PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has launched a new alliance with HP, Microsoft and UUNet SA that offers businesses access to relevant applications, services and consulting under one umbrella.
The new business tool, Exordia Business Services, is billed as SA`s first provider of a full range of online business and IT solutions. Exordia is owned by PwC, with several core partners offering services in their various fields of expertise.
PwC says Exordia will focus on the provision of the full range of business and IT services comprising connectivity, infrastructure, applications and professional services, through a single access point.
PwC will offer overall client relationship, application management, and consulting and advisory services, while alliance partner HP provides infrastructure and operational management services, Microsoft SA provides end-to-end software solutions, and UUNet SA provides data centre, connectivity and network management. Other smaller application vendors and service partners will be available to provide solutions for clients as they are needed.
Richard Halton, MD of Exordia, says the concept is a new one for SA, and has been 12 months in the planning. The Exordia alliance operations are centralised under the online Business Services Centre and a national call centre, which went live on Monday.
"The call centre number, 0860 123 321, is the ideal prime point of contact," says Halton. "Businesses can also contact PwC offices, from where a PwC client service partner will be assigned to assist them. Our aim is to build and foster long-term relationships with business clients, offering ongoing consulting services and arranging modular services as needed."
Halton says that many organisations, especially those in the small and middle market sectors, have experienced the problems of growing IT costs, lack of skilled administrative and management personnel and evolving technology. Most of all, there is no cost-effective, single provider to provide support when growing or expanding, especially when breaking into doing business in the online world.
Halton expects the initial primary demand for Exordia`s service to be from medium-sized enterprises. He believes that larger organisations with a multiple outlet infrastructure, such as franchised stores and national chain stores seeking an integrated accounting function with real-time monitoring and management facilities, will also find the service attractive.
Other potential markets are likely to be donor-funded projects or organisations operating outside of SA, but where the costs of implementing local administrative and support functions are not warranted.
Halton identifies the immediate and obvious benefits of organisations making use of the processing facilities of the BSC as those related to IT outsourcing.
"The BSC runs a world-class data centre operated in conjunction with the appropriate business partners. This gives our clients the comfort of utilising a processing facility with 24/7 operations, watertight security, disaster recovery and industrial-strength hardware."
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