Internet Solutions (IS) has acquired a majority stake in Core People (Pty) Ltd, a SAP Hosting and SAP Solutions business, for an undisclosed sum. This acquisition positions IS as a significant player in the Hosted Applications space.
In line with IS`s stated philosophy of providing their customer base with solutions and services "beyond the network", Angus MacRobert CEO of IS, is upbeat about the announcement.
"IS has an 11 year track record of growth and stability and has become the only full network service provider in South Africa. We took a strategic business decision to focus on the opportunity to leverage our strong infrastructure, client base and intellectual capacity and develop solutions that further enhance our bouquet of business critical offerings," he says. "This acquisition is in line with our objectives."
The Core People brand will be maintained. "They have a strong customer base, including Scaw Metals, Aventis and Clarient," says MacRobert, "and are recognized as a skilled and experienced SAP application support, development and hosting resource. The fit is perfect. SAP solutions are an essential addition to our solution base."
Core People (CP) has been providing SAP application support, hosting, consulting and development services to South African businesses since 1999. The company is driven by a team of long standing employees, headed by directors Alan Quinn and Hans Castelyn.
"We are excited about the synergies that present themselves going forward," says Quinn. "With the strength of IS and our SAP relationship and skills, we believe that the market will respond positively to our service offerings - in particular when the requirement is for complex managed hosting solutions."
Quinn goes on to cite the strength of the IS sales force and their penetration of the majority of the country`s major enterprises. "The cost effectiveness of using hosted ERP systems such as SAP are beginning to gain respect from large organizations. The opportunities for lower operating costs and better Quality of Service are considerable in an application support/ hosted model. IS contributes their experience and expertise in hosting and managing secure solutions and we offer specialist SAP skills. It really does fit remarkably well. We are delighted with the result."
The Core People team, approximately 25 staff, will shortly move into the IS offices on The Campus, Bryanston.
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Internet Solutions (IS) has transformed its business model and become the only full network service provider in the country.
The business was founded on the principle of developing a robust infrastructure in order for corporates to conduct e- Business. Over the past decade IS has established itself as a leader in this space, attracting over 80% of South Africa`s top businesses as clients.
During its 10 year life span IS has evolved and grown its service offerings. Today, the company is the leading Hosting Service Provider and Security Service Provider in South Africa, as well as having significant market share in the Virtual Private Network (VPN) and Application Service Provider (ASP) space.
Internet Solutions has earned an impressive collection of accolades, including eight First National Bank "Most Admired" awards, Financial Mail Best Company to Work For and a place in the Top Unlisted Company Awards.
The company partners with major players such as Cisco, Microsoft, Oracle BT and AT&T and in 2002 was certified as a Cisco Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP), the first and only company outside of the US to be awarded this accolade.
For more visit us on www.is.co.za.
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