IFS South Africa, the enterprise software solutions company, has begun to roll-out its nationwide expansion plans.
The Swedish-owned company, which opened its South African subsidiary in 1999, has opened a new branch office to service KwaZulu-Natal, with plans to expand its sales and support coverage from Richards Bay to Port Elizabeth and on to Cape Town.
"Our initial focus is on KZN, which we see as a region with tremendous growth potential in the mid-size manufacturing sector as well in the large asset intensive process industries such as sugar and paper mills," says Paul Whalley, managing director, IFS South Africa.
"Since opening our first South African office in Gauteng three years ago, we have carved out a strong position in the enterprise market in SA, Namibia and Nigeria. At a time when the market was particularly weak, we have established a user base that includes MTN South Africa and Nigeria, Roshcon, part of Eskom Enterprises and NTC."
The new IFS offices are located in the Old Mutual Centre, West Street, Durban and will be headed by KZN Business Development Manager, Adrian Voice.
Coming from an accounting background, Voice has had extensive experience in manufacturing and the computing industry both in Durban and Johannesburg. Positions held include project manager with Premier Milling, project management and executive IT management roles within the Tongaat Hulett Group and senior accounts manager at Dimension Data.
"In addition to its strengths in the manufacturing, maintenance and distribution arenas, which is where our main efforts will be focused, IFS has vertical solutions designed specifically for industries such as paper and pulp, automotive, forestry and shipping," says Voice.
"These sectors are particularly strong in this region, and although some of the major players might have existing enterprise systems, it`s a given that such systems do not provide a total solution that satisfies all needs. We see our entry into this market as filling those gaps and complementing existing system."
IFS solutions are based on software components technology, which allows users initially to implement only those parts of a solution to address a specific need and then to build up the solution on an affordable, step-by-step basis, that ensures a rapid return on investment.
It is the componentisation technology that enables the IFS solution to be implemented quickly and to be integrated with legacy and existing enterprise systems as well as new generation front-end applications without the need for protracted and complex projects.
"It`s this inherent flexibility within IFS and the affordability of the solution that make us confident that we will be able to establish a strong foothold in the KZN region," concludes Voice.
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