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- Wed, 23 May, 00:37:26 AM
ICT services: A broth with too many chefs
The ICT services sector has been jumped on more than your average bandwagon. Now, with too many players in the lower-end services sub-sector, there is bound to be a shake-up.
| Article Index |
|---|
| ICT services: A broth with too many chefs |
| Fewer, bigger fish |
| The big guys |
| Onshore versus offshore |
| New risks arise |
| Customer as business unit |
| Inventory and define |
| All Pages |
A multitude of companies are offering commercial services, and even original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are including them in their product packages. With most concentrating on the lower end of the services sub-sector, consolidation is definitely on its way.
Lucky Khumalo, COO of ICT services company Mthombo-IT, says too many companies are playing in the space and it is over-traded with low margins. Companies are offering little value-add and there are almost no asset management offerings.
“When you move up into the Wintel environment, the numbers and the market get smaller, and on the mission/business-critical side the numbers are even lower,” observes Khumalo, also noting that the local market lacks business analysis skills.
Khumalo explains that the customer is now demanding a single point of contact, hence the move by the likes of Datacentrix and Mthombo-IT into both distribution and services. He adds that services companies have to develop from being simply technology partners to being business partners as well, while there is also a need for companies such as Mthombo-IT to move up the value chain.
