Titan Corp. Launches
GSM System in Benin
The man who pioneered the PC high-speed modem is trying to bring a San Diego firm up to speed.
Dennis Hayes has taken the CEO slot of International Brands, Inc., parent company of discount E-tailer and auction site WorldBestBuy.com. His goal is to develop WorldBestBuy.com as a global brand. Hayes also intends to grow the company by introducing new products, fostering new online communities and by acquiring other companies.
Hayes has some experience in building companies. The 50-year-old built Atlanta-based Hayes Corp. from an initial $5,000 investment to a $200 million leading high-speed modem company. The modem-manufacturing firm was twice named one of Inc. magazine’s Top 10 fastest-growing companies in the United States.
International Brands may be far from the success of Hayes Corp. (the firm’s stock closed mid-last week just under $1), but Hayes sees major growth potential for the company and its WorldBestBuy.com offspring.
How did he get involved with a fledgling E firm?
When he met executives from International Brands, Hayes thought he was going to be a consultant.
“I listened to what the company was about, what WorldBestBuy.com could become and saw that the basic infrastructure was there,” he says. “What the company faces now is the challenge of managing growth.”
Hayes said part of the challenge for the company is to add more products on the WorldBestBuy.com site as quickly as possible.
“That way there will be a good chance people coming to the site will find what they’re looking for,” he says.
Hayes says as E-commerce companies grow, they must also be prepared to handle and offer high-quality customer service.
Another way to make sure you don’t get tangled in the rapidly spinning World Wide Web is to move as fast as technology does, says Hayes, who will initially split his time between San Diego and his home in Georgia.
“We’re constantly going to be looking at what technologies we’re using, how scalable our systems are and how well we can handle growing traffic.”
Hayes also envisions clusters of small offices around the world for WorldBestBuy.com, as well as strategic partnerships.
Besides building WorldBestBuy.com into a global E-player, Hayes has another goal for San Diego. As chairman of the U.S. Internet Industry Association, Hayes has vowed to get San Diego tekkies involved in public policy issues such as E-commerce taxation.
“I want to offer you a railroad to Washington (D.C.) folks,” he said. “We have a very powerful political tool to use to keep our businesses out of trouble,” he says. “A lot of people can beat up Microsoft but I’m more concerned about public policy.
“It’s also going to be important that policy be consistent not only across the United States but internationally.”
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Going Global: San Diego’s Titan Corp. is dialing in some residents in Africa. More than 3,300 people have already subscribed to Libercom, Titan’s global system for mobile communications (GSM) network, in Cononou, Benin, located on the West Coast of Africa.
Libercom is the first company to offer digital GSM services in Benin. The GSM network is part of a $60 million agreement between Office des Postes et Telecommunications, Benin’s national telephone company, and Titan Africa, a wholly owned Titan subsidiary.
“The launching of GSM service in Benin was an important milestone for Titan,” said Gene Ray, Titan’s chairman, president and CEO. “First it demonstrates our ability to integrate large, complex networks. Second, through our Benin project we have gained valuable experience as a telecommunications service provider. We look forward to expanding our service businesses to neighboring countries as we continue to build our presence on the African continent.”
Titan, a $1 billion company which has 5,400 employees, is known for its electronic pasteurization technology for food, as well as for its communications and information technology solutions and services.
Bits & Bytes: USD is bringing tekkies back to school. The private university plans to launch a new master’s degree program in E-commerce this fall. The degree will be designed for entrepreneurs, managers of Internet-based firms and managers with established firms planning to launch E-business initiatives. The 10-course program will include courses in Web design, computer networking, online ethics and law and Internet marketing. Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree and have at least two years of business experience. For more info. E-mail grads@ acusd.edu. San Diego-based IXATA Group, Inc., is entering the $500 billion leisure travel market. The firm’s Internet-based application service provider subsidiary IXATA.COM, Inc., plans to provide E-purchasing solicitation services for the leisure, group, foreign individual traveler and tour markets. The technology is an enhancement to the company’s popular RFP Express service, which allows hotel operators, travel agents, hoteliers and other corporations to automate the hotel request for proposal process.
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