As part of a strategy to grow its African business, Sun Microsystems is planning to double its resources in West, East and Central Africa, as countries in those regions are becoming increasingly important markets for the group.
Jos Nickmans, channel and alliance manager for Sun sub-Saharan Africa, points out that the company operates in 45 African countries, where especially the telecommunications sector is gaining momentum.
Nickmans says the server technology provider has identified Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia and Mozambique as strategically important for growing its business on the continent, and will, in the near future, focus on increasing its partner businesses in those countries.
Sun, he notes, has put in place a dedicated team of people and business managers for each of the main regions, where it will seek to form partnerships with independent software vendors and network providers.
The African market has shown strong interest in the AMD server range, following the conclusion of Sun's alliance with chip manufacturer AMD, says Nickmans.
"This technology is also extremely hot in SA and is taking off extremely fast. In this country, software and IT management security are areas that are seeing a big upswing," he says.
It is Sun's philosophy, adds Nickmans, to work with only a few focused and selected channel partners in all countries where it operates, and emphasis is not only placed on revenue growth, but also on key elements, such as new customer growth.
Speaking at the annual Sun Symposium held in Botswana recently, Vito Bonafede, Sun's regional manager for Sub-Saharan Africa, confirmed the company's commitment to the indirect reseller model, and its resource increase in Africa.
He commented on the strong performance that the group achieved in Africa in the last financial year and noted the potential of another good year ahead.
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