As the enterprise resource planning (ERP) market consolidates, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) division Exordia has sought to cement its position by buying out the Microsoft Dynamics division of Bytes Technology Group.
The auditing group says this will cement its “position as Microsoft's leading Dynamics AX ERP partner in Southern Africa”. PwC says the deal has “significantly increased” Exordia's footprint in KwaZulu-Natal, as well as augmenting its majority share of the Microsoft Dynamics market in Gauteng.
PwC says the deal has also fulfilled its strategic goal of becoming the largest Microsoft partner in Southern Africa in the ERP space.
“In the past, the market here was fragmented, with several players, but has consolidated over the past three years,” says Exordia director Richard Halton. “Now, for the first time, Southern Africa has a Microsoft Dynamics AX implementer positioned to serve the entire market, including blue chip organisations.”
Microsoft Dynamics AX is rated as one of the leading ERP products globally, based on Gartner research. Halton says the solution is a worldwide leader in the mid-range market and is fast-growing in the blue chip sector.
Expansion opportunities
Until recently, Exordia was mostly Gauteng-based, but aimed to increase its national footprint. When Bytes Systems Integration, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bytes Technology Group, said it was willing to sell its MS Dynamics Division, it was an ideal opportunity for Exordia.
Exordia had started to expand into KwaZulu-Natal. This expansion will be speeded up through the deal as the unit has inherited a large KwaZulu-Natal customer base, including significant blue chip customers.
Executive director of Bytes Technology Group and head of the Systems Integration subsidiary Rob Griggs says the unit had been aiming to establish itself as a serious Microsoft AX vendor over the past 18 months.
However, while it implemented its strategy successfully, “we found that the market was not yet predisposed to our fee structures”. He says, as a result, the company either had to invest further, or sell. “The Exordia deal made both commercial and strategic sense.”
Halton expects the deal to mean customers will benefit from better service levels. “Exordia, as a division of PwC, can offer a larger resource base and a wider range of Microsoft services,” he says.
The ex-Bytes division will be absorbed into Exordia's projects division.
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