As the average gross domestic product growth in Africa continues to outstrip the global average, mid-sized manufacturers are seeking the software tools to take advantage of more vigorous domestic demand and export opportunities, says Oracle.
"Although the average economic growth rate in Africa has increased from 5.1% in 2004 to 5.7%, mid-sized companies are anxious to improve productivity and streamline operations to keep costs down, while boosting output," says Desi Lopez Fafi'e, MD of Oracle African Operations.
To remain competitive with larger competitors, Lopez Fafi'e says the mid-size African market demand is for access to enterprise-level applications at a lower cost. He says the power of this market has compelled large business software vendors to take notice.
"Mid-sized companies far outnumber their larger rivals, and the large enterprise resource planning vendors have had to take into account their needs, which translate into lower pricing, faster implementation and a lower cost of ownership," he explains.
According to Lopez Fafi'e, many African businesses run each aspect of their business on a different software package - one for financials, one for inventory management, one for warehousing and pricing, and so on.
Consequently, he says there is a need for business software solutions that offer both stability and easy integration capabilities to lower the cost of managing systems.
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