Data & Systems Technology (DST) was founded in 1987 by its current MD Deon Herbst who had then just graduated with an electronic engineering degree from Tukkies. Like so many graduates of Pretoria’s famed university Deon decided that he wanted to try his own thing and started off developing custom software and hardware for clients such as SA Office Automation. As a contract house DST became involved in a wide variety of tasks over the years and has developed and maintained expertise in such areas as access control, RF technology (including tags), telecommunications and software development for the associated systems, including neural network design and implementation. Expertise exists in developing software for all the major operating systems, including Windows (NT), Linux and Unix, in languages, which include C, C++ and Assembler. At component level, in-depth expertise exists in the design of embedded telecommunications systems based on MPC8260, FPGA (Xilinx and Actel) design and implementation together with various 8 and 32 bit controller and DSP-based solutions.
Over time DST has grown to a current full-time technical staff of eight people, mainly graduates of either the University of Pretoria or the Pretoria Technikon. In addition to this the company employs several contract specialists on a virtually full-time basis, and operates a network with other similar-sized ventures in the Pretoria area, again mostly run by Tukkies graduates. One of Deon's goals for this extended small business model is the current expansion of operations into countries like the UK, Germany and Denmark for outsourced projects. Ideally these international ventures will see both software and hardware development, and possibly even local manufacture, providing a boost to the retention of key skills in South Africa.
Having covered both the past and the future it is interesting to see where DST is now active besides the outsourcing service described above where the capability is also available to local industry. The core business has in fact evolved through market demand to encompass the generic needs of the telecommunications and IT industries with some unique products and support.
Call line identification is something that we have become accustomed to in terms of cellphones and even Telkom now offers such a service as an option. When calls come into a bank, insurance company or a stockbroker it is necessary to positively identify the person at the end of the line, not just the telephone number. This can be effected in the traditional way by asking for account numbers, identity numbers etc, but even this is not foolproof as such information could have been obtained irregularly. DST offers an answer to this problem with an automatic identification system based on voice recognition, which operates in real- time and will confirm identity while the caller waits to be put through to his extension number.
Developed and produced by a company based in Wales, the system is well proven in the UK where both government and commercial entities use it. The system works by comparing the real time speech of the caller with stored data, and by prompting the caller to use known sets of words it is virtually foolproof with extremely low rates of false acceptance or rejection, even with calls over bad lines or from an erratic mobile. In addition to the speaker identification, the system can also identify up to 18 spoken languages at present, of which South African English is one, as well as identifying the gender of the speaker. The system is based on a technique referred to as Gaussian Mixed Modelling.
Yet another of the innovative niches that DST operates in is e-mail processing. The software and high-speed hardware platform offered can be installed by any larger company and will act as a mail sorter. Both the basic e-mail and any attachments will be stripped, classified and re-packaged for routing to the appropriate department such as sales, accounts, warranty repairs etc. Mail that contains certain defined key words could be classified as confidential and could be routed or copied to senior management. Even more valuable is that it can be programmed to remove all those 'junk' e-mails and 'inappropriate' attachments before they end up on your PC. Specifically unique to the DST system is that it will operate both off the normal service provider and direct satellite feeds. The software can also be used to screen outgoing mail again ensuring that this does not contain confidential information or inappropriate language (including deprecatory remarks).
With its telecommunications focus DST also supplies, implements and supports hardware and software such as the Metrowerks range of compilers from Metrowerks (a Motorola company) and the complementary EUROSplus realtime operating system, which is ideal for use with Motorola and other processors. It is in terms of implementation and ongoing support that DST differentiates itself.
While the main activities of the company have been summarised DST is also active in a number of areas involving security etc where the clients at this point in time require confidentiality. But do not be surprised if the name DST comes up again in reference to the award of some major local contracts.
Data & Systems Technology
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