ATIO partners with Nortel to provide widest range of corporate ICT solutions

ATIO Corporation, an empowered 20-year veteran of the global ICT sector, has concluded a partnership agreement with leading global ICT solutions provider Nortel. The agreement means that ATIO will have access to the largest end-to-end communications portfolio in the world that includes integrated voice solutions.

ATIO aims to establish itself as a highly-rated technical expert in the Nortel range of products. This will enable it to expand Nortel`s presence throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, especially in the countries where ATIO currently operates, namely SA, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Nigeria.

"As SA`s leading privately owned provider of contact centre solutions and services, it was ATIO`s expertise in the contact centre arena in particular that appealed to Nortel," said Nicholas Maweni, Marketing Director of ATIO Corporation.

Maweni added: "As the reality of convergence dawns in SA, the need to move beyond voice and data is becoming more apparent, and Nortel`s significant R&D spend specifically looks at the full integration of these technologies in order to make networks more flexible and integral to the business. ATIO now has access to one of the few vendors with a strong track record in providing leading solutions to both the enterprise and service provider markets."

With convergence, VOIP and the pending SNO, ATIO required a product range that will enable it to provide convergence solutions to its client base. The benefits of convergence include the reduction of upgrade and maintenance costs through the consolidation of the communications infrastructure, increased employee efficiency and flexibility with integrated voice and data applications and the ability to seamlessly support virtual offices and remote workers.

"Nortel SA is at an important inflection point, and we are focused on driving substantial improvement in the way we address customers in SA. Critical to taking Nortel SA to the next level is the careful selection of service and technology partners - this is as critical to us as is our technology - and we believe the appointment of ATIO as a Nortel SA partner is an important step toward transforming the local Nortel subsidiary," commented Logan Pather, Managing Director for southern Africa of Nortel.

ATIO had to meet stringent criteria to become a Nortel partner. "We aren`t dealing with simple consumer goods here where closing the deal is the most important part of the sales process. Nortel has to ensure that any partner they select has a similar commitment to after sales service so that brand integrity is not compromised and mutual clients are served to the best of Nortel and ATIO`s capabilities," said Maweni.

"As voice and data services in both enterprise and operator environments converge, and wireless broadband technology is deployed, the networks around us are going to significantly change the way we all live and work," said Pather.

Nortel boasts a focused portfolio in the five key customer-facing areas of consistent customer experience everywhere, business connectivity via the Internet, security for all applications and services, storage and networking at light speed and IP telephony.

Being a Nortel partner will enable ATIO to capitalise on world-leading products and services as well as being able to access opportunities by leveraging Nortel`s track record of delivering carrier grade solutions to service providers.

"Nortel`s dominant position in virtually every communications market, powerful marketing campaigns, strong branding and continual product innovation made it the partner of choice for ATIO Corporation," concluded Maweni.