Red Man Technologies' new consulting division has secured its first assignment - advising Spring Lights Gas on its path to IT infrastructure independence from Sasol Gas.
Spring Lights Gas, one of South Africa's leading gas suppliers, is a black empowerment company that was formed from a joint venture with Sasol Gas to service customers, initially in Durban South, but later extending its reach throughout KwaZulu-Natal. It is 49% owned by Sasol Gas Holdings and 51% by Coal Energy Power Resources.
It currently operates on Sasol Gas's IT infrastructure and SAP applications, but wants to establish, with some urgency, its own operational infrastructure.
Mike McGrath, Red Man Technologies' strategy enablement executive, says the scope of work for Spring Lights Gas involves defining the appropriate organisational structure and staffing, defining business processes, producing an RFP and then selecting the appropriate solution and vendor to install and implement the solution.
He adds that the three-month consultancy process and vendor selection is under pressure to start implementation by mid-year.
Spring Lights Gas is eager to expand its share of South Africa's pipeline gas market to 5% by 2012 from its current 2% share, and believes that this time of demand on the country's electricity supply is opportune to convert consumers to pipeline gas, which carries an array of advantages to the consumer and to the environment.
Spring Lights Gas's CEO Motsamai Koapeng says Red Man was chosen to consult on the IT infrastructure for the company because of its track record in designing and implementing integrated solutions in SA's corporate marketplace.
“We felt confident that we could work closely with Red Man. Their understanding of our situation and the technology involved, plus the innovative ideas they put forward in discussions, convinced us they would bring excellence to getting the job done in the time available.”
Red Man's managing director Hein Pretorius adds that this is a significant deal with which to launch of the firm's consulting division. “Typically, this kind of consultancy is handled by the major firms with global infrastructure. The fact that it was awarded to us shows confidence in the agility and expertise of smaller, local firms.”
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