JSE-listed Faritec, South Africa`s leading reseller of IBM RS/6000 servers, and TCM, the foremost reseller of IBM AS/400s, have formed a joint venture that will supply IBM computer equipment and related services to 18 Central African countries. The 50-50 joint venture has been named Midrange Distribution Services (MDS). The rest of Africa is a strategic territory for IBM, which runs its Central African operation out of Johannesburg, says Faritec CEO Simon Tomlinson. "MDS will add to IBM`s presence in Africa, specifically with the RS/6000, AS/400 and Intel-based Netfinity servers, associated storage, services and non-commodity software," says Tomlinson.
Most of the business in Africa will be transacted with multinational corporations and governments, says Tomlinson. "We are working on significant contracts in Kenya, Zimbabwe and Botswana."
MDS will initially operate out of Faritec`s offices in Woodmead, Johannesburg. It will work with a range of partners in each country and act as a sales extension of Faritec`s and TCM`s businesses, contracting the two companies to supply, install and support the IBM equipment and related software solutions.
"Local resellers have the key client relationships in each country," says Jorge de Campos, marketing executive at TCM, "but they lack the skills to implement solutions. MDS will provide the value-add to support these resellers, sourcing the right skills from Faritec and TCM as required." "Faritec and TCM have enjoyed a highly successful relationship in the South African market," says Tomlinson. "Because the RS/6000 and AS/400 target different markets, the two companies are totally complementary. There is also a good culture fit between us and TCM, and we envisage this joint venture leading to an even closer working relationship."
Faritec and TCM have been methodical in their approach to finances. "In Central Africa the exposure to risk can be extreme," says De Campos. "We`ve aligned with a number of financial institutions to ensure we can minimise our risk and guarantee payment."
The RS/6000 is the most powerful server in the Unix market; the AS/400 is the most successful integrated server in the world; and the Netfinity is one of the most popular Intel-based servers on the market. The three platforms together will provide customers in Africa with a complete range of reliable, high-performance, scalable hardware platforms, says Tomlinson. "This is a value-add, server-centric distribution model," says De Campos. "It is the server and everything that goes on it: a total solution."
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