Enterprise resource planning vendor Baan SA has officially changed its name to SoftworX following the management buyout of the local subsidiary from its international parent. The new company will hold exclusive rights to all Baan software throughout sub-Saharan Africa.
MD Gary Lawrence says being a local company will give SoftworX greater flexibility. "It was increasingly apparent that South African customers did not want to buy their business applications from the local subsidiary of an international software vendor and then work with a systems integrator or big five consulting houses to deliver the solution." He says the South African market prefers a local company.
Financial details of the buy-out in April were never made public.
The company says it will leverage Baan products in conjunction with additional products, not yet named. .
Lawrence says an acquisition trail is not out of the question, driven by a change in the way solutions are implemented. "We will supply the applications and hardware, and implement the solution at no cost to the customer. When the customer begins to realise the value, the customer pays." This new focus, he says, may force an acquisitive strategy.
Baan has been represented in SA since 1989 by the Q Data group company QMCS. In 1995 Baan took over the company from Q Data and a wholly-owned subsidiary Baan SA was formed. The SA subsidiary was said to have been doing well while the international operation operated at a loss.
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