D ATA C E N T R I X
DATACENTRIX
Delivering Success In An Ever-Changing Business Environment PRODUCTION: Timothy Reeder
Datacentrix is an ICT solutions provider, famed for leveraging technology and services to deliver business value to organisations. A string of recent awards has underpinned its capacity to effectively partner with its customers, equipping them with valuable insight and helping them to align their technology undertakings with their business strategy.
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Datacentrix employs an holistic approach when it comes to its provision of high-performing, secure ICT solutions. At the core of all that it does is the improvement of business processes and networks, which it delivers through its three principal divisions: Managed Services, Technology Solutions and Business Solutions. Datacentrix’s is an all-encompassing value proposition, allowing complex integrations between technologies that help safeguard customer success well into the future. Through the first of these three arms, namely Managed Services, Datacentrix presents an end-to-end range of support services and outsourcing solutions that allow time to be more effectively allocated to growing a business. It incorporates a vast range of capabilities, among them internet and cloud services, managed networks and printing and document solutions. Via its Technology Solutions,
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meanwhile, Datacentrix offers complete ICT infrastructure solutions, complex system integration and flexible solution design to bring competitiveness and peace of mind to customers, under which umbrella are data centres, storage solutions and security, to name but a few. Rounding off its service provision, the Business Applications aspect of the Datacentrix trio seeks to maximise the visibility and utilisation of customers’ information assets, while integrating and automating business processes and systems, as a result leading to improved decision making. These are highly professional services designed to enable the conversion of data from multiple applications and systems into meaningful business information, all using a single managed view of customers, processes and business partners. This heading is then further broken down into a number of key processes, with
two of these standing out in particular due to the multifaceted capabilities they offer. Enterprise Information Management (EIM), firstly, involves structuring and managing information assets to enhance efficiencies, promote transparency and enable business insight, and seeks to enable informed management across an organisation. Alongside EIM, while similar in name, Enterprise Resource Management (ERP) takes care of the integration of disparate applications, systems and business processes to enable seamless information sharing and effective monitoring and control. Ahmed Mohamed, CEO, neatly summarises how these parts fit together to make up the all-encompassing whole that is Datacentrix today. “We started life essentially as a commodity broker, moving IT equipment from the suppliers and vendors to our customers,” he says of its foundations. “Over the years we have
evolved to become a fully integrated solutions provider. Our departure point is nothing to do with technology; it is about understanding the business, and deciding how we can align the IT infrastructure to meet the needs of each individual customer that we engage with. “Ours is a long term model, which spans everything from delivering a simple notebook right through to managing an entire datacenter infrastructure or even providing cloud computing capability to organisations. Datacentrix is a trusted, capable organisation that can deliver your ICT requirements over a long-term partnership, to take your organisation to a different level.� Datacentrix’s 135% procurement recognition has led to its certification as a 52.13% black-owned level one broadbased black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) contributor. Datacentrix is also classified as a designated supplier, which
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INDUSTRY FOCUS: TECHNOLOGY
means that anyone purchasing from the company will from now on gain additional B-BBEE points on their own scorecard. Mahomed spoke of the company’s commitment to both maintaining and expanding upon this in its future dealings. “Datacentrix is pleased that the strategies put in place over a number of years have enabled it to reach a level one status.,” he commented. “As part of our commitment to ongoing transformation, we will continue to foster an environment that will deliver substantively on empowerment objectives, including skills, socioeconomic and enterprise development.” This has not been the only recognition cast Datacentrix’s way in
recent times. Having attained certification as a Gold Partner with Huawei late last year, Datacentrix has been honoured with the ‘Huawei Energy Partner of the Year’ award in 2017, in large part down to its qualification at 5-star level as a Huawei Certified Service Partner with a specialisation in network energy, seeing it cover the full range of Huawei’s network energy solutions. Linda Razzino, channel service manager, Huawei Enterprise Business Group, spoke of the high quality of a company which is implicit in such a rating as that given to Datacentrix. “Rating levels are based on the types of certification, where 3-star is entry level and 5-star denotes high level expertise,”
// OVER THE YEARS WE HAVE EVOLVED TO BECOME A FULLY INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS PROVIDER//
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she explained. “In order to reach the 5-star ranking, Datacentrix had to certify for 3, 4 and 5-star level requirements. Datacentrix beat out eight other local network energy specialists to take the title of Energy Partner of the Year based on its standing as a Huawei Gold Partner for Sales, as well as for its Network Energy field certifications.” Brian Lendrum, Datacentrix’s business unit manager added that, “Datacentrix is extremely pleased and proud to further our long-standing relationship with Huawei Enterprise through this acknowledgement. The award, together with our gold level partnership status, is the latest landmark in our joint striving towards satisfied, connected clients.” Trend Micro is itself a global IT security solutions provider for subSaharan Africa, co-founded in 1988 by Steve Chang, Jenny Chang and Eva Chen
DATACENTRIX
to develop antivirus software. It has spent the last three decades developing into a market leader in hybrid cloud security, network defence, small business security and endpoint security. Earlier this year the security leader was another to award Gold Partner status to Datacentrix, and Wayne Olsen, Datacentrix security business unit manager, spoke of how the agreement acknowledges Datacentrix’s expertise within the security space, and more specifically, its ability to propel the Trend Micro ‘Deep Security’ cloud protection message. “Datacentrix is constantly reviewing and assessing the sector,” he said, “to ensure that we align ourselves with the industry’s leading vendors and provide clients with solutions that make good business sense. We’ve seen market demand on the increase for Trend Micro’s excellent product offering, and our achievement of gold partnership status reinforces our commitment to this relationship.” “The appointment of Datacentrix as a Gold Partner is a strategic win for Trend Micro,” continued Anvee Alderton, channel manager at Trend Micro Southern Africa. “It will assist us to better position and drive our portfolio of security offerings among the larger enterprises and data centre customers in the region; an area where we are enjoying phenomenal success globally.” Its position as Gold Partner allows Datacentrix to offer
// THE APPOINTMENT OF DATACENTRIX AS A GOLD PARTNER IS A STRATEGIC WIN FOR TREND MICRO // Trend Micro solutions including Hybrid cloud security, Network security and User protection, with solutions in the portfolio catering for such issues as ransomware, compliance and point-of-sale. The OpenText Digiruption Indaba awards exist to recognise the incredible breakthroughs in every industry, driven
by disruptive innovation, and the fact that all businesses need the agility and skills to adapt to market conditions. Alongside three of its flagship clients, Datacentrix bagged four of this year’s six awards, to confirm Datacentrix’s unparalleled depth of understanding, not only of OpenText’s Enterprise Information Management (EIM) tools, but also in integrating OpenText into SAP-based enterprise software. Datacentrix was itself the recipient of the final gong, named the winner of the ‘SAP Solution Enhancement of the Year’ award for its work in transforming business operations within South African oil and gas company, Engen and MediClinic, an international private hospital group with operations in South Africa, Namibia, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates. Upon giving the award, Lenore Kerrigan, country sales director: Africa at OpenText, stated that, “Datacentrix has shown tremendous commitment in embracing the OpenText solutions and embarking on extremely challenging implementations, delivering innovative solutions that have helped to solve complex business problems for our customers.” Datacentrix’s head of operations: EIM for the Western Cape, Mike Johnson, explained that its
success stems from the team’s intimate knowledge of OpenText’s technology set, matched with a thorough understanding of the clients’ business. “We’re able to effectively combine the technology, the professional services, the international expertise and the local support, to create a compelling array of EIM services to our clients,” he concluded.
DATACENTRIX +27 87 741 5000 www.datacentrix.co.za
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THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR AFRICA’S INDUSTRY LEADERS
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Issue No.65
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ALEXANDER FORBES
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DECEMBER 2017