It’s not that Total Systems Plc managing director Terry Bourne doesn’t like journalists, it’s just that, in his own words, he isn’t particularly responsive to them. Bourne feels that the London EC1-based customised software and consultancy firm has experienced trading conditions that would have put a lot of lesser companies to the wall, and instead of giving exposure to the positive developments at Total Systems, the press has preferred to place the emphasis on all the difficulties that have beset the company. Total Systems reported year losses of UKP6,722 on sales down to UKP1.8m last Monday, with much of the blame being put on a project cancelled late in the day (CI No 1,489), but Bourne confided that on a wider level the drop in turnover was the result of widespread lower order values from its traditional clients amongst the City’s financial institutions – the attitude towards the use of information technology had become more judicious, and there were no more open-ended cheques to be picked up. Coupled with this, Total Systems’ newer markets – such as providing general systems software and consultancy to local government – were proving more difficult to crack than envisaged, although openings were now appearing; what’s more, Bourne is confident that its traditional City client base is set to perk up in the coming year. On the product side, Bourne now acknowledges that Total Systems made the leap into expert systems too early by licensing the Exis System from US firm Exis Inc: as it turned out, Exis wasn’t ready to support the product at the level required, and finally the whole project had to be abandoned, costing Total Systems several million dollars of potential sales. All in all, Total Systems has had a few disappointments over the last 12 months, but Bourne is convinced that happier days are just around the corner. Undeterred by this Exis experience, Total Systems has recently launched into an agreement with the UK arm of Rayleigh, Virginia-based Global Software Inc that will have the London firm marketing, supporting and Europeanising Global’s mainframe accounting software package. Meanwhile, in a move away from its usual market, Total Systems has begun selling a low-end open systems-based general systems product aimed at the distributive trades, and first versions of new market investment product will be out sometime this quarter. As a whole, Bourne reckons there is considerable room for optimism: at UKP1.5m, the order book is at an all time high, and Bourne is eager to point out that the company is still non-geared and owns the building we live in as well as other assets – all this, he believes, is testimony to Total Systems considerable staying power – so don’t knock it. – Mark John
