M-IT acquires storage company

Johannesburg, 07 Nov 2006

EOH subsidiary Mthombo IT (M-IT) has purchased storage support company, Dicoll Electronics, for an undisclosed amount.

MI-T MD and executive director of EOH Lucky Khumalo notes that Dicoll is a perfect fit for the company.

"Dicoll provides M-IT with a focused storage solution that expands our current outsourced offering and positions us as an end-to-end outsourcing partner."

Khumalo says one of the new team's immediate goals is to grow the software storage solution offering. "We see great potential in the provision of high-end software storage solutions.

"We are well placed in terms of our infrastructure offering and thus believe it makes strategic sense to build our software offering. This will enable us to offer customers value-added services, as well as positioning us strongly for new business."

While synergy between the firms was recognised years ago, Jan Beukes, joint shareholder of Dicoll, says the companies "needed to establish the necessary foundations and develop our storage services before considering an acquisition".

"Dicoll and M-IT share a common customer base at the OEM level and, having consolidated this market some time ago, we believe it made sense to form one business. All elements of an end-to-end data storage support service company are now in place, and we are excited about jointly expanding and growing the customer base from a strong market position."

Khumalo says M-IT, which has adopted a strong vertical focus with specific interest in tourism, gaming, financial services and telecommunications, sees telecommunications as a focus area.

"The services we provide form a significant part of convergence and to be successful in outsourcing, you need to have a compelling solution in this space."

Dicoll's 30-strong workforce has been integrated into M-IT.