Feature interview: IAN FORRESTER, PLAN-B
Plan-B is a business that has been around for a little while. It started out its life during the 1990s as a business called Business Continuity New Zealand, centred around providing backup for those who had big IBM AS400 servers. As the IT infrastructure of businesses grew, the market for backup grew and the company name was changed to Plan-B. As in ‘everyone needs a Plan B’ which is certainly the case. As a result of Plan-B being chosen as a finalist in two categories – the ‘Best Emerging Business Award’ and ‘Excellence in Technology Award’ – The Business Channel’s Aidan Bennett ventured to their Arrenway Drive (Albany) base, which is more like a futuristic bunker, to have a chat with their passionate MD, Ian Forrester.
Everyone Needs a Plan-B
When you first arrive at Plan-B it is a bit like Fort Knox. The building is surrounded by high fencing and the front door looks more like a vault. There is a phone outside the front door with an accompanying phone list. You simply dial the person you are scheduled to see. And if you check-out OK, then you are allowed in.
When you get inside you do feel like you are in quite a ‘different’ environment. Where spies hang out and secrets are kept. Exposed concrete walls, industrial-looking steel stairways, walkways and metal balustrades mixed up with stylish office furniture and artworks add to the intrigue.
I am greeted by Plan-B Managing Director Ian Forrester. Ian is a Durban born-and-bred South African who seems to have lost the broad accent. He came to New Zealand 11 years ago. The America’s Cup was in full swing and he was in the country visiting his brother, before continuing on his way to settle down to a new life in Canada.
His global investment banking background had taken him to many parts of the world and Canada was where he was going to settle. But he never got there. He fell in love with Aotearoa. Three years later he fell in love with a Kiwi girl. Fast-forward a decade and Ian Forrester is married to that girl (Kate), they have two preschool kids, and he is running the business that he and his father-in-law have a major stake in. They restructured the company in 2007 and implemented a growth plan. Now Plan-B is New Zealand’s largest provider of specialist risk management services working with some of the country’s most recognisable brands.
After a short time with Ian Forrester you detect that confidence – some would say arrogance – that seems to come with very results-focussed people who hail from South Africa. He certainly loves to chat which makes the interview very easy. He says his philosophy is all about winning. Not just participation. Very South African!
“Plan-B is essentially an insurance and risk management provider,” says Ian, when asked to sum up what the company does. “While insurance may pay out for damaged assets and even top up your lost profits for a while, this never covers the true value of business interruption and the impact it has on goodwill and reputation. It’s a fact that 93% of consumers will not wait if you can’t supply them with the product or service they desire.
What we do is all about business continuity, helping companies to avoid downtime, keeping them operational. You can’t insure data, so that is where we fit in. We don’t get involved in the day to day operations of a business, but we are there to ensure that if something happens, we can get the business up and running quickly. We have solutions to cover entire backup and data protection requirements. We have dedicated standby office facilities and equipment throughout New Zealand, and extensive testing and proven programmes to ensure businesses can recover quickly in a crisis.”
Part of the expansion plan for Plan-B since Ian Forrester took over the reins in 2007 has involved establishing sites outside of Auckland. They now have three sites in Auckland – two in Albany and one in Carbine Road, Mt Wellington. There is also one in Hamilton, two in Wellington and two in Christchurch. The Christchurch facilities have obviously been in hot demand over the past year.
“An interesting fact is that in the case of a disaster like what has transpired in Christchurch, people are more understanding and patient,” adds Ian Forrester. “If it is just one business that fails, then their tolerance is virtually zero.”
At each of these facilities Plan-B provides infrastructure for backing up data, standby offices that are available for customers to use to get their business back up and running and they also now have a private ‘Cloud’. Backups are made in virtually real time.
A surprising statistic is that Ian Forrester estimates that 8-10% of their customers activate (i.e. use their services due to a problem) every year. This can equate to up to five customers per month, with the most common problem being technology failure – IT, servers etc. In the 10 days prior to my visit four customers had activated.
“The recent problem when Fairfax couldn’t publish their newspapers is a classic example,” says Ian. “This was caused by IT failure and would have cost a fortune in lost advertising revenue alone.”
So who are Plan-B’s customers?
“All sorts of companies. Everyone needs a Plan B,” says Ian Forrester. “Smaller companies are harder to sell to as our biggest competitor tends to be the DIY model (he grins). Our customers tend to be 20 (computer) seats or more and the typical is in the 50 to 500 seats range. Organisations with parent companies overseas are the easiest as what we do is quite often a compliance requirement.”
What are the strengths of the business?
“The fact that we stick very much to our knitting and haven’t strayed into integration or production. We are specialists at recovering environments and can work very effectively with integrators as we are not a threat. This has been a big focus of our growth strategy.”
What sort of advertising and marketing works for Plan-B?
“Our advertising is very targeted. We don’t do much mass-market stuff. We do quite a bit of below-the-line stuff aimed at our CEO/CFO/CIO target. I am presenting at a national conference this coming week and we tend to get involved with CIO/CFO summits and conferences.”
What led you to enter the Westpac Auckland North Business Awards this year?
“We did it a couple of years ago and were finalists in three categories. This year we are thrilled to be finalists in two categories. As a business we have gone through healthy growth and I see this as a great way to celebrate all our hard work. A chance for our entire team to stop and smell the flowers. It also helps us to raise our profile and the awareness of what we do, particularly in the North Shore.”
If you were handing out one piece of advice to others in business, what would it be?
“Stick to your knitting. Don’t try to be all things to all people.”
Any mistakes along the way that you care to share?
“Believing that a leopard will change its spots. If you’ve got the wrong people on board the bus, they need to be dropped off immediately. The wrong people can be hugely damaging to a company culture.”
What are your long term goals for Plan-B?
“To bed down our investment and become a real Kiwi business success story. To provide security for all our stakeholders – both shareholders and staff. Our role is to make sure our customers can sleep well at night knowing we’ve got their business covered.”
Contact: Ian Forrester, Email: iforrester@plan-b.co.nz,
Visit: www.plan-b.co.nz
