Computer Associates Africa has unveiled plans to target the small and medium business (SMB) sector and is offering a portfolio of products, packaged to meet the specific needs of SMBs, to be sold through its partner community in SA.
The move is part of CA`s global initiative to expand its business by targeting this sector, says Matthew Barker, Field Partner manager at CA Africa.
"For CA Africa, it is key to our growth within the African market," he says. "We already have an established foothold in the SMB market with products such as ARCserve Backup, so we`re confident that with this increased focus and investment we will see a significant boost in revenues and market share."
Central to the long-term success of CA`s SMB strategy is its partner community, through which CA will sell its SMB solutions, which include anti-virus, anti-spam, backup and other protections against malicious intruders.
CA`s investment has extended to a new Customer Interaction Centre (CIC) at its African headquarters in Johannesburg.
"We will focus on identifying new SMB customers and proactively create revenue-generating opportunities that will be fulfilled entirely through CA`s channel partners," says Barker.
"The CIC team will also co-ordinate high-level technical support for partners using leading-edge technology, industry best practices and a staff complement of experienced CA software engineers who will have access to the knowledge bases of CIC teams working in Europe and the UK."
In parallel, CA is creating a software development team in SA, with significant resources to help customise, tailor and enhance CA`s products to meet the, often unique, needs of SMBs in Africa.
Commenting on CA`s plans to develop and execute its SMB programme, Louis Botha, technical manager, Integr8 IT, says: "We`ve worked with CA for four years and found that the company has a well thought out channel strategy and it always includes partners in its planning processes which is a plus.
"In addition, CA`s broad and integrated product range provides resellers such as Integr8IT with cost-effective offerings that address the very specific needs of local small and medium businesses."
Gary Lawrence, country manager for Computer Associates Africa, says CA has plans to expand its local revenues faster than the predicted overall market upswing by implementing a three-pronged growth strategy.
"In addition to our expansion in the SMB market with the help of channel partners, the strategy calls for deeper penetration of selected emerging markets in sub-Saharan Africa and increased business with original equipment manufacturers [OEMs]," he says.
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Integr8 IT (Pty) Ltd is a wholly owned network technology services and solutions company in southern Africa. Based in SA, the company employs a wealth of highly skilled and certified engineers who are directly involved in high level consulting, support and integration.
With offices located in Johannesburg and Cape Town, and representation in Port Elizabeth, Durban and East London, Integr8 IT spans nationally across the southern African region. It has the people and expertise to plan, deploy, manage and maintain an information technology environment.
CA
Computer Associates International, Inc (NYSE:CA), the world`s largest management software company, delivers software and services across operations, security, storage, lifecycle and service management to optimise the performance, reliability and efficiency of enterprise IT environments.
Founded in 1976, CA is headquartered in Islandia, New York, and operates in more than 100 countries. For more information, please visit http://ca.com.
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