Bytes puts Microsoft stake in ground with acquisition of Silverminute

In a move which will bolster its Microsoft division, Bytes Systems Integration (Bytes) has acquired Cape Town-based specialist Microsoft business solutions company Silverminute.

The acquisition enhances Bytes' ability to provide specialised tailor-made Microsoft solutions and services for its already extensive customer base.

"It is our goal to become the largest supplier of Microsoft business solutions and services to customers throughout South Africa, Africa and the United Kingdom (UK), and it is with this that we began looking at adding core skills to our existing Microsoft division," states Rob Griggs, executive director at Bytes.

"Silverminute immediately gives us a significantly increased capability in the specialised Microsoft development arena, providing us key development skills outside of those we already have."

Silverminute has been working with customers both locally out of its Cape Town office and abroad, with teams previously based on projects in Switzerland, India, Australia and an office in the UK. The company assists its customers with software development, system packaging, maintenance, deployment support, technical consulting and outsourced development and services, in and around the Microsoft .NET and SOA framework.

Griggs adds that the acquisition forms part of Bytes' strategy to consolidate the Microsoft services and technology offerings, with the ultimate aim of building a one-stop Microsoft solutions powerhouse in southern Africa.

"There is a lot of movement in the local Microsoft space and we have been looking for partners who understand the software business, and at the same time have the appetite to be innovative leaders of Microsoft solutions and services within southern Africa. It is against this backdrop that after exhaustive negotiations with a number of potential suitors, we decided to align ourselves with Bytes," says Graeme McKellar, managing director of Silverminute.

Silverminute's clients include local and international businesses. According to McKellar, the company has clients in the UK that it works for on an outsourced basis, and services remotely over the Internet. McKellar further comments: "We sell innovation and our clients rely on us to provide that much extra from their Microsoft environment."

"We believe that Silverminute is a perfect fit with the Bytes group, they have the right cultural mix, an impressive client base, and the technical acumen to pursue markets previously only dabbled with by the Bytes group," ends Griggs.

Silverminute brings a wealth of technical skill to Bytes, including some much sought after Microsoft Dynamics Ax architectural skills as well as solution architects to enable the best use of products and tools from Microsoft to deliver tailored customer solutions.