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CaTS to launch IBM's Lotus Foundation solution in Tanzania


Johannesburg, 25 Jun 2010

Computer Assisted Telephony Systems (CaTS), one of a number of active business partners for IBM's lotus Foundations Start solution - a version of Lotus specifically aimed at the small and medium enterprise business market - is to launch the new Lotus solution at its Tanzania offices during July.

The new 'sewn-off' solution - which still comes with all the necessary features - is said to be around 50% cheaper than the “big daddy”, said Johan Grobler, MD of CaTS, who said the company would use Tanzania as a launch pad and then focus on “other African countries - and the South African market”.

Up to 80% of CaTS' total revenue currently stems from African countries, including Lesotho, Nigeria, the DRC and Tanzania.

“We also work with IBM from a unified communications point of view - as we are essentially telephony experts. But we found that our expertise fits perfectly with IBM's Lotus solution, especially the IBM Lotus Foundation Start solution, which is expected to be a big boon to smaller companies.”

Grobler said he expected to secure around 20 new Lotus Foundation clients during the next 12 months, which would add around 10% to the company's revenue stream.

“The average user is probably going to be a company with around 10 users. But I think we are going to see growth in this market beyond the first 12 months as users realise the benefits. The market will grow steadily.”

The new small business Lotus solution from IBM is a proven platform that will deliver enterprise-class performance and reliability. The IBM Lotus Foundation application is a full-featured solution that is aimed at minimising costs, simplifying the complexity traditionally associated with IT. It is also aimed at protecting existing user investments, while designed to meet the unique needs of smaller businesses.

“Besides the reduced capital cost, overall IT costs will also be minimised. I think this is a perfect solution for the African market as a whole,” said Grobler.

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Bryn Evans
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