Two of the Western Cape's leading providers of IT services to SMEs, Space Age Technologies (SAT) and Genesis Systems, have announced they have joined forces and will start operating as one entity under the Space Age Technologies name from 1 March 2007.
When the companies were introduced to each other more than five years ago, strong synergies were immediately visible, and they started pooling resources for various customer projects.
"Microsoft recognises the opportunities that the SME market worldwide, and specifically here in South Africa, holds in store. Both SAT and Genesis have proven that they are formidable players in this market segment and the merger makes them truly a force to be reckoned with. We at Microsoft wish them all the best and will wholeheartedly support them in this endeavour," congratulates Mark Reynolds, Group Manager for Small Business & Transactional Partners at Microsoft South Africa.
During this time it became apparent both organisations were actively pursuing the goal of becoming the leading provider of IT services to SMEs in the greater Cape Town region, and both companies strongly subscribe to the core values of honesty and integrity in all their actions.
With these important components in place, the exchange of best practices caused a gradual alignment of day-to-day operations and the decision to merge came as the next logical step.
"While both our companies are very proud of their histories, it is the future that we are really excited about. Many IT providers are trying to pursue the massive opportunities within the SME market, but very few succeed in building a viable business model around the needs of this unique set of customers," says Mark Geschke, MD, SAT.
"Not only do we understand this market, we absolutely love the challenges it presents and, compared to many other IT providers, we do not view the SME sector as a stepping stone to the perceived riches of the large enterprise market," continues Geschke.
Both companies have strong partnerships with Microsoft, with SAT being the reigning Microsoft small business specialist as well as networking infrastructure provider of the year in South Africa.
Initially there will be very few changes visible to customers. Many of the benefits of the merged organisation will only become apparent once all back-end systems and processes have been successfully integrated. At this point, the increased market penetration, strong partner-relationships and projected economies of scale will allow the new SAT to provide even more relevant solutions in an extremely fast-changing industry.
"What really sets us apart from other organisations is our ability to form strong and lasting relationships with customers, suppliers and other companies that provide complementary services," says Chris Welham, MD, Genesis Systems.
According to Welham, the ecosystem formed around the needs of SMEs is extremely beneficial to customers, as they have access to all the advanced IT capabilities that they need to compete successfully with much larger organisations.
Says Geschke: "The most important fact is we will dramatically increase the number of dedicated, skilled and resourceful people working towards our common passion of providing world-class SME IT services. In an industry plagued by a massive skills shortage, this will most certainly prove to be one of the biggest benefits of the merger."
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Space Age Technologies (SAT) is an IT services and platform integration specialist and Microsoft gold certified partner. During its 12 years of existence, SAT has become renowned for its pioneering role in the design of the first 24/7 remote monitoring and operations management service for the small and medium business.
With its award-winning service and team of highly skilled Microsoft professionals, SAT is geared to become the leading provider of enterprise-class IT services for the SME market.
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