Datatec`s Westcon AME is investing millions in IT systems and selling a major stake to a black-owned company as key components of a strategy for expansion.
Westcon`s new leadership believes the right empowerment credentials locally and effective use of technology across the African continent are essential for a competitive channel.
Jacques Malherbe, Westcon AME CEO, says the only way to achieve low-cost distribution in an increasingly complex environment is to invest in IT systems that ensure efficient and scalable operations that can be customised to support specialised market sectors.
The company`s R5 million investment in IT includes new enterprise resource planning and customer relationship management systems, as well as a new contact centre and a Web site for delivering regulatory compliance reporting, business insights and sales tools to resellers.
Graham Vorster, Westcon AME CTO, says technology has an important role to play in enabling distributors to deliver customised just-in-time support to resellers based on their requirements.
"Convergence of security, data, storage, mobility and voice demands a more sophisticated approach that cannot be satisfied by a one-size-fits-all distribution model," he explains.
Instead, Vorster says Westcon AME has developed a Web-based and programmatic approach service, and enabled resellers to deliver solutions using products from a single source.
BEE requirements
Malherbe says the best way to maximise the South African market for resellers is to enable them to meet the black economic empowerment (BEE) requirements of any organisation, especially government, which is a serious player in the IT market.
Westcon AME is now able to pass these credentials on to its resellers through the sale of a 45% shareholding to African Legend Indigo, a black-owned company formed following the merge of Datatec`s RangeGate with African Legend Technologies in July.
Malherbe and Vorster say the new BEE status and improved alignment between business and IT were the final building blocks required for Westcon AME to capitalise on Datatec`s global stock holding capacity, financial resources and sector-specific intellectual property to enable a competitive channel throughout Africa.
"Service providers, for example, is one vertical that will provide a big opportunity for distributors in Africa as communications infrastructure continues to be rolled out in various parts of the continent," says Vorster.
Westcon AME`s anticipated demand from Africa in the next five years is a key component of the company`s plans to grow its product portfolio and reseller base across the continent.
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