Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software provider HansaWorld is branching further into the African continent, says Kevin Clarke, sales and channel manager at HansaWorld SA.
"We will distribute HansaWorld products through value-added resellers (VARs) in Botswana, Malawi and Zimbabwe by the end of 2007," says Clarke.
The company already has VARs in Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria and Uganda, he adds.
"HansaWorld generated a 35% gross profit from its African footprint in 2006."
SME focus
The ERP solution lines are targeted at small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which is an attractive proposition for African markets, says the company. According to its Web site, the majority of HansaWorld's 67 000 installations were for SMEs.
Brendan Peo, country manager of HansaWorld SA, notes the product has had a good reception in the market because of its ability to survive environments of low bandwidth and poor infrastructure.
"There is poor telecommunication infrastructure in many of our African markets, which cannot support bandwidth-intensive products," explains Peo.
Wide area networking capabilities are built into the system, which allows the products to run over the Internet without relying on expensive terminal server hardware and software, says Clarke.
HansaWorld's ERP product can also run on both Linux and Microsoft operating systems.
The ERP solution runs on different versions of the operating systems, helping businesses avoid expensive software upgrades, Clarke explains.
"It is also suited to older hardware, making it accessible to our African markets," he states.
The global company has had an office in SA for over two years, says Clarke. He adds that HansaWorld would like to establish permanent offices in other African markets.
Share
