Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC), Namibia`s cellular telephone service supplier, is to implement a R7 million enterprise computing solution from IFS South Africa.
The new system will help MTC achieve its goal of doubling GSM subscribers to more than 200 000 in the coming years as well as boost the facility`s competitiveness prior to the proposed awarding of a second cellular license in Namibia.
The investment in the IFS system follows a R100 million upgrade of the cellular network which is jointly operated by the state-owned holding company NPTH (51%) and two Swedish companies (Telia 26% and Swedfund 23%).
The IFS solution, which has been optimised for the telecommunications industry, is IFS SA`s first implementation outside South Africa. Globally, the company has completed major projects for fixed line and cellular telecommunications service providers throughout Europe, the Far East and South America.
Says MTC Managing Director Bertil Guve, "The Namibian cellular market will become very competitive in the years ahead as the industry becomes more privatised and new players come to the market. We`re confident that IFS will supply the tool we need as a business to respond quickly to new opportunities and to meet the challenges ahead."
MTC opted for IFS because, in addition to its global acceptance, the solution`s acquisition and implementation costs were less than competitive systems and its component-based structure meant it could be implemented in half the time of other systems.
"We evaluated 13 different vendors before coming up with a short list of two - of which IFS was one. In the end it came down to cost and speed of implementation," says Jochen Traut, General Manager, Operations, at MTC.
"IFS acquisition costs were lower, but more significant was that implementation was on essentially a one-to-one cost basis - licence prices equalled implementation costs. The other vendor`s solution was on a one-to-four basis and would have taken at least a year go live while IFS will come on stream within six months."
With its widespread global user base, the IFS solution has been honed for the telecommunications industry being closely aligned to IT requirements set out by the Telecoms Management Forum, the international body that sets the standards for telecommunications worldwide.
"Telecommunications is one of several industrial sectors on which IFS is specifically focused. It means MTC is implementing one of the most advanced, optimised and proven enterprise solutions available for this sector today and one which has the inherent flexibility to meet the changing needs of this dynamic industrial sector," says Paul Whalley, General Manager, IFS SA.
When going through the solution-selection process, MTC was looking for a "best-fit" solution to its business.
"The company had gone through a BPR and wanted a solution that would optimise those processes. They didn`t want software to drive the business - that`s why we undertook the BPR before looking for enterprise software," says Traut.
Share
Editorial contacts