Masana Technologies is a leader in the field of IT outsourcing services, with a special focus on ERP. It is also one of the fastest-growing companies in the ICT industry.
Black-owned Masana Technologies has a unique approach to client service. The management team believes in partnering its clients for long-term success, as opposed to just finishing a job without providing follow-up.
This approach has held the company in good stead since it found its first client, the City of Johannesburg, in 1999. Since then, the company has grown exponentially and today has a staff complement of over 200, most of them highly-skilled IT professionals.
The Masana philosophy is based on being an integral part of its clients' businesses. "We believe in building relationships with our clients, and we have a track-record that supports this. We have always placed a particular emphasis on partnerships. Our approach has always been to be part of the very DNA of our clients," said Kgotso Chikane, Business Development Director.
The Masana team's aim when entering a city is to assist officials in raising the level of service to their residents. "We see ourselves as an enabler of business processes that fast-track service delivery in municipalities," says Chikane. "We study the needs of clients, interpret their requirements and translate them into tangible efficiencies that speak to scorecards and service level agreements across the organisation. Our goal is for municipal managers and heads of departments with whom we deal to meet their short, medium and long-term objectives through the solutions we provide."
Masana Technologies is big enough to handle major South African ICT projects of any size. We are nimble and flexible and have the capacity to scale up or down according the needs of the clients. Our regional spread also places us in good stead to service our clientele outside Jo'burg.
"There is a need for cities to support SME development, and our view is that SMEs are vital to economic growth. When we secure projects in cities outside our home region, we partner local companies, including SMEs, to which we then transfer skills, when necessary."
Our groundbreaking partnership with the City of Johannesburg has positioned Masana for unsurpassed growth in the ICT sector. Our leadership in the implementation of the multi-million SAP ERP systems speaks volumes about Masana's growth and capacity to deliver big projects.
Our objective is to work closely with the city officials to provide the best possible results. "We are a partner that the municipality can trust. We study their landscape to unpack and prioritise issues, so we can interpret their business requirements and unlock real value for them."
The Masana leadership understands that Jo'burg is unique and, like all cities, it has its own special challenges. "We are aware that municipalities face many problems, and we take the trouble to understand local dynamics, because we believe we can be a catalyst in ensuring the city meets its objectives," says Chikane. "We have examined the city's integrated development plan (IDP), which we have analysed carefully to assess the city's strategy, and believe there are many deliverables in the IDP that will require the use of ICT. We understand their pressing needs and are well positioned to design solutions for them."
"We believe there are synergies between our two organisations. We are looking forward to a long and beneficial relationship with the municipality in future."
Masana Technologies has embarked on a major drive to establish a national footprint. Besides the City of Johannesburg, where the city's entire ICT needs are outsourced to Masana, other major clients include the City of Tshwane and the SABC.
In Tshwane, Masana provides support for a major SAP installation. The office in KwaZulu-Natal is part of this national drive. "We aim to be active in all the major cities of South Africa, to service their municipalities and also provincial and national government departments," says Chikane, Masana's business development director.
An area that Masana is well-positioned for is the opportunity created by SITA tenders that are going to expire this year. In terms of legislation, the SITA Act says municipalities are free to procure on their own and do not have to use SITA. "As an organisation, we are positioning ourselves to partner our cities once those tenders expire," says Chikane. "We can provide infrastructure, ERP and all any city's other ICT demands."
Perhaps the biggest challenge faced by South African cities today is the need to meet their FIFA 2010 requirements. All our cities have key milestones that they need to achieve by 2010, and these necessitate ICT solutions. "We are aware of the business challenges that municipalities face and, as an IT enabler, we believe we can offer a great deal in helping them reach their objectives."
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