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New Dawn Holdings adds SAP competency to service offering


Johannesburg, 07 Sep 2006

New Dawn Holdings is executing on an aggressive plan to capture market share in the enterprise resource planning (ERP) environment through a wholly owned subsidiary focusing on German software maker SAP.

Dubbed New Dawn Spectra, the company has been in operation since December 2005 and has experienced substantial and sustained growth.

According to New Dawn Spectra managing director, Hangi Hlomane, New Dawn Holdings will grow its presence in the ERP market by creating optimal value for customers.

"Given New Dawn's track record of success in that regard in its other operational subsidiaries, the logical next step was to extend our value-adding abilities to the powerful market segment that SAP has carved for itself."

Hlomane explains that New Dawn Holdings is structured to ensure optimal resourcing of hardware, support services, and consulting and re-engineering skills across its operations. "So, while New Dawn Spectra operates as an independent organisation, we have the advantage of being able to draw on New Dawn Human Capital for management consulting, business analytics and solution design skills; and New Dawn Technologies for critical hardware platforms and related packaged software applications to give our clients access to a service provider capable of providing world-class, end-to-end solutions based on the SAP platform."

Presently a SAP services and channel partner, which gives the company the mandate to implement the vendor's software and resell its technologies, Hlomane says New Dawn Spectra is working towards becoming an Alliance Partner.

"We are the only 100% fully black-owned company which offers full SAP capability at this stage; we are strongly positioned for growth with the necessary infrastructure in place to handle three times the existing customer portfolio," he notes. "As an Alliance Partner, New Dawn Spectra will be recognised as a leader in the field and one which has made considerable investments in supplying services or products to SAP customers. And we're making considerable investments in acquiring the skills and certification needed to supply customers with advanced SAP services," Hlomane adds.

Hlomane believes that New Dawn Spectra's aggressive growth targets are perfectly achievable, based on BMI-TechKnowledge's estimation that the South African ERP market is worth R9.9 billion across the board - with SAP accounting for R2.2 billion.

"New Dawn's proven pedigree in the ERP space coupled with SAP's move into the mid-market with its mySAP All-in-One packaged solutions positions us superbly to take substantial market share. SAP's drive to have their installed base upgrade to the NetWeaver and enterprise services architecture (ESA) based versions of their applications will also play a key role in New Dawn Spectra's growth.

"We aim to create a mutually beneficial partnership with our clients across sub-Saharan Africa. In addition, we're going to be extremely competitive on price, in spite of using some of the industry's most skilled people to ensure a constant focus on quality of delivery and creation of long-term value for our customers. We're quite deliberately going to use exceptional project-based delivery backed by a strong support team to make ourselves the new force to be reckoned with in the SAP services market."

SAP Africa alliance manager, Rebecca Mahlo, believes that New Dawn Spectra joining the ranks of SAP Africa service partners is an important step in the transformation of the South African IT industry. "When you combine the interests and values of a global leader such as SAP and those of an effective, determined, wholly indigenous organisation such as New Dawn Spectra, you start a continuous feedback of affirming benefits that embraces not just the two companies but their joint customers, the community and the industry in which they all operate.

"You can't ask more of any business arrangement.

"And while this isn't the first of such partnerships in South Africa, it is bound, based on the players involved, to be one of the most influential."

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New Dawn

The New Dawn Group of Companies (NDH), which is a 100% black-owned ICT company, reports an annual turnover in excess of R150 million. NDH is represented in all nine provinces in South Africa with a staff complement of over 350. It differentiates itself by attaining the highest possible certification. Although boasting an impressive list of private sector clientele, the key focus area is the public sector. To that effect, there is a drive to increase its SADC footprint to better support government initiatives. An expansion further into Africa also forms part of the group's future plans. (Additional information at http://www.ndh.co.za)

SAP

SAP is the world's leading provider of business software*. Today, more than 33 200 customers in more than 120 countries run SAP applications - from distinct solutions addressing the needs of small and midsize enterprises to suite offerings for global organisations. Powered by the SAP NetWeaver platform to drive innovation and enable business change, SAP software helps enterprises of all sizes around the world improve customer relationships, enhance partner collaboration and create efficiencies across their supply chains and business operations. SAP solution portfolios support the unique business processes of more than 25 industries, including hi-tech, retail, financial services, healthcare and the public sector. With subsidiaries in more than 50 countries, the company is listed on several exchanges, including the Frankfurt stock exchange and NYSE under the symbol "SAP". (Additional information at http://www.sap.com.)

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