from August 2004
  
MAMUT: A LONG TERM PARTNERSHIP…

Mamut Business Software, a Norwegian company created in 1994, has been on the Stock Exchange in Oslo since May 2004.

Their Regional Director, Alan Moody, a happily married man, father of Anna, 16 months, “who drives me mad as she refuses to sleep, hyperactive like her dad was", has a weird Norwegian accent, and for a good reason.

He is Scottish, from Cults more precisely.

And when I tell you that he has known Peter Nicol for about 20 years, that Peter’s village, Inverurie, is only miles away from Cults, near Aberdeen, and that he used to play Badminton with Peter Nicol’s sister, Julie, you may understand why this young company is now associated with Eventis.

How did Mamut decide to work in the squash world?
Well, Mamut, already established in Norway, in Holland and in Sweden, had decided to launch the company in the UK market and of course my boss, Eilert Hanoa, a fervent squash player, was looking into ways of raising the British awareness. And as squash is a young and exciting sport, he thought that it would be a perfect medium to promote Mamut.

What sort of software does Mamut offer?
Ultimately, our products simplifies the way a small business does business. Our software offers accounting, email and contact management, sales force automation, logistics, CRM (Customer Relationship Management), Payroll, Products and Webshop.

Quite a list!
Yes, basically it is designed to be a one-stop shop for small businesses. Having to manage different software can increase the complexity, the costs, and also the amount of IT knowledge that you must have to run your business. Mamut offers a perfect solution to simplify your life.

Are you compatible with other software?
Yes, we work very closely with Microsoft, actually, our software is built on Microsoft, and in June, we announced an agreement with them to build what is called “the Small Business Concierge” which will offer the latest functionality and products from Microsoft in addition to Mamut.

To whom those products are designed for more specifically?
We are focusing on “the small medium business sector” (typically 0 to 49 employees). We have come to realise that a massive sector of the economy that has been left behind and not fully attended to, and there are around 3.7 million of those companies in the UK. And Mamut is able to offer them a solution that will be profitable for them, and therefore, for the economy as well.

Let’s go back to your relationship with Peter Nicol…
I’m a bit older than Peter, I grew up around ten miles away from him. Peter was lucky, he was brought up in a sport mad family, and so was I. It’s quite unusual to have great champions coming from small villages, and I think that Peter’s father played a great role in his career, as he was very active and helped him a lot. There is another person as well, who was an university lecturer, Eric Farr, a very energetic man who helped Peter with his general enthusiasm and generosity.

How did the association between Mamut and Eventis come to life?
Tim and his partners were looking for a main sponsor here, and as we moved into the UK in March, they approached us in early June and asked if we were interested. The timing was perfect.

Is Mamut going to be associated regularly with Eventis from now on?
Yes, we will look at any opportunity to work closely with them. Generally, we see squash as being very compatible with the kind of company we are, and also the kind of people that play squash. And certainly for the UK, given the quality and level of squash at the world ranking level and the focus that it has, obviously we are branded with a very successful sport from a UK perspective.

What do you think of the event so far?
It’s a great event, it’s a great arena, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a squash tournament in such a location, which is good for players and for the spectators, as the Crucible offers  perfect court coverage.

And about Eventis' skills?
I am very impressed by the organisation. Because they know what they are doing, what they are trying to achieve, they always have the time to speak to me, to everybody, they always make themselves available. They haven’t forgotten anything, if you want something, it’s there, and they know where it is. They have a great attention to detail.

So you’ll be back then?
Oh yes….
   

Alan Moody

from August 2004