Hasso Plattner Ventures Africa buys into Cibecs

Industry statistics indicate that 60-80% of an organisation's business-critical data resides on its users' PCs and notebooks.

The harsh reality is that data is not backed up and the good old IT folk have to carry the can when data is lost. Not only does this lead to a waste of valuable IT resource in their efforts to retrieve the information but, in most cases, the data is lost forever. The real costs of such data loss can be devastating to the welfare of the business.

The absolute necessity to protect the business-critical information on enterprise PCs and notebooks has led to the field of data backup and recovery becoming one of the most critical components in ensuring business continuity.

Because of this, the venture capital firm of SAP Co-founder and chairman, Professor Hasso Plattner, recently acquired equity stock in a local enterprise desktop and notebook backup company, Cibecs.

“Cibecs was not so much in need of capital investment but, rather, assistance in accessing new markets,” says Andrea B"ohmert, Director and Co-Managing Partner of Hasso Plattner Ventures Africa. “The company has an excellent product and has already proven very successful in the local market.”

Cibecs' product features automated backup for 1 to 100 000 or more enterprise users. The software takes user responsibility out of the equation and allows for central management of what types of data is stored.

For desktops and notebooks there is no more convenient way to make sure business-critical data is always available, and that you are always in the driving seat:

* Fully automated backup means your users don't have to lift a finger.
* You are in control of what data is backed up.
* Data recovery and transfer to new hardware is fast and easy.

Cibecs already boasts a host of leading local and international clients with thousands of business users - each relying on the Cibecs solution to backup and recover their critical data.

The new partnership with HP-Ventures Africa now places the company in a position to rapidly expand its global reach.

“In the past, local technology companies have found it quite challenging to get funding from international groups outside of the country,” says Cibecs CEO, Richard Dewing. “This investment is a major boost, not only for us, but also for the general entrepreneurial climate in South Africa.”

HP-Ventures Africa has strict investment requirements, favouring the best managed, early-stage South African companies that embrace, create and utilise leading global technology trends.

“It is our goal to build world-class international companies which have the potential to actively compete on the international stage,” says B"ohmert. “At Hasso Plattner Ventures, we look for companies that provide cutting-edge solutions to a real and growing market need.”

Cibecs offers freedom from fear of losing data, fast recovery, encryption for your added security and full control over your company's backup.

Coupled with developers and strategic partners located around the globe, Cibecs is able to deliver a corporate data backup solution that is reliable, cost-effective and famously easy to use.

As B"ohmert says: “Cibecs is great for users, great for IT departments and should be a must have for any business."

For more information on Cibecs, visit Cibecs user data backup, e-mail sales@cibecs.com or phone +2711 - 791 0073.