Privately-held Bosasa aims to tap into the private sector through its joint venture IT arm TatvaSoft SA.
Bosasa, a level two empowerment company, has around 7 000 staff and occupies a five hectare stand in Mogale, which used to be known as Krugersdorp. By far the bulk of its contracts are with government entities, such as the departments of justice and correctional services.
Its TatvaSoft SA unit, which is a joint venture between TavtaSoft India and Bosasa, was created because there are certain skills that are not available in SA and allows the company to transfer skills into SA, explains Sandhira Singh, business development manager for TatvaSoft SA.
Singh explains that Bosasa is a group of companies that services government departments, municipalities, ministries, the president's office and is now moving into the private sector. She adds that the company sees the private sector as a "major" growth area and TatvaSoft is working on partnerships with local companies that have expertise in the space.
Offshoring
Bosasa's IT arm comprises three entities: Sondolo IT, which processes financial transactions; On IT1, which operates the trustMASTER system and provides security solutions; and TatvaSoft SA, which does Microsoft custom development.
Singh says the group's IT segments have about 350 qualified staff, who all benefit from training at Bosasa's academy. However, when coding is required that can not be handled locally, it is offshored to India, where there is a team of 800 coders and developers, she adds.
SA has a scarcity of skills in Microsoft coding and Adobe development, explains Singh. She adds that sending the work to India means that coding can be done at a fraction of the cost of the market average.
The bulk of the company's cost base is in India, but all implementation is done in SA and the solutions are marketed under the Bosasa brand, which has good government connections, says Singh. She explains that the relationship also allows TatvaSoft to transfer skills to SA.
Bosasa dates back to 1981 and, among other offerings, provides security services to the Airports Company of SA and catering to correctional services. It is a level two empowerment company, one level short of the top accreditation.
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