Nortel`s African operations will not suffer from its business transformation plan, which is expected to result in a net reduction of 1 100 positions globally, says the company.
Nortel outlined its business transformation plan at its annual general meeting at the end of June, says Yves Roux, the company`s VP for Africa, who is in SA.
In contrast to the intended global downsizing exercise, Nortel plans to strengthen its African operations, with the South African and Algerian businesses selected as key to that plan, Roux notes.
SA was chosen as strategic country partner because Nortel already has a strong client base here, Roux says, adding SA also has a strong economy, and even bigger growth opportunities are expected with the deregulation of the telecoms environment.
SNO partnership?
Roux also indicates a potential partnership with the second national operator (SNO). Building the backbone of Nortel`s telecoms network is an important aspect of strengthening its local operations, as it will provide a toehold in the carrier market in SA, he says.
To date, 100% of Nortel`s business in SA has been in the enterprise market, although globally enterprise only contributes 35% of its revenue, with the rest coming from its carrier business, Roux says.
A spokesperson says Nortel has been short-listed to provide the backbone of the SNO network. The company expects to learn the final results of the tender soon.
Nortel has taken measures to strengthen its contact centre business in SA by appointing Atio as one of its channel partners, he says. Telecoms deregulation is likely to provide increased international opportunities in the contact centre market, and Nortel is positioning itself to take advantage of that, Roux adds.
Roux says Nortel will also increase the number of its sales people in the country. Locally, Nortel expects a 15% growth in revenue, matching last year`s growth of 15%. This growth level is higher than the industry average of 10%, he says.
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