Mother City an international IT stepping stone

In an aggressive drive to reach the burgeoning medium-sized market in the region and establish its national footprint, local IT solutions integrator Symetrix today announced an investment in SA's newly acclaimed Silicon Valley, namely the Western Cape. The acquisition of the Cape-based Navision solutions provider, Astral Business Solutions, now positions Symetrix as the largest certified Microsoft Navision solutions supplier in the country.

"The purchase is inline with the long-term acquisition strategy we implemented in 1999. Our investment in what has been described as SA's global IT gateway, the Western Cape, has strengthened our position as a national player. It also provides us with the perfect stepping stone to the international arena," says the 31-year-old CEO of Symetrix, Ben Swartz, referring to recent data released by the Cape Information Technology Initiative (CITI).

According to CITI, the Western Cape is home to more than 1 200 ICT companies, approximately 40% of which are serving global markets. "The acquisition of Astral therefore catapults us into a different league altogether," reiterates Swartz.

The once Danish-owned Navision was bought by Microsoft in May 2002 and falls into the software giant's Business Solutions stable along with its Great Plains offering. Navision is essentially an ERP software solution, purchased by Microsoft in an effort to target small and mid-market customers more effectively, a strategy being closely mirrored by Symetrix.

The strategy makes business sense when looking at the statistics. BMI-TechKnowledge states that the local ERP market is expected to transform into a R904 million market by 2005 as more companies start realising the intrinsic value of ERP. The local research house also states that the high end, large corporate market, is saturated with ERP applications and implementations, leaving the mid-range market as the biggest growth area.

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Swartz echoes BMI-T's sentiment by explaining that the acquisition places Symetrix in the ideal position to better target mid-level customers. "It's no secret that the SME market is the fastest growing market in the country. Many of these companies are not yet completely aware of the business benefits and return on investment that ERP technology can deliver while the high-end market is completely saturated. This is why we have decided to focus almost exclusively on the mid-level market," he states.

According to Swartz, all elements, ranging from business to human resources elements of the acquisition made sense. The cultures of the two companies dovetailed perfectly with both organisations being young, entrepreneurial and very dynamic. Furthermore, all Astral employees have been absorbed into Symetrix's Pinelands office, which now boasts a headcount of 20.

Swartz is bullish about the acquisition of Astral and his outlook for the local mid-range ERP market. "Our aim is to become the dominant ERP solutions provider in the mid-range market in the next year. Our powerful Microsoft partnership coupled with our solid business technology offering strengthened through this acquisition, positions Symetrix as the technology partner of choice," he concludes.