BEE consortium buys 25.1% stake of Shoden Data Systems

A consortium, made up of Implitech Business Services (IBS) and Tactical Software Systems (TSS), has bought a 25.1% stake in Shoden Data Systems, the local distributor and representative of Hitachi Data Systems.

MD of Shoden Data Systems, Fanie van Rensburg, explains that the two companies were selected based on their respective business offerings.

"The agreement to sell the stake in Shoden brings a selection of new skills to the company. With over 52 national service points, TSS specialises in managed services, supporting over 100 000 desktops countrywide. On the other hand, IBS has two main areas of focus: firstly, it offers professional services in SAP, program and project management, systems analysis and business skills. Secondly, it concentrates on business processes, delivering change management, organisational transformation, educational skills and organisational design."

CEO of IBS, Jayne Phiri, adds: "The three companies - namely Shoden, IBS and TSS - offer truly complementary services that, together, will add significant value to customers."

Danny Mackay, CEO of TSS, agrees. "Because there are no unnecessary overlaps in skills or resources, this agreement creates a holistic offering from a business point of view - providing strategy, consulting, product and technology, all in one organisation."

Van Rensburg adds that the partners are not operating simply as product vendors, but as business consultants. "This deal will have a beneficial impact on Shoden because we will gain coverage - both geographically and in new sectors where we are not operating yet."

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Examining the complexities surrounding BEE, Van Rensburg acknowledges that, while black ownership and influence is an important aspect of BEE, skills development is where the true value lies. "We have committed to a training programme that will transfer skills in high-end data centre support to previously disadvantaged employees," he explains. "By recognising the value in our own individual heritage of training and working in the data centre for over 20 years, we have developed this skills development model to transfer 'hands-on' skills that you could not get from a text book."

Jayne Phiri, CEO of IBS, agrees. "I think it's inevitable that skills transfer will take place because, at the end of the day, we will be one entity. Hitachi Data Systems never compromises on skills - as we have seen in their support of Shoden Data Systems in the South African marketplace. It will be both a natural process and a business imperative."

According to Van Rensburg, by the time the rules for BEE headcount come into effect, the company will have reached those goals. "But we'll have achieved them in both numbers and real skills value. We want all staff to contribute to the company in a significant manner," he says.

While many BEE initiatives have been exposed as "fronting", the company and its new partners are adamant that this is irrelevant in this agreement. "TSS has been doing business as a black-owned company for a long time. Our business is driven, owned and managed by black people - and for us, this is a great opportunity," says Mackay.

According to Phiri, this deal is one of the most progressive examples of what black economic empowerment should be. "The fact that we are all shareholders of one company should send a clear message to the industry. In terms of building a sustainable business, Shoden has risked as much as all the other shareholders. I feel that's true commitment to empowerment principles - as opposed to a superficial relationship."