Computer Associates Africa (CA) has announced that it has signed an agreement with AST Enterprise Solutions Management (AST-ESM), a company within the AST Group, to deliver a full range of its leading e-business management software to a broader base of South African companies than ever before.
According to Dan van der Westhuizen, senior vice president for CA Africa and the Middle East, "CA identified a significant opportunity for AST-ESM to distribute our software as it is a provider of e-business, security and storage solutions, areas in which CA excels. Discussions have resulted in an agreement for AST-ESM to deliver the full range of CA solutions to its client base," he says.
Van der Westhuizen notes that AST-ESM`s capabilities and credibility in the OS/390 market space allows it to incorporate most of CA extensive product offering in both this and the desktop management market.
"AST-ESM is a highly reputable South African company with added stability coming from offshore interests. The business opportunity presented by the new agreement is substantial as we jointly have the resources and market penetration to broadly grow CA`s portfolio in terms of e-commerce and enterprise management," he comments.
The relationship between the companies has been firmly established, says van der Westhuizen, noting that joint business has already been successfully conducted since the conclusion of the agreement.
Geoff van den Bosch, managing director of AST-ESM, comments that CA`s strong technology offering played a key part in the establishment of the agreement.
"We have always been a best of breed solutions provider and CA`s top software in areas such as e-business, enterprise management, storage and security fit snugly into our solution set," he says. Van den Bosch adds that AST-ESM is focused strongly on effective delivery and will make use of its own as well as CA`s training facilities in order to deliver total solutions to its clients.
"We have established a full partnership, giving AST-ESM access to all CA`s services, resources and capabilities- including education - in order to elevate key people to the appropriate level to deliver excellent solutions and services to our customers. We see significant potential in bidding on new business together," notes van der Westhuizen.
CA has also given rights to AST-ESM to represent its products into Africa. While this is presently limited to the African continent, van der Westhuizen says that the agreement will be managed appropriately as the relationship develops.
Van den Bosch adds that AST-ESM has recently acquired interests in Namibia and Botswana. "We intend to leverage this presence in Africa and anticipate considerable opportunities to arrive in these and other areas north of the border," he concludes.
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