Background

Infochoice grew out of an ecommerce-based research business, Netchoice (Pty) Ltd, established in 1999 as a financial services research and ecommerce operation. Through its media alliances and financial services clients, it became an authoritative source for comparison data on financial services products, and a popular web-portal for consumers seeking intermediary services for banking and insurance products.

Infochoice (Pty) Ltd was established in April 2001 in response to the demand from institutional clients for competitive intelligence and client-specific research and advisory services. Infochoice operates with a far broader mandate, extending its capability into primary market research and across industries. Infochoice is equally committed to providing consumer and management education, and consulting services.

Qualifications and Experience

Three areas of distinctive competence, in research, consumer and management education, and consulting are continually developing and evolving, both through the expanding capabilities of Infochoice itself, and through strategic alliances.

Infochoice research is primarily anchored in competitive intelligence for the banking and insurance sectors. We maintain detailed comparative product databases that are regularly updated, and are generally considered to provide quick insights and comprehensive data-points in the South African market place. Infochoice regularly scans the marketplace for updated information on various financial institutions to provide to our clients. Our sites provide a current subset summary of comparative financial services product data. Our market research capability is fast developing, both in financial services and across industry.

Infochoice management education has grown significantly since 2001 via our strategic alliance with Africa's top executive education provider, Wits Business School. We focus on all areas of management education, offering a multitude of WBS programmes in Cape Town. Infochoice management workshops are also offered across a broad spectrum of key functional areas. Our workshops provide a hands-on alternative to executives wanting to update, apply and integrate the latest management concepts and tools within their organisations.

Infochoice consulting draws on the skills and experience of a seasoned team of management consultants who have track records of success at senior levels in international consulting firms, post-graduate qualifications, and experience in senior level line management positions. We focus on strategic alignment, and extend from this core to both competitive analysis and human performance management.  Infochoice hosts a Forum professional consultants and educators who serve as Associates on client interventions.

Our methodology assists our clients to bring their product and service offerings more strongly into strategic alignment based on our understanding of consumer needs, competitive trends and internal interpersonal dynamics.

Professional Affiliations & Accreditation

Infochoice has an ongoing contractual partnership with the Wits Business School. This relationship has been in place since 2001.

Grant Sieff, CEO, holds degrees from the University of Cape Town (BA, Economics & Pyschology; BSc Hons, Computer Science), the University of Sydney (MA, Psychology; MBA), and the University of Johannesburg (D Phil). He consults and teaches in the areas of leadership, behaviour, communication and strategy. He has worked as a vice president for Citibank, a partner for Accenture, and has served as a faculty member of Citibank's Asia Pacific Banking Institute.

Competitive Intelligence

Infochoice has an established track record of competitive intelligence research tracking and analysis, particularly in the financial services sector. Since 1999, we have been serving banks and insurance companies with comprehensive product, segment and channel comparative trends analysis, updated monthly or quarterly.

Our sites are designed to provide easy 24x7 access to businesses and individuals who need to understand what choices are available across the complex spectrum of financial products and services.

Aside from our institutional clients, we have successfully engaged in competitive intelligence research projects for a variety of organisations, including statutory bodies, such as the Competition Commission and the Microfinance Regulatory Council.

Infochoice trend and situational analyses address the major external forces that may impact upon the organisation and its industry - political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legislative - examining shifts and considering implications, as they apply to each client organisation.

Our reporting is designed to provide quick insights, with graphical representations and logical analytical flow. Workshop-style presentation of our findings allows key stakeholders the opportunity to explore the implications of our analysis in some depth with Infochoice staff.

Vision

Our vision is to develop and apply the most powerful, effective and appropriate tools and diagnostics to assist leading organisations in both the business and public sectors to optimise their strategic alignment and effectiveness. We are also committed to consumer education through our various research services.  We see our role as an advisory partner, concerned with effective strategic behaviour at all levels of leadership within our client organisations.

Our core competences in competitive intelligence research, executive education, and management development and consulting services ensure that we are continually refreshing our capabilities and insights to most effectively fulfill our purpose. We strive to recruit and develop our people so that they reflect our core competences in a unique and personal manner.

We aspire to be the leading research, education and consulting services firm optimising strategic positioning for organisations in South Africa, developing and applying tools and techniques that are respected globally while committed to this country's ongoing development and success, and to the world-class performance of South African enterprise.