Microsoft Business Solutions Africa has appointed Dimension Data KwaZulu-Natal as a business partner that will sell, support and implement the Microsoft Great Plains eEnterprise suite in the region.
Dimension Data KwaZulu-Natal has committed significant human resources to the eEnterprise suite and is completing its certification as a Microsoft Business Solutions partner. The regional Dimension Data office sees the new partnership as a major component of its drive to expand beyond its roots in IT infrastructure into the provision of complete business solutions.
Says Craig Ireland, MD of Dimension Data KwaZulu-Natal: "This partnership enhances the Dimension Data model of providing business solutions that encompass connectivity, applications and integration technology and services in the KwaZulu-Natal region.
"We see strong potential for the product and related services among our existing base of infrastructure customers in the province. Dimension Data KwaZulu-Natal has been evaluating enterprise resource management software partners for some time, and chose the Great Plains offering because of its close fit with the needs of businesses in the region."
Ireland says the eEnterprise product is modular, scalable, and offers a low cost-per-seat that is attractive for businesses in KwaZulu-Natal. Initially, Dimension Data intends selling the product into the middle market, where companies have between 150 and 300 users on their system. It will focus particularly closely on the manufacturing, retail, and petrochemical vertical industries.
Ireland says that Dimension Data is putting several KwaZulu-Natal team members through Microsoft Great Plains training and certification programmes, and will continue to invest in skills in the product to meet demand. Dimension Data KwaZulu-Natal will focus heavily on the enterprise applications market in calendar 2003, he adds.
Says Andrew Armstrong, country manager at Microsoft Business Solutions Africa: "We have been looking to raise our profile, and boost our sales and support capabilities in KwaZulu-Natal for some time now. This new partnership with Dimension Data will allow us to achieve this objective.
"Dimension Data has the reach and skills that we look for in an enterprise business partner, and will help us to expand our share of the KwaZulu-Natal market."
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Microsoft Business Solutions, which comprises the Great Plains, Microsoft bCentral and Navision a/s businesses, offers a wide range of business applications designed to help small and midmarket businesses become more connected with customers, employees, partners and suppliers. Microsoft Business Solutions` business applications automate end-to-end business processes across financials, distribution, project accounting, electronic commerce, human resources and payroll, manufacturing, supply chain management, business intelligence, sales and marketing management, and customer service and support. More information about Microsoft Business Solutions can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/businesssolutions/.
Dimension Data
Dimension Data Holdings plc (LSE: DDT) is a leading global technology services company. It specialises in providing IT solutions that enable businesses to operate seamlessly across application networks (the result of the convergence of two previous separate areas of IT: application integration and network infrastructure).
The group`s ability to offer expertise in networking, application integration and global managed services makes it uniquely positioned to deliver the IT solutions required by businesses to connect devices, information, applications, business processes, people and organisations.
Dimension Data, founded in 1983, had revenues of $2.5 billion in 2001 and operates in 30+ countries with over 9 500 employees.
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