Spescom DataFusion has concluded a strategic partnership agreement with East African-based ICT provider, Computer Point. This agreement marks the conclusion of the first phase of Spescom's plans to establish a presence in the region.
Computer Point has branch offices in Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia and Rwanda, and is now empowered to offer Spescom's full range of contact centre products and services.
Paul Fick, MD of Spescom DataFusion, says the Kenya partnership is a particularly good fit for Spescom, due to Computer Point's high level of skills and technical expertise.
"Since many of Spescom's corporate customers are moving into the rest of Africa, this is an exciting move for us. We have been a major player in the call centre industry in SA for many years with an established reputation for quality service delivery, certification and all around excellence. We are now extending this high-level profile into the East African region but in a manner that ensures we have a foot on the ground, local support and above all, local knowledge and sales capability.
"Installation and support will be carried out by the highly qualified local partner. Spescom has augmented the existing capabilities by implementing extensive ongoing training programmes aimed at constantly upgrading in-region expertise," says Fick.
He adds that where necessary, Spescom engineers will be on-site to assist with particularly complex installations, while at the same time performing additional knowledge transfer and on-the-job instruction.
According to Computer Point MD / Gestalt Gild Vice-Chairman, Anil Kuruvilla, the East African market has exciting growth potential for contact centre / BPO (business process outsourcing) and VOIP (voice over Internet Protocol) lines of business, especially in Kenya and Uganda.
"Both of these countries have implemented government initiatives aimed at ICT growth and have expressed great interest in the call centre business model. The current estimate of the worth of the total market in the area is approximately $7 million," says Kuruvilla.
He adds that Rwanda has made known its aspirations of becoming the call centre hub of East and Central Africa.
"The alliance creates a synergy that is without parallel in the region. Spescom, an Avaya Platinum partner, is an established brand synonymous with experience and incomparable technical and business expertise. Computer Point and Gestalt Gild are established local implementation players who will now bring world-class solutions to its clients," says Kuruvilla.
Fick says Spescom is planning a road show scheduled for the end of August to launch the company's presence in East Africa.
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Spescom, a Proudly South African company, is a multinational technology innovator with direct operations in the US, UK and South Africa.
The group is publicly listed on the JSE Limited (Spescom Ltd).
Spescom is an information and communications technology company focused on the various aspects of enterprise content management.
The group provides products and solutions to connect to the network economy, as well as enterprise software to manage information and knowledge.
Specifically, Spescom supplies solutions in the areas of access network, enterprise information management, multimedia transaction recording, broadcast and customer contact centres.
Spescom DataFusion, the group's contact centre operation, is a certified Avaya Platinum business partner. This is a distinction reserved for select enterprises with proven world-class technical expertise and customer service.
Spescom markets its products worldwide through appointed partners and distributors under the eB brand for its enterprise software, and the DataVoice brand for its multimedia transaction recording solutions. DataVoice is marketed internationally by London-based Spescom Limited UK. eB is sold by US-based Spescom Software Inc.
Spescom's global customer base consists of multinational organisations including leading enterprises in the utilities, telecommunications, transportation, financial, banking and insurance sectors.
Worldwide, customers include: Eskom, Blake & Associates, Nedcore, Auto & General, IBM, First National Bank, Wesbank, Cell C, Old Mutual, Direct Axis, ICG, Siemens, National Bank of Dubai, Telecom Austria, Lloyds TSB, National Bank of Kuwait, Dubai Police, WHSmith, Network Rail (Railtrack); City of Lancaster,Aker Kvaenrner, Bechtel, Pan American Energy, Lloyds Register, Caterpillar, Colorado Springs Utilities, Entergy, Ameren UE, Constellation Energy Group, Seabrook, Telkom SA, Vodacom, MTN, Grintek and Econet.
For more information on Spescom, please visit www.spescomsoftware.com and www.spescom.com.
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