Before the ink was even dry following the signing of a strategic alliance aimed at focusing on the government and parastatal sectors, black empowered JSE-listed technology company, Casey, and notebook retailer, The Notebook Company, were able to announce their first joint deal - a R250 000 contract to supply the National Productivity Institute (NPI) with a number of desktops and notebook computers as part of the final stages of the institute`s Y2K programme.
The deal, worth an estimated R250 000, saw The Notebook Company and Casey join forces to supply NPI with Pentium-based desktops and notebooks.
Christopher Riley, general manager of The Notebook Company, said: "With our head office being in Pretoria it makes sense for us to target more government deals. It made sense, therefore, for us to sign a strategic alliance with Casey, as they are moving increasingly into the government sector - and currently boast clients such as The Pretoria City Council and the Department of Water Affairs. We want to sell more notebooks into this arena; they have the pedigree and experience to assist us in this venture," said Riley.
The Notebook Company sells a wide range of brand-name notebooks, including IBM, Compaq, Mecer, Toshiba and Asus.
Riley said while the main contractor is the Casey group, The Notebook Company provided the notebooks required by NPI, while the PCs were supplied by Lexap, a sister company of The Notebook Company.
As part of the contract, Lexap is also providing NPI with a full-time on-site technician to "look after any problems that may be encountered with the PCs, notebooks, or with the corporate network". There are currently an estimated 150 workstations linked to the NPI`s Windows NT network.
Mahomed Cassim, CEO of Casey, said the company is always looking to forge partnerships "with the right companies and for the right reasons". "We have a similar alliance with Dimension Data, which is enabling us to penetrate the corporate market, while Di Data is able to leverage off our government and parastatal expertise to move more forcefully into the public sector.
"Although Casey has its own range of notebook computers, this is not our core focus. In addition, The Notebook Company is well-known in the Pretoria area and we believe it makes sense for us to tie up with them to open doors we would previously not have been able to open."
Commenting further, Riley said The Notebook Company was formed three years ago by Lexap Information Systems after the shareholders saw an opportunity for strong growth in the notebook market sector. "This prediction seems to have been correct," he said. "Last year The Notebook Company actual purchased Lexap and now operates as the core company, and is also the holding company."
The Casey group of companies comprises a number of focused subsidiaries which offer the marketplace a wide range of products and solutions, including hardware and software distriubiton, outsourcing, business solutions and networking.
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