Profitability In Danish Infrastructure and Telecoms

Executive Global: GIGA-LAN is used by leading installers and advisors including for University of Southern Denmark and Jyske Bank. What is it that organisations find with your cutting-edge infrastructure technology that they cannot find with competitors?    

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Flemming Seerup: All products are manufactured according to international standards with a focus of very high quality (exceeding standards) and timesaving (the manpower is very expensive in Denmark). The products are specially designed according to the Danish installers demand. Also, Danish Engineering Companies (the ones who can decide which brand has to be installed) have been in consideration in the design phase. Since the tooling is owned by Lan-Com A/S, we have an advantage in the production process and can typically make products much cheaper. This means we very often are very competitive and win most of the projects for we are quoting. Our staff (product engineers) are very educated in this special field, and can help installers in the tender phase to find the right product which is specified by engineering companies without any extra cost. In other words, we help our customers to win the tenders…and they never forget that.
 

EG: In collaboration with Bravida, LAN-COM also delivered the GIGA-LAN cable system to SDU Sund, securing a flawless 10 Gigabit solution to one of Denmark’s largest IT installation projects. How may this implementation increase profitability for clients?

FS: The end user (SDU Sund) does not need 10 Gigabit data speeds right now. But according to history, data speeds increases 10 times during a period of 10 years. This means that the end user is “home safe” for the next 20 years and does not need to think of lack of data speeds when we are speaking of infrastructure. It is not complicated to change switches to a higher grade, but to change an entire cabling system is much more complicated and costs a lot of money.
 

EG: With such impressive technology it is obvious why you have won such accolades. As an award-winning firm, what have you learned about the importance of quality customer service?   

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FS: Quality and service would be the ‘Alpha and Omega.’ Our competitors are only selling ‘boxes’ – we are the only ones in Denmark who are supporting our customers before, during and after the installation. First of all, it is much more fun to sell an installation where we help our customers from the very beginning, but I have learned that with such high quality service, customers return to us the next time.

EG: What are the greatest and most profound technological developments you have realised since the inception of LAN-COM A/S in 1991, and how did clients benefit? 

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FS: Last year we introduced LAN-OPTIC MPO, which totally has changed the market for Fiber Optic Backbone Cabling systems. In the old days (before we introduced LAN-OPTIC MPO) the installer had to buy xx-meter Fiber Optic Cable and draw it from point A-B. A typical Danish installer is not trained to splice connectors at the end of the Fiber Optic Cable, and he has to hire Fiber Optic Technicians on the outside. This makes it complicated, expensive and the installer does not want  to have ‘strangers working on their project’.

The LAN-OPTIC MPO is a preterminated product with a very small connector (MPO) at each end. When the installer has drawn the cable from A-B, he only has to attach the MPO Connector to a cassette- and the installation is complete. We have all of the various cable lengths from 10m to 130m in stock, so we can deliver a complete system from day to day. This is really what the installers have been needing for years, and makes it so much easier for them. In addition, it is even much cheaper than the traditional Fiber Optic installation. This development has been a ‘game changer’.
 

EG: As a successful entrepreneur within the world of technology, what would you say to inspire the next generation of young professionals? 

FS: To be entrepreneur is a risky business – you need to know that before you start. You need a very good idea and some reliable people behind you. You also need to realise that it is not a 8am-4pm job. But if you have a good idea, you should not hesitate to do it. No one has even become rich by having normal good job, but the opportunities when being an entrepreneur are there for sure. You are also your own master, and no one tells you ‘what you should do today’, which means you have the right to do what you want.

EG: Tell us more about the LAN-Academy? 

FS: A complete IT cable installation consists of some products and some manpower. We know for sure that our products are excellent and exceed standards, but if the Cabling System is not installed in a proper way, it could end with a loss in performance. Therefore, we have developed the LAN-ACADEMY. At the LAN-Academy, installers are educated and trained to install IT cabling system in the right way. Also, we train the installer to conduct the right tests and to analyse the results. When the installer has passed our training, we know they can do the installation in the right way, and Lan-Com A/S can provide a certificate with a 25-year certification guarantee.   EG