PM Ora Software, the software development arm of the Johannesburg-based PM Tech group of IT companies, continues its expansion into Africa with the appointment of Alpha Systems as its first value added reseller in Zimbabwe.
Alpha, a 11-year-old systems integration and software development specialist and part of the RTAA Group of companies - Zimbabwe`s largest IT company - is also Oracle` sole solutions and technology infrastructure distributor in Zimbabwe and neighbouring countries - excluding SA.
The company will market and support the PM Ora software suite, including Enterprise Gauge and Enterprise Focus systems for monitoring and administration solutions.
"Alpha has built up a solid reputation as a company that can develop, implement and support both its in-house developed, customised and third-party best-of-breed solutions for the enterprise, financial and government markets," says Craig Dawson, channel manager at PM Tech.
"The company will complement our sales efforts in the region as its customer base extends beyond Zimbabwe into Zambia, Botswana and other neighbouring countries where there is a growing need for greater efficiencies in managing increasingly complex IT environments."
As an Oracle distributor, Alpha, which has a specialist staff of 25, is focused on the Oracle database on which the original PM Ora database monitoring and administration suite was developed.
Chips de Oliveira, managing director of Alpha, says there will also be a market for other database environments running on the range of operating systems now supported by PM Ora Software and the Enterprise suites.
"Requests and enquiries for PM Ora Software products as an urgent need have been coming from Alpha clients across the board. The advantage of PM Ora Software is it works in all four areas which require monitoring in an enterprise, from network, hardware, application and database, across all standard operating platforms and databases - all from a central point.
"It`s a solution that fits in perfectly with our offerings as we had nothing to offer on the monitoring side of the business. Now, we are able to offer our clients a comprehensive, yet very affordable, easy-to-implement and manage solution," says De Oliveira.
"A couple of years ago, companies tended to be too busy trying to stabilise or implement new systems to worry too much about monitoring and administration technology.
"Now, as environments become more sophisticated and mission-critical, there is a greater need for monitoring tools. Most established companies now have relatively stable systems, and now require round-the-clock monitoring," he adds.
Interest is particularly strong among government and financial organisations, with some major sales imminent that will strengthen PM Ora Software`s rapidly growing presence in Africa.
The company currently has sites throughout Africa including major installations in Nigeria, Cameroon, Kenya, Botswana, Namibia and Mozambique.
Alpha already offers Oracle database administration services, but using PM Ora Software`s remote Web-based monitoring capabilities envisages expanding its offering to also include SQL, DB2 and Informix environments.
"The skills shortage is one area driving the market, which we will be able to address by establishing a remote DBA service using PM Ora tools," concludes De Oliveira.
Alpha`s skills base also includes ERP solution implementation, formal training on all subjects related to Oracle, applications customisation and development, project management and consultancy. In addition to meeting the needs of the enterprise market, Alpha caters for the small to medium-sized company sector including single user environments. Its third-party solutions include Merlin, a midrange accounting package and Maximo plant maintenance, while its in-house developed systems comprise Net Pay, payroll and stock broking system, NEC, an employment management system and a Government Pensions System (developed in partnership with SIL Maursius).
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