Hewlett-Packard's (HP) software sales business in SA will be located in three different companies as of this month, and they have big plans to expand their business locally.
HP's international purchase of Mercury Interactive last year led to Mercury Africa being created within EOH. This entity is now being dissolved into three new businesses, still in the EOH stable.
These are OpTec, the distributor for HP's software products, which includes the Mercury range; Gallium Technology, now the reseller of these software products; while Gallium Professional Services will provide consulting services to software clients.
This new structure was announced in Johannesburg last week and in Cape Town last night.
In its first financial year, Mercury Africa achieved more than 50% growth in revenue. This was upped to 86% in the second financial year. OpTec MD Johan Cloete predicts another 50% growth "at least" for the EOH/Mercury/HP Software businesses in the coming financial year.
HP Software offers a suite of business technology optimisation (BTP) solutions, ranging from business and IT service management to SOA transformation, performance validation and ID management.
Cloete says within the MEMA (Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa) region, SA is the biggest revenue generator for HP Software, with EOH being the largest revenue generator domestically. He says the expectation for the coming financial year will, therefore, be that the newly-formed companies keep driving HP software sales in the region as a whole.
Growth in mining
"The spotlight is on us," says Cloete. "HP has set us incredibly high growth numbers."
Haydn Pinnell, Gallium Technology MD, predicts the three companies will see most of their future growth coming from, among others, mining, retail, and the automotive industry. According to him, mining will be the biggest revenue driver for growth, with "three or four" major mining contracts already in the pipeline.
In terms of EOH's BEE credentials, Pinnell says the newly-formed companies plan to move increasingly into the public sector.
"We have not been very successful so far with entering the public sector," says Pinnell. "Together with EOH we are seeing the fruits slowly though, and our technology is so generic it is not limited to any specific industry."
According to Vinny laBella, MD for Gallium Professional Services, HP software already features in most financial institutions in SA, as well as "virtually all" the telecommunications players in the country. However, he says, clients are tired of the "drop a box" approach, which is one of the reasons why the new Gallium consulting wing was created.
"We need to be able to deliver the project and implement it," says laBella. "We need to create a working environment."
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