Mustek Electronics, the largest distributor of PCs to the South African reseller channel, has gone live with a selection of online services for its 6 500 dealers nationwide.
Mustek has had a long-standing relationship with Global Internet Access (GIA), one of South Africa`s foremost Internet service providers, says IT manager Dimitri Tserpes.
"Mustek bought a controlling share of GIA when it listed in April 1996 and has since been associated with GIA for its line rentals, online services and PC-bundled Internet access packages," says Tserpes. "Our share in GIA was sold to Usko Communications this year, although we`ve maintained our association with the company and depend on its high level of service and reliability."
With an estimated annual turnover of R1bn, Mustek Electronics holds 17% of the local PC and peripherals reseller market in the country. Its Mecer PC line has been the largest selling brand for the past three years.
"Our Web and FTP servers operate 24 hours a day as a resource for dealers and resellers looking for the latest product info, device drivers and price lists to service their own clients," says Tserpes. "The Internet has opened the door for the value-added experience that greatly enhances our pre- and after-sales service."
GIA took over Mustek`s 64kb Diginet leased line, which was soon upgraded to 128kb as bandwidth usage skyrocketed. Mustek has since quadrupled its capacity to 512kb, paving the foundations for the anticipated online boom in the new millennium.
"Our Web pages alone record over 55 000 hits a month," says Tserpes. "As more and more companies embrace the service and marketing opportunities of the Internet, the demand on bandwidth and the dependence on reliable online communications will quickly identify those providers with the vision and capacity to deliver on their promises."
GIA`s corporate division, previously known as Global Business Solutions, was incorporated into Usko Communications as Usko Internet, with 1 500 modems for 200 corporate accounts and 35 000 users. It provides the spearhead for Usko Internet`s business-focused strategy to become the premier Internet service provider in South Africa by the turn of the century. "We run a competition between our IT team and Usko Internet`s support centre to see who`s faster in detecting and fixing a line fault," jokes Tserpes. "Seriously, from round-the-clock line monitoring to fault reporting, rapid response and maintenance, the positive response we`ve had from GIA, and now Usko Internet, is and always has been second to none."
Share
Editorial contacts