empower Grenadians, through the use of technology to enrich their lives enrich their businesses and to just develop the society and community.

Can you find the talent in Grenada to cause you to fully provide the service that you want to?
Oh yes, there certainly is quite a rich pool of talent in Grenada. Of course it is not always easy to convince that talent to come across to TSL. We are hoping to do that more and more as we develop the company but of course there are many companies who have individuals in their employment who will certainly be considered an asset to the technology industry in Grenada and we just need to be in position to identify that talent when it is in its raw state and to be able to hopefully bring it on board and develop it further so they can reach their full potential but from what I have seen during my time working with other companies Grenada has a very deep pool of talent in terms of technology.

Since your relationship with TSL started what are some of the immediate benefits that have been transferred and what is still there on the horizon?
Certainly, I would say the support has been fantastic. There are a number of projects that are currently ongoing which we are able to support via the local resources but also with additional support from TSL and that boils down to numbers and experience. We are a small company at this time hoping to grow as time goes on but when large projects come our way we now have the ability to call on resources from Trinidad and it is just a 45 minute flight away to get somebody here.
Training as well has been another immediate benefit that we have been able to see because as you may know the training facilities in Grenada are somewhat limited and that goes back to helping develop our talent. I think we need to see more training centers and training programs being developed in Grenada for IT professionals but that is something we are able to benefit from immediately and there has been a number of training sessions taking place both in Trinidad and in Grenada with the staff of TSL. That transfer of knowledge has been ongoing not just in terms of formal training sessions but in informal discussions, emails, telephone calls and that continuous exposure to a higher level of expertise than if we were operating on our own.

Port Louis, Grand Harbor Condos, Bacolet Bay and a number of other projects; CSME and so on have put major pressure on Grenada to respond, on institutions to respond. Automatically they will be calling on you to help them in their whole networking process. Are you up to the challenge?
Oh yes we certainly are looking forward to working with many of the companies that you have mentioned and others. We are already in discussions with some of them in terms of helping them to plan out their IT implementations ensuring that they’re planning for not just their immediate needs but also their future needs. That is very important for us, we try to encourage companies not to look at only this year or next year but to look five years down the road and put in the IT infrastructure to support the company’s growth into the future because we are all aware that the world of IT computing in general moves at an extremely fast pace and what is cutting edge toady is old news tomorrow but there is infrastructure that you can put in place to support the growth of technology well into the future and that is the position we try to encourage our customers to take.

 

Do you foresee growth in the next 12 months and where will that growth come from?
I think that growth will come from our efforts to give ourselves more exposure in the business community. There are a number of projects that have either started or are starting very soon and we see that as a vehicle for growth and we will be pursuing a number of those initiatives.
There are also some other products that we hope to bring on stream within the next 12 months. I can’t say too much about them right now but hopefully they will also provide a vehicle for growth and we are looking forward to seeing some of those get off the ground.

As TSL you have lost your identity how are you making up for that?
I am always of the personal opinion that no company should be represented by one person. A company is a team effort so I don’t really see the loss of the personality as a bad thing. I would very much like that TSL moves forward as a company as not as an individual. True the individuals that make up the company bring their strengths to make the company what it is but all goes to make TSL a place that represents good quality of service, good products and not just the efforts of one person.

With the CSME in place is it a springboard for a leap into other places?
We are part of a group which does exist in some of the other territories already. TSL Barbados is up and running so is TSL Jamaica and we certainly look forward to working with our regional partners on some of the projects and like you said there are some projects that would encompass various territories and not just Grenada so it changes the direction from moving out of Grenada into those territories to rather working with our partners in the other territories on projects as they come up.

From your body language I get the feeling that you are quite happy with the arrangement that you have established. Are you satisfied with the results?
Oh yes, I can honestly say that I have no regrets about the decision to enter into partnership with TSL and we only see bright things for the future.

I can’t think of another company which is offering the same services that you are offing in Grenada do you know of any?
I believe there are companies which will compete with us in certain areas but I honestly don’t think there is a company existing in Grenada right now that can offer the depth of service, that range of services that we offer. We start with the entire networking infrastructure so we are talking cabling, switching, servers, security through firewalls, actual hardware; we also do computers and lap tops. We also offer a number of software solutions from point of sales, financial and HR management. We also do web design although it is not very big for us these days and many other products all of which we do not have enough time to mention here.

But your main focus apart from of course gaining some profits is to ensure that TSL Grenada is as successful as it possibly can?
Yes absolutely.

How many persons are employed at TSL Grenada?
Currently we have ten person employed with us. We are hoping to expand that to about 15 within the next 6 months because like I said we do have some projects and some new products that we’re hoping to launch shortly and we foresee that growth being steady throughout the next year or two and we will grow as the demand necessitates.

The desires that you have for the company and the standards that you set are all the staff members in tune with where you want to take this company?
Absolutely, we hold regular meetings and they are always aware of the goals of the company and the standards that we are attempting to set for the company so everybody is aware of what we are about here.

How do you educate the consuming public about the new developments?
A bit of it is direct and we do try to communicate with our existing clients as much as possible as to what’s going on but we have started an initiative where we are holding regular sessions with a limited group of people where we sort of target companies who are interested in specific solutions and we present those solutions and explain how it can help better their company. We just completed one last week in the area of IT telephony and the IBM servers that we represent. This is something we hope to continue on a regular basis based on the needs of our customers and where the demand is coming from.
For example we saw quite a bit of demand for IT telephony and after hearing it from numerous customers decided to make it a focus of discussion.
The next one may be on cabling but this will be decided based on the feedback we get from our customers both existing and potential.

The reintroduction of VAT means small businesses are called upon to keep better records. Is there anything you can do as a company affordably for the small businesses so that they too can keep up to date with the technology?
Certainly, and I think that’s a very good example that you just pointed out which is the introduction of VAT will require many persons who previously felt they did not need an accounting system or any sort of electronic record keeping to change those ideas.
We work with a number of different software products both full fledged point of sale systems to smaller basic accounting packages and we can help a company to look at what its needs are, what is going to work for different size organizations and help to find a solution that fits their needs and which will also meet the requirements of government or any other regulatory bodies and help them to engineer solutions that are right for them.

Would you say that by partnering with TSL you have taken technology in Grenada to the next level?
I would say that we certainly have positioned ourselves to do so. I don’t think we’ve gotten there yet but we want to see that happen and I would like to be able to come back to you in six months to a year and say that we’ve gotten there but I think we have a lot of work to do. One of the challenges we face and I don’t think it is any secret is traditional businessmen don’t always see the value of technology and this is no criticism but just pointing out a different way of thinking.
Our challenge is to enlighten them as to how technology can change the way they do business for the better. Make your business run more efficiently and at the end of the day more profitably.
Of course with any implementation of technology there is always an upfront cost so if they don’t see the benefits in the long run obviously people are going to be a little hesitant to accept those upfront costs.

But don’t you think that the CSME and the influx of first world businesspeople will put pressure on the locals to compete and in the process of competing forced to come up to standard?
I think so but I would prefer them to want to make those decisions on their own without having to be forced to do it. I agree with you that that probably will happen in many cases but we would prefer them to be aware of what’s possible rather than seeing somebody else doing it and having to play catch up with the technology.
We would like the businesses of Grenada to be competitive before the competition arrives, before the CSME really gets into full gear and we think that’s quite possible.

But are you going to use your influence to revolutionize our thoughts so that we can see ourselves as leaders and not followers?
Correct, that is certainly what we are attempting to do and I think we have been successful to some degree in that effort.
There are many customers that we work with who I think have changed their attitude and have become quite progressive in their thinking in terms of the implementation of technology in their own businesses.
Over time I think we are going to see more and more of that. We have a long way to go but I feel very hopeful that we have a new generation of businesspeople coming up and they are going to be more receptive to the use of technology and hopefully the ones which aren’t right now we can convince them as time goes on.

When your launch took place what did it signal?
It signaled the maturity of the company, representative of our official entrance into the business community of Grenada although we have been operating for 5 years though not as TSL for those 5 years but we have been an operating business for that period.
We’ve never officially made our presence known and I think we want to change that we want people to know us we want people to know what we are about and this was a symbolic entrance into the business place of Grenada.

How challenging was it for you to build your original company how much more challenging is it for you to improve via the TSL route?
The original did have its share of challenges just as any new business trying to establish itself with no prior track record and with limited resources.
With TSL we’ve used the experience, the trials and tribulations from our first establishment to get past and with the partnership of TSL we now have the platform of many strong products which offer good brand recognition and good support to now move forward.
The challenge now is educating the business community as to how the technology can help them.

What is the single most important achievement that you are aspiring for in this new dispensation?
What I would feel to be quite a great achievement is to really be able to work with the government to see Grenada become probably the first Caribbean island to implement e-government policies. That is an initiative that is currently ongoing but from my experience with it not moving too fast.
I would certainly be very proud to see Grenada achieve that status of being a fully e- government country where citizens, business, ex-patriots have access to many of the services which are currently not available on line and also so see government implement many of these technologies to help streamline the efficiency of government on a whole.