It's a truism that when you listen to your customers, good things happen; ergo good communication is the essence of good business. A Hong Kong company spreading this communication mantra is Ultra Active Technology Limited (UAT), which is celebrating their 10th Anniversary this year.

UAT was originally founded as a vendor of computer equipment in 1997 with seven employees, however, the Directors quickly realised that they wanted an IT company specializing in Communications technology and in 1999 shifted focus. Ultra Active is now the recognized market leader in Hong Kong providing managed total solutions in video conferencing equipments, audio visual systems, IP network solutions, streaming video solutions and conference services.

The Company has grown organically over the years and now employs 30 people. They developed their own internal management systems in 2002, this, says General Manager Tony Cheung: “Enables us to provide a total support package to our customers and respond quickly to challenges and opportunities in the market.”

The company's business strategy is to maintain leadership and unlike other similar companies in the market; they focus on Video Conferencing. This focus is made easier through strategic partnerships with the worldwide leader in unified communication solutions - Polycom, and large displays.

Cheung says:“There have been many obstacles in the last ten years to achieving high quality service for video-conferencing because of the relatively high cost and the slower connectivity speeds that were available.Now, however, the highest grade products are available to everyone, even SME’s who are often under the misconception that the products are too expensive or that the necessary bandwidth is prohibitively expensive.”

In Hong Kong, SARS stimulated a lot of companies to explore other options for communication rather and this somber period in Hong Kong’s history saw a large rise in demand for video conferencing and UAT facilitated this desire to help companies continue communication without traveling.

The company now lists over 2000 Hong Kong companies on their books including Goldman Sachs, Bank of China, Esprit and Hutchison Whampoa but Cheung insists that to maintain leadership they must keep up to date with all new developments and he insists the best is yet to come.

“With the advent of High Definition Television,” Cheung says: “telepresence is now a reality.” Telepresence is the technology that requires that the senses of the user or users be provided with such stimuli as to give the feeling of being in that other location.

Cheung says that: “Previously there was a gap between perception and the end result which disappointed some potential clients but the new technologies now meet every expectation and this is illustrated by a 30 percent increase in sales so far this year 2007 is high definition year.

To Cheung there are so many advantages to video conferencing that he sees no reasons not to get on board. He says: “This technology allows you to get your message across immediately, to allow multi-parties to join in any discussion quickly and of course there are the obvious benefits of saving traveling time and costs.”

If UAT have a business Motto it is the trusty Maxim: The customer is always right, however the company is also committed to looking after their own staff, insisting that: “Our staff are our biggest asset. If we keep our staff happy and treat them fairly then business will grow.” They are also keen to show their community spirit and help the local community by engaging interns for the summer, with charitable commitments and by sponsoring local sports.

For a company celebrating their anniversary at the same time as Hong Kong's own anniversary, the future is looking bright just like Hong Kong’s. With state of the art technology, a market leading position locally and partners who are worldwide leaders, clients in China and Macau – including Macau Telecom, and plans to open offices on the mainland in the near future, the next decade should be an exciting one for Tony Cheung and his team at Ultra Active Technology Limited.

- interviewed by Kevin McBarron, published on July 2007, Hong Kong Business magazine