In a step aimed at strengthening its own transformation as well as its value as a strategic partner in the government sector, SAP South Africa has appointed former IBM SA public sector specialist, Alf Kale, to its South African board and its Market Unit Management Team, with Kale taking responsibility for Africa.
Kale heads up the SAP South Africa public sector sales team and also serves as a member of the SAP Africa Executive Management Team.
"Alf's 12 years' experience at IBM on public sector projects for the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Belgium, France, and Germany - when he was based in Paris - and for South African national and provincial governments, makes him the ideal person to head up SAP South Africa's public sector initiatives," says SAP South Africa CEO, Claas Kuehnemann.
"He has the technical knowledge and experience to provide the kind of practical insight to our own government and those in the rest of Africa that will help them make the best possible decisions regarding improved service delivery.
"More importantly, perhaps, he has a deep understanding of the needs of governments in an environment in which citizens are becoming increasingly demanding and the media ever more watchful. And he knows how to map technology to those needs in the most appropriate way.
"We are delighted to have him on board."
Kale says that joining SAP South Africa was a logical step because IBM has been a long-standing SAP business partner and, over the years, he has worked closely not only with SAP solutions but with its sales and technical teams.
"As a result, I know that SAP does indeed have the tools and methodologies that can help shorten government's runway to transformation and effective delivery. That's very important to me, because every personal and professional decision I make is motivated by the need to make a contribution to the country as a whole.
"In other words, my conscience, political or otherwise, goads me to do what I can to make this country the place we all dream it will be. SAP South African gives me the means to do that on a daily basis - by helping governments and their departments achieve their accountability, transparency, and service delivery objectives."
Kale believes technology can empower government by enabling greater flexibility, efficiency, and innovation.
"Governments all over the world need to be more citizen-centric by making services available faster, more efficiently and across many more channels of contact. They need to cut delays, duplication, and errors. They need to share information inter-departmentally as well as inter-governmentally. And they need to be able to easily and quickly make changes in the interest of greater efficiency.
"In short, they need to be leaner while also being more effective.
"We at SAP are superbly positioned to help them achieve all these things because we've helped so many other governments already. Our intellectual property and hands-on expertise mean that governments don't have to reinvent the wheel."
A family man with three children, Kale has traded his early interest in soccer (having played at league level in South Africa and Italy) for social golf. Even then, he goes where his conscience drives him - playing with South African business and public sector decision-makers, as the secretary-general of the Ambassadors' Club.
"If you're going to make a difference, you have to make it in every part of your life."
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