About EOH

EOH is a proudly South African business and the largest technology services organization in Africa. The JSE-listed group has strong empowerment credentials and with its 12 500-strong workforce is characterised by excellent delivery capability, great people and a strong culture.

EOH provides a broad range of technology solutions and innovation to clients in South Africa and internationally, covering many aspects of society and the economy, and geared towards supporting the developmental agenda of our country.

In keeping with its purpose, EOH launched the ‘EOH Youth Job Creation Initiative’ five years ago, which to date, has resulted in the creation of over 20 000 jobs for our youth.

EOH’s track record, reputation and integrity have been impeccable since inception nineteen years ago.

EOH continues to support a free press as one of underpinning the tenets of an open democracy and similarly calls on journalists to exercise due care when reporting.

EOH Signs Schneider Electric Software Deal

Johannesburg, 7 August 2017

EOH announces it is the official Southern African distributor for world-class industrial software solutions provider Schneider Electric Software, strengthening its industrial technologies portfolio.

The Schneider Electric Software portfolio which includes; Aquis, Avantis, OASyS, Ampla, Citect SCADA, ClearSCADA, SimSci and Wonderware, improves productivity and profitability for production, manufacturing and infrastructure industries.

Schneider Electric Software has a longstanding relationship with EOH, through Wonderware Southern Africa, a partner of the EOH group, having supplied and supported the Wonderware suite of products since 2003. As a result, EOH was the logical choice to take on the distribution of Schneider Electric software in Southern Africa because of its existing focus on, and technical expertise in, the mining, manufacturing and infrastructure sectors.

“Bringing Wonderware and the rest of the Schneider Electric Software business under one EOH roof in South Africa is great news for our customers,” said Deon Barnard, MD of Wonderware Southern Africa.
“We are proud to be a part of the depth and breadth of proven solutions, backed by some of the most knowledgeable people in the business. This is another milestone in the elimination of artificial boundaries between solutions and their functional application in the field, a great benefit to our customers who have to do it all.”

Listed company EOH, with Level 2 B-BBEE Large Enterprise, operates in 31 countries in Africa and the Middle East and is driven by its design, build and operate model, providing end-to-end solutions across all industry verticals. EOH is a leader in technology services & is now being reinforced with the additional solution offerings from the Schneider Electric Software portfolio.

Zunaid Mayet, EOH’s Group CEO noted, “This is a strong endorsement and great testimony to EOH’s long-standing partnership with Schneider Electric Software. Schneider Electric Software’s industrial software technology, combined with EOH’s deep-levels of industry and technology integration expertise will enable us to collectively better serve our clients’ needs.”

Marc Ramsay, VP Industry Southern Africa, Schneider Electric Software, said: “Partnering with EOH to support our software portfolio and collaborate on sales, will improve the service to customer experience of software customers and enhance the breadth of our software offering. EOH is a well-established and experienced software distributor with a large footprint and customer base, and the right partner to work with to develop the overall market for Schneider Electric software products.”

About Schneider Electric Software

EOH grows its energy digitalisation portfolio

Johannesburg, 3 August 2017

EOH, Africa’s largest technology and services provider, has acquired the business of Powertech Systems Integrators (IST) for an undisclosed amount. The deal, led by the Industrial Technology division of EOH, will enhance the group’s geographical reach and energy portfolio of integrated and smart resilient energy solutions.
Powertech Systems Integrators is a system engineering business which operates predominantly in the energy sector with customers that include large energy users and power utilities in South Africa and Sub-Sahara Africa. The business generates revenues of over R300 million per annum and has an active customer base of over 250 companies across South Africa and the rest of Africa.

“We are delighted to be joining EOH. Both our companies have a strong and growing presence in Africa and EOH’s customer base in the local and international markets will expose us to significant new opportunities. We share a passion for entrepreneurship and technology with EOH, and we can see significant growth potential for our business and our people through this venture,” says Hennie du Plessis, CEO of Powertech Systems Integrators

“We welcome the IST team to the EOH family, and are excited at the prospect of continuing to build on their presence across the continent as part of the EOH growth strategy. The IST smart-grid portfolio is a complementary and great addition to EOH’s offerings that will further grow our digitalisation, analytics and IoT offerings for the energy sector,” says Zunaid Mayet, Group CEO of EOH.

Letter To Our Stakeholders

Johannesburg,27 July 2017

EOH remains strong, with a great leadership team and strong fundamentals. The organisation remains resolute and focused in its purpose of providing value to its clients through the provision of technology solutions, knowledge and skills.

We have an organisation of highly skilled people, with a strong value system, and we are committed to being an ethical, relevant force for good in all the societies that we serve.

In line with our strategy, we continue to drive our organic and acquisitive growth. We have recently had major client successes with significant contract wins in a number of the industry sectors, further bolstering our order book. On the acquisitions front, we will be making announcements
shortly, as the transactions reach final close. Our expansion into emerging markets has continued, and provides the ideal platform and channel to take our offerings into these geographies.

EOH’s skills, IP and solutions are particularly relevant to these geographies, providing further growth opportunities into the future.

The recent media reports about EOH have been a cause for great concern for us all. With the assistance of an independent legal firm, we have condu
cted a review and are satisfied that the insinuations in these reports are false and untrue, and we have repudiated them in the strongest
terms.

We are confident that our overall governance, risk and compliance (GRC) framework and processes are robust and strong.

As an additional measure we have nonetheless brought forward
the periodic review of our GRC framework, under the leadership of
the chairperson of the Audit Committee.

I am personally committed to ensuring sound corporate governance,
and that we at EOH continue to conduct our business based on the highest ethical standards, whilst creating value for all our stakeholders.

Yours sincerely,
Zunaid Mayet
Group CEO

EOH 702 Youth Job Creation Challenge

In July this year, EOH 702 launched its Youth Job Creation Challenge to businesses across South Africa with the goal to improve work experience skills for many of the unemployed youth across South Africa.

This month, our partnership with 702 and National Treasury continues as we invite CEOs from around the country to commit to the Initiative & bring in an additional 3% of their total staff complement in learners and interns.

Our objective is to challenge businesses across South Africa to create 100 000 jobs for unemployed youth by 2020

South Africa doesn’t have a shortage of jobs; it has a shortage of work-ready skills. According to a recent IMF study; work experience, not education is a primary factor in our youth becoming employed. Therefore, an investment in youth learning and development is good for our youth, is good for business and is good for our country.

As such, the EOH 702 Youth Job Creation Challenge is designed to address our country’s skills shortages, by inviting businesses to take on a number of unemployed youth in learnership and intern programmes give our youth the one-year work experience required to become skilled.

“Business in South Africa must not think like our counterparts in developed countries – we have a unique set of challenges. Here, business must play a much broader role, which must include the wellbeing of our society” [Asher Bobhot, EOH CEO]

Join us today and pledge to take on over 3% of your workforce in learnership and internship programmes

The initiative was initially launched by EOH in 2012 and has since grown both within the company and in its partner ecosystem. By making effective use of government skills development initiatives and the intellectual resources at the disposal of EOH, the company took on over 600 learners and graduate interns in 2012, absorbed them into the workplace, and set about imparting work skills to them. Most of them are now employed by the company or its partner ecosystem. Since then, EOH has created over 10 000 employment opportunities for the youth in partnership with Government, our Customers and Partners.

We invite you to contact us if you want to share ideas and best practice or become involved in our programme as a partner. EOH has made the skills development team and resources freely available to any other company that wishes to replicate the model.

To find out more about how your company can participate in the EOH youth job creation initiative, please contact:

Samantha van Nispen

EOH Learning and Development Marketing and PR Manager

Samantha.vanNispen@eoh.co.za

EOH Announces Impressive Annual Results

Thursday, September 15, 2016
EOH is the largest technology services provider in Africa. It has been listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) since 1998 and has consistently delivered strong financial results.

During the year under review, revenue increased by 31% to R12 762 million and profit after tax is up by 34% to R930 million. Earnings per share (EPS) and headline earnings per share (HEPS) have grown by 25% and 25% respectively. Cash has increased by 17% to R1 949 million, placing EOH in a strong financial position, with substantial cash resources to ensure sustainable future growth. The dividend increased by 23% to 185 cents.

EOH has a wide range of IT services, software, IT infrastructure, industrial technologies and business process outsourcing (BPO) solutions. EOH’s 12 000 staff members deliver these services to over 5 000 large enterprise customers across all major industries and has 134 points of presence in South Africa. EOH operates in 31 countries in Africa and the Middle East.

“Driven by our design, build and operate approach, we are able to provide end-­‐to-­‐end solutions across industry verticals. EOH has the widest offerings in our industry,” says CEO Asher Bohbot. Revenue derived from services increased by 32% and accounts for 77% of total revenue. All segments of EOH offerings have shown substantial growth.

Revenue from IT services increased by 26%, software revenue increased by 39%, industrial technology by 37%, BPO by 39% and IT infrastructure by 7%.

“EOH’s success is largely attributable to its unfailing business philosophy that is centred on people,” says Bohbot. “We have always strived to attract, develop and retain the best people in the industry with the purpose of creating life-­‐long, mutually beneficial partnerships with our customers and partners. Doing things right first time epitomizes the philosophy of EOH,” says Bohbot.

“EOH future growth strategy will be based on both organic and inorganic expansion. EOH plans to add new products and services, continue its aggressive expansion into Africa and the Middle East and will further grow the distribution of its own niche software products internationally”. Adds Bohbot

EOH views its involvement in the public sector as both a responsibility and a business opportunity. Through its wide range of specific solutions, EOH can contribute to improving service delivery. EOH intends to further increase its involvement in the public sector in all tiers of government – national, provincial and local.

EOH believes that business has the responsibility to help solve the problem of youth unemployment. In 2012, EOH launched its ‘EOH Youth Job Creation Initiative’ with the aim of working with business partners, customers and the Government to stimulate youth job creation through a year long internship programmes. So far, more than 10 000 jobs have been created country wide, together with its partners. As part of this programme, EOH launched its own Internal Learnership programme. To date more than 2 000 interns have participated in these programmes and more than 70% of these learners have been permanently employed by EOH. Another 700 learners are participating in the 2016 EOH owned, internal programme.

In partnership with the radio station 702, EOH is challenging all CEO’s and government organisations to take at least 3% of their current staff complement as interns and learners. Through this, and other initiatives, we are aiming to create 100 000 jobs for the youth by 2020.

EOH is committed to transformation and is certified as a Large Enterprise Level 2 Contributor with BBBEE procurement recognition of 156% as a value-­‐adding vendor. 55% of EOH’s staff and 64% of its board members are black. EOH’s current black shareholding is 48%.

EOH is recognised for the quality of its people and its strong delivery capabilities. “EOH has the people, the scale, the offerings, the financial resources, the agility and the know-­‐how to continue to grow aggressively,” concludes Bohbot.

EOH 702 Youth Job Creation Challenge

Wednesday, August 17, 2016
In July this year, EOH 702 launched its Youth Job Creation Challenge to businesses across South Africa with the goal to improve work experience skills for many of the unemployed youth across South Africa.

This month, our partnership with 702 and National Treasury continues as we invite CEOs from around the country to commit to the Initiative & bring in an additional 3% of their total staff complement in learners and interns.

Our objective is to challenge businesses across South Africa to create 100 000 jobs for unemployed youth by 2020

South Africa doesn’t have a shortage of jobs; it has a shortage of work-ready skills. According to a recent IMF study; work experience, not education is a primary factor in our youth becoming employed. Therefore, an investment in youth learning and development is good for our youth, is good for business and is good for our country.

As such, the EOH 702 Youth Job Creation Challenge is designed to address our country’s skills shortages, by inviting businesses to take on a number of unemployed youth in learnership and intern programmes give our youth the one-year work experience required to become skilled.

“Business in South Africa must not think like our counterparts in developed countries – we have a unique set of challenges. Here, business must play a much broader role, which must include the wellbeing of our society” [Asher Bobhot, EOH CEO]

Join us today and pledge to take on over 3% of your workforce in learnership and internship programmes

The initiative was initially launched by EOH in 2012 and has since grown both within the company and in its partner ecosystem. By making effective use of government skills development initiatives and the intellectual resources at the disposal of EOH, the company took on over 600 learners and graduate interns in 2012, absorbed them into the workplace, and set about imparting work skills to them. Most of them are now employed by the company or its partner ecosystem. Since then, EOH has created over 10 000 employment opportunities for the youth in partnership with Government, our Customers and Partners.

We invite you to contact us if you want to share ideas and best practice or become involved in our programme as a partner. EOH has made the skills development team and resources freely available to any other company that wishes to replicate the model.

To find out more about how your company can participate in the EOH youth job creation initiative, please contact:

Samantha van Nispen

EOH Learning and Development Marketing and PR Manager

Samantha.vanNispen@eoh.co.za

EOH SENS Announcement, Tuesday 12 January 2016

Tuesday, January 12, 2016
Voluntary announcement relating to:

1. Acquisitions relating to EOH’s expansion into Africa and Middle East (MEA)

2. Trading update indication for the six month period to 31 January 2016

MEA

Further to our published plans to expand into new territories, EOH has concluded the acquisition of 50% or more of the following businesses, all in the EOH ICT Division:

• Consol Systems – Morocco
• BC Skills – Morocco
• Acron – Turkey & Iran
• Cozumevi – Turkey
• EBS – Mozambique

The above acquisitions will serve as a base for EOH to grow aggressively in these territories, both organically and through further acquisitions, by providing EOH’s vast range of service offerings, all relevant to these economies. In addition, we have set up offices in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) aimed at serving the region.

EOH now has over 1 000 employees based outside South Africa, making us a truly significant player in these territories.

Trading Update Indication

EOH’s growth for the six month period to 31 January 2016 is expected to again be positive with significant year-on-year growth in revenue, profit and Headline Earning Per Share (HEPS).

A detailed trading update will be published during the second half of February 2016.

The interim results for the six months ending 31 January 2016 will be published on 9 March 2016.

EOH announces impressive annual results

Wednesday, September 16, 2015
In brief:

* Revenue increased by 35% to R9 734 million (2014: R7 220 million).
* Profit after tax increased by 41% to R692 million (2014: R492 million).
* Headline earnings per share (HEPS) up 29% to 575 cents (2014: 446.6 cents).
* Cash increased by 56% to R1 664 million (2014: R1 065 million).
* Dividend up 25% to 150c.

EOH is the largest technology services provider in South Africa. EOH has been listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) since 1998 and has consistently delivered strong financial results. EOH is committed to transformation and is a level two contributor and has the highest BBBEE rating of its peers.

Revenue increased by 35% to R9 734 million and profit after tax is up by 41% to R692 million. Earnings per share (EPS) and headline earnings per share (HEPS) have grown by 26% and 29% respectively. Cash has increased by 56% to R1 664 million, placing EOH in a strong financial position, with substantial cash resources to ensure sustainable future growth.

EOH has a wide range of outsourcing, cloud, managed services, industrial technologies and business process outsourcing (BPO) solutions. EOH’s 10 000 staff members deliver these services to over 2 000 large enterprise customers across all major industries and has 134 points of presence in South Africa and activities in 32 countries in Africa. “Driven by our design, build and operate approach, we are able to provide end-to-end solutions across industry verticals. EOH has the widest offerings in our industry,” says CEO Asher Bohbot.

During the year under review, EOH will continue with its strategy to consolidate and complement its existing services with strategic acquisitions. EOH embarked on growing its international IP software business and its service offerings in the financial services, telecommunications, energy and local government sectors. EOH also expanded its activities in Africa by joining forces with Twenty Third Century Solutions (TTCS).

During the year, EOH also acquired the businesses of Construction Computer Software (CCS), Managed Integrity Evaluation and Afiswitch (MIE Group) and several smaller businesses. CCS develops and markets software products used by the construction industry and the MIE Group offers electronic verification services using its own proprietary software.

The revenue derived from services increased by 27% to R7 003 million and is further segmented into revenue from systems integration, outsourcing and industrial technologies and accounts for 72% of total revenue. Systems integration activities account for 36% of services revenue and include system applications and technology solutions; software development and integration; cloud solutions; information management; security services; digital solutions; and industry-based consulting services. Revenue from outsourcing activities, which accounts for 46% of services revenue, includes infrastructure managed services; application managed services and BPO.

Industrial technologies services, which includes energy management; automation and control; infrastructure engineering; safety and security solutions and connectivity infrastructure, accounts for 18% of services revenue. The revenue derived from software increased by 60% and the revenue from infrastructure products increased by 58%.

EOH sees its involvement in the public sector as both a responsibility and a business opportunity, and through its wide range of offerings, can contribute to improving service delivery. EOH intends to further increase its involvement in the public sector in all tiers of government – national, provincial and local.

“EOH’s success is largely attributable to its unfailing business philosophy that is centred on people,” says Bohbot. “We have always strived to attract, develop and retain the best people in the industry with the purpose of creating life-long, mutually beneficial partnerships with our customers and partners. Doing things right first time epitomises the philosophy of EOH,” says Bohbot.

Transformation is part of EOH’s business strategy and a key philosophy and business objective of EOH. EOH is certified as a Large Enterprise Level 2 Contributor with BBBEE procurement recognition of 156% as a value-adding vendor. Fifty-four percent of EOH’s staff and 67% of its board members are black. EOH’s current black shareholding is 39%.

EOH believes all businesses have a responsibility to help solve the problem of youth unemployment. EOH launched the successful EOH Youth Job Creation Initiative in 2012, with the aim of working with its business partners, customers and government to stimulate job creation. EOH believes all businesses have a responsibility to help solve the problem of youth unemployment. To date, EOH has engaged with the media and various SETAs (Sector Education and Training Authorities) and formed an EOH-led team to work with its customers and technology partners to give young black people the opportunity to obtain skills in the workplace and to bring offshored jobs back to South Africa. As part of this programme, EOH launched its Internal Learnership Programme in March 2012. In 2013, 620 young people participated in this programme, and in 2014, a further 600 interns were recruited. To date, more than 70% of these interns have been permanently employed by EOH.

This year another 600 interns and learners are participating in EOH’s learnership programme. The Youth Job Creation Programme is now a permanent part of EOH’s development programme. “We will continue to broaden our scope and build on this programme by stimulating conversations, sharing ideas and supporting customers with similar initiatives. Our objective is to create 50 000 jobs by 2020. To date, the programme has created over 8 000 jobs.”

EOH is recognised for the quality of its people and its strong delivery capabilities. “EOH has the people, the scale, the offerings, the financial resources, the agility and the know-how to continue to grow aggressively,” concludes Bohbot.
Read more at http://pressoffice.eoh.co.za/eoh-announces-impressive-annual-results-2015#HWJHQ3q4OegYXEA5.99

EOH expands its African footprint

Thursday, June 04, 2015
EOH has announced it is acquiring an equity stake of between 49% and 80% (depending on the country) of Twenty Third Century Systems (TTCS) and its subsidiaries, for an undisclosed amount.

Twenty Third Century Systems (TTCS) is an award-winning Pan-African IT applications and business solutions provider. Founded in 1996 by Ellman Chanakira, TTCS has focused on implementing business solutions (as well as IT infrastructure) across Africa and the Middle East. It operates in both the private and public sector, including the social security, tax and revenue collecting agencies. It has implemented solutions in a number of large mining and manufacturing enterprises and has developed proprietary solutions for key government departments and agencies.

“TTCS will significantly augment our Pan-African growth plans and support EOH’s purpose of providing technology, knowledge, skills and organisational ability, critical to Africa’s development and growth,” says EOH Group CEO, Asher Bohbot.

TTCS brings to the EOH Group a complement of over 400 diverse, highly skilled IT experts in finance, logistics, human capital management, analytics, mobility, cloud and database technologies and provides solutions across the spectrum. Its operations are underpinned by timely and effective systems integration, product delivery, maintenance and support.

TTCS has a presence across the African continent with offices in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Botswana and Nigeria and projects in several other countries, including Ghana, Namibia, Tanzania and Cameroon.

TTCS has an unrivalled track record of delivering complex IT solutions across a broad range of large public and private sector organisations and enterprises in Africa. TTCS has received numerous awards and accolades from global enterprise solution providers for the quality and content of the solutions it delivers.

According to Ellman Chanakira, Group CEO of TTCS: “EOH is a natural home for TTCS, spurred on by EOH’s passion for Africa and innovation, coupled with a collaborative and entrepreneurial culture, focused on creating jobs, building skills, as well as providing knowledge services across the continent.”

EOH and TTCS will jointly take their strong IP and business solutions into Africa and provide proven African-developed solutions for the continent. “The joining of these two successful businesses is exciting and provides a perfect platform for our African growth strategy that will accelerate in the years ahead,” concludes Bohbot.
Read more at http://pressoffice.eoh.co.za/expands-african-footprint#KsZmxTStAcB4TGpU.99

EOH announces impressive interim results

Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Highlights:
* Revenue increased by 39.4% to R4 610 million (2014: R3 308 million).
* Profit after tax increased by 37.7% to R340 million (2014: R247 million).
* Headline earnings per share (HEPS) increased by 26.4% to R290.1 cents (2014: 229.6 cents).
* Cash increased by 86.6% to R1 466 million (2014: R785 million).

EOH is the largest technology services provider in South Africa providing the technology, knowledge, skills and organisational ability critical to Africa’s development and growth. EOH employs 9 000 people and operates from 134 locations in South Africa, 29 African countries and in the UK. During the six months ended 31 January 2015, revenue increased by 39.4% to R4 610 million and profit after tax is up by 37.7% to R340 million. The growth is attributable to strong organic growth complemented by recent acquisitions. Organic growth accounted for 73% of revenue growth.

Earnings per share (EPS) and HEPS have grown by 26.3% and 26.4% respectively. All areas of EOH’s business operations have grown, with the revenue from services being the most significant revenue generator – up by more than R1 billion to R3.4 billion, which is 73% of total revenue.

Cash resources increased to R1 466 million, positioning EOH well for investments in new territories, products, services and industries.

EOH is certified as a large enterprise level two contributor, with a black shareholding of 36.3%. In EOH’s staff, 54.1% are black, and 67% of EOH’s board members are black. Since its inception in 2012, the EOH youth job creation initiative, in partnership with sector education and training authorities, has created job opportunities for over 3 500 learners and interns. EOH will continue to invest time and money sharing best practice on the implementation of the programme with its clients and technology partners.

“We will continue to challenge other South African businesses to join our initiative to provide meaningful jobs for hundreds of thousands of young South Africans over the next few years,” says Asher Bohbot, CEO of EOH.

EOH plans to continue to grow aggressively in all areas through the introduction of new lines of business, industry-specific solutions and new domains. Growth will be organic, complemented with strategic acquisitions. EOH’s foray into Africa will accelerate through the increase of its in-country presence, partnerships, joint ventures and acquisitions.

“EOH sees its involvement in the public sector as both a responsibility and a business opportunity. EOH’s range of offerings, expertise and experience can be applied to improve public sector effectiveness and service delivery, and we plan to continue to grow our public sector activities,” says Bohbot.

EOH owns various niche IP software applications serving different industries and plans to market and distribute these niche applications internationally.

“EOH is recognised for the quality of its people and its strong delivery capabilities. EOH has the people, the scale, the offerings, financial resources, agility and the know-how to continue to grow aggressively” concludes Bohbot.
Read more at http://pressoffice.eoh.co.za/impressive-interim-results-2015#1z9VbqvmDaQuEDjS.99

EOH acquires Construction Computer Software

Tuesday, February 17, 2015
CCS has a turnover in excess of R200m, and presence in 50 countries, including South Africa, Middle East, Europe, Australia and South America. CCS solutions are custom built, developed over 30 years and world-class in their chosen domains. The CCS solution set has over 15 000 users across a geographically-diverse customer base, and is growing daily.

According to Peter Reynolds, joint MD CCS: “EOH is a natural home for CCS with an innovative culture, complimentary solution set and access to a wider customer base”. This view is echoed by Peter Cheney, joint MD, CCS, who cites: “EOH’s wide range of offerings and industry strategy as key in deciding to join forces.”

“CCS compliments EOH’s stated industry vertical and international strategy of combining best of breed solutions with deep industry knowledge and will be offered on a cloud basis globally,” says Brian Gubbins, Group Business Development Director, EOH.
“It’s very exciting to have CCS join the EOH family, they will bring us to new places and markets which are strategic in EOH’s growth plans,” says EOH Group CEO, Asher Bohbot. Bohbot also states that “the culture of CCS fits well with EOH and that this is fundamental for successful leveraging of core strengths. It is also in line with our IP niche product, international expansion strategy
Read more at http://pressoffice.eoh.co.za/construction-computer-software#LZYpTuiI0j4X5thB.99

EOH achieves gold certification from Cisco SA

Friday, November 28, 2014
EOH announced today it has achieved Gold Certification from Cisco. To earn Gold Certification, EOH had to meet rigorous standards for networking competency, service, support and customer satisfaction set forth by Cisco.

“This means that EOH has complied with the Cisco certification procedure and is duly authorised to purchase and resell Cisco products in South Africa, as well as negotiate the terms and conditions of support and maintenance services on Cisco products, including warranties,” says Francois Coetzee, partner Account Manager at Cisco.

He adds that EOH’s commitment to Cisco is evident in the fact that the company completed the transition from Premier to Gold Partner in just over a month. “In a fast-moving global economy, the ability to create new services and business capabilities at speed provides a competitive advantage. Aligning IT and business strategies enables a business to prioritise investment and match solutions to strategic goals. EOH’s Cisco Gold Certification has reinforced its role as a trusted technical advisor around advanced borderless networks architecture, advanced data centre architecture, and advanced collaboration architecture.”

According to Alessandro Postiglioni, Product Manager at EOH, the company is committed to providing the tools, training and programs that help drive partner growth, differentiation and profitability. “Adding Cisco Gold partner status to our existing world-class offerings put us in a unique position to provide customers with choice. This certification level will allow us to better offer the specialised services and solutions our customers are used to.”

Cisco’s channel Partner Program certification levels reflect a partner’s technology skills breadth. Specialisation levels reflect a partner’s depth of expertise, capabilities, and end-to-end service and support for specific solutions and technology architectures. Gold certification offers the broadest range of expertise across four high growth market opportunities known as architecture plays – borderless networks, collaboration, data centre virtualisation, and IP next-generation network. Gold Certified Partners have also integrated the deepest level of Cisco Lifecycle Services expertise into their offerings and demonstrate a measurably high level of customer satisfaction.

“As a Cisco Gold Partner, we have achieved the highest level of credibility and the broadest range of expertise across multiple technologies,” says Jannie Engelbrecht, Services and Solutions Director at EOH. “We have achieved five Cisco advanced specialisations: unified communications, routing and switching, security, and wireless LAN and data centre. In addition, our integration of the Cisco Lifecycle Services into our offering will help ensure that we not only maintain the high levels of customer satisfaction demanded by the certification, but that we continue to exceed the expectations of our customers.”
Read more at http://pressoffice.eoh.co.za/eoh-achieves-gold-certification-from-cisco-sa#WV62WP4hEw2tdg3a.99

Africa’s business leaders named

Tuesday, November 18, 2014
The 2014 winners of the CNBC Africa All Africa Business Leaders Awards Presented by Johnnie Walker Blue Label (AABLA) were announced at the Sandton Convention Centre, in Johannesburg, on Friday 14 November.

In a process that began over two months ago, with regional finals in west, east and southern Africa, the pioneering and innovative business leaders of Africa in their respective fields were finally whittled down to just five game-changing individuals.

“With the continent hosting eight of the world’s fastest growing economies, Africa is internationally perceived as the next great business frontier, which is both exciting and inspiring,” says Jeff Milliken, Director of brandhouse.

“As such, in the AABLA, it has been both rewarding and heartening to survey Africa’s corporate landscape and discover so many exceptional men and women who are making their indelible contribution toward the progress of the continent into a globally competitive entity with a strong internal business sector.”

The ceremony presented the coveted title of Young Business Leader of the Year jointly to Group CEOs of South Africa’s leading activations agency, The Creative Counsel, Gil Oved and Ran Neu-Ner. The two were recognised for using their collective charisma and entrepreneurial spirit to build the company into the top-ranking marketing, media and advertising group in the country.For his sustained success and bold contribution to solutions-based business and IT strategies across multiple platforms for companies of varying sizes, Asher Bohbot (South Africa), CEO of Enterprise Outsourcing Holdings (EOH), was named Business Leader of the Year.

The prestigious accolade of Entrepreneur of the Year went to Executive Chairman of JSE-listed brokerage, Brimstone Investment Corporation, Fred Robertson (South Africa). Robertson was honoured for his demonstrated leadership on both the national and international business stages and, in particular, through his directorship and co-founding of numerous leading black economic empowerment (BEE) companies.

Founder of Keroche Breweries, the first ever brewery to be owned by a Kenyan, Tabitha Karanja, was singled out as Business Woman of the Year.

The award recognised her unfailing resilience and matchless business sagacity over nearly two decades in growing a company that now employs over 300 people and gives back to the community by educating the country’s youth.

Finally, the special honour of the Lifetime Achievement Award was bestowed on Tanzanian pioneer of corporate social responsibility, Dr Reginald Mengi, CEO of IPP, for his commendable contributions to worthy causes for positive change in underprivileged communities, education, health and environmental conservation.

“With individuals of such extraordinary calibre at the helm of the progress of the African business world, there is no doubt that the state of the continent’s economy and corporate sector are in safe hands as it continues to grow from strength to strength,” adds Milliken.

The AABLA Finale partnered with BMW South Africa to ensure the awards finalists and judges were transferred to and from the event in style and comfort. The Finale was also supported by the IDC and the Gauteng Department of Economic Development.

The CNBC Africa All Africa Business Leaders Awards Presented by Johnnie Walker Blue Label now looks ahead to 2015, anticipating the emergence of new industry leaders and the continued success of business stalwarts on the continent.
Read more at http://pressoffice.eoh.co.za/africas-business-leader-named#TuSMltjsLIz16oUH.99

EOH’s Asher Bohbot takes top spot at EY 2014 Southern Africa World Entrepreneur Award

Monday, November 17, 2014
EY is pleased to announce the winners in the Master, Exceptional and Emerging categories of its 2014 Southern Africa Chapter of the World Entrepreneur Awards programme. This group of leading entrepreneurs was selected by an independent judging panel made up of previous winners of the award, leading CEOs and regional business leaders.

We congratulate this year’s winners in the following categories: Master entrepreneur category: Justin Clarke, One Africa Media.

The EY World Entrepreneur Award is more than just a tribute. With Africa tipped for significant growth, it is important that we, as a continent, nurture support and celebrate entrepreneurs because they are the lifeblood of economies.

In order to achieve the potential the continent holds, Africa needs entrepreneurs who build high-growth companies with integrity, who add value to their markets and who develop skills on a large scale, while creating sustainable jobs.

As a leader in guiding entrepreneurs and their companies, EY honours these entrepreneurs for the energy and innovative ideas they bring to generate growth in their economies, while inspiring others to follow in their footsteps.CJ Kujenga, Strategic Growth Markets leader for EY Africa says: “This year’s winners are testament to the talent that exists on the continent. As potential drivers of the economy and creators of jobs, they embody the entrepreneurial spirit and commitment we all need to realise the potential of Africa.”

Africa has reached a point where it has proved that it can produce African entrepreneurs who can propel not only their own countries forward, but the continent. “We at EY are proud to be associated with such remarkable business minds. They exemplify excellence and greatness and, more importantly, the fact that Africa owns its own future. Our progress lies in the talent and potential they hold as business people operating on the continent,” she says.

In addition to these awards, EY is proud to bestow the Lifetime Achievement Award on one of South Africa’s legendary and truly iconic entrepreneur, Sol Kerzner.

As the founder and former Chairman of Kerzner International Holdings, Kerzner demonstrated an extraordinary spirit of entrepreneurship that is celebrated not only in the country, but across the world.

Mr Kerzner, a visionary who redefined the scope and scale of destination resorts, founded both of South Africa’s largest hotel groups and has played a pivotal role in the development of the tourism industries of South Africa, Mauritius, the Maldives, Dubai and the Bahamas.

He played a pivotal role in putting South Africa on the tourism map, and his legacy to South Africa will live on not only through the hotels and resorts he built, but also through the hospitality industry that continues to thrive. We are extraordinarily proud to recognise Mr Kerzner, whose excellence is an inspiration to many other entrepreneurs,” says Kujenga.

As winner in Master Entrepreneur category, which is being sponsored by South African Airways, Asher Bohbot of EOH will join his counterparts from West and East Africa at the EY World Entrepreneur of The Year event in Monte Carlo, where they will compete with winners from 50 other countries for the global title.

About the award winners:

Master entrepreneur category winner of the EY World Entrepreneur Awards 2014: EOH: Asher Bohbot

Bohbot moved to South Africa in 1980. With a BSc in Industrial Engineering from MAP, he spent many years working in the engineering industry with a focus in manufacturing and logistics. He started EOH in 1998 with just 20 employees and one customer, his former employer PG Bison. Today, the business and technology solutions provider has 6 000 employers and more than 3 500 customers.

Exceptional entrepreneur category winner of the EY World Entrepreneur Awards 2014: Securico: Divine Ndhlukula

Ndhlukula is the founder and managing director of Securico. She started the company with just four employees, but was able to carve out a niche for herself in the male-dominated security sector. Today, her company has more than 3 700 employees and is the first Zimbabwean-manned security company to be certified to the internationally acclaimed ISO9001:2008 Quality Management System. The company is currently the biggest employer of women outside the civil service.

Emerging entrepreneur category winner of the EY World Entrepreneur Awards 2014: One Africa Media: Justin Clarke

Clarke describes himself as a university drop-out who has never been able to hold down a job. But through sheer determination, he founded One Africa Media, which operates Africa’s largest portfolio of online marketplaces focused on jobs, cars, property and travel. Serving markets with over 400 million Africans, One Africa Media operates in the world’s fastest-growing economies and Internet markets where connecting buyers, sellers, employers and jobseekers adds significant value to people’s lives.

Very important note: Please be aware of the following, when referring to the World Entrepreneur Awards Programme:

The phrase entrepreneur of the Year is registered as a trade mark in South Africa in the name of Business Partners. Legally, in South Africa, Ernst & Young are therefore entitled to use only the following replacement phrases: World Entrepreneur Awards, World Entrepreneur Awards Programme, World Entrepreneur or World Entrepreneur Programme.

About Entrepreneur Of The Year

EY’s global Entrepreneur of the Year programme is the world’s most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs. Recognised globally, the award provides a unique way of encouraging entrepreneurial activity and recognising the contribution of outstanding men and women who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement. As the first and only truly global award of its kind, EY Entrepreneur of the Year celebrates those who are building and leading successful, growing, and dynamic business, recognising them through regional, national and global awards programmes in 140 cities in 50 countries.

About EY

EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. The insights and quality services the company delivers help build trust and confidence in the capital markets and in economies the world over. EY develops outstanding leaders who team to deliver on the company’s promises to all of its stakeholders. In so doing, it plays a critical role in building a better working world for its people, for clients and for communities.

EY refers to the global organisation and may refer to one or more of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. For more information about the organisation, please visit ey.com.

This news release has been issued by EYGM, a member of the global EY organisation that also does not provide any services to clients.

Following on from EY’s successful integration in 2008 of 87 countries into one area from across Europe, Middle East, India and Africa (EMEIA), the firm has launched its Africa Business Center (ABC), which aims to enhance the effective and efficient links between its geographic reach and areas of expertise. The firm enjoys representation in 33 countries across Africa.
Read more at http://pressoffice.eoh.co.za/asher-bohbot-takes-top-spot-at-ey-2014-award#fL62ovPq2hEbHoXj.99

SA hosts first South African Professional Services Awards

Monday, November 03, 2014
Globally, there are a number of successful awards ceremonies to honour professional services firms and their professionals. This year, on the evening of the 30 October, South Africa hosted the first South African Professional Services Awards (SAPSA) to recognise various players within a variety of industries for their excellence.

The inaugural awards ceremony took place at Emperors Palace, where companies within the fields of legal, accounting, finance, management consulting, actuarial science, engineering and the built environment were in attendance. PPS, the financial services provider focused on graduate professionals, sponsored the prestigious event.

Mike Jackson, CEO of PPS, says the company was eager to support the event, which recognises professional firms and persons for their best practices and exceptional work within their respective industries. “At PPS we believe it is important to honour professionals who have done remarkable work within their distinct industries, as it is these individuals who are in many ways the driving force behind the development of the economy.”

KC Rottok, Project Manager of SAPSA, says the rationale behind the awards ceremony was to bring all the professionals who provide professional services together in order to network, further explore best practices, as well as to recognise companies and individuals who have excelled within the industry.

The main awards winners:The Overall Professional Services Firm of the Year Award was awarded to Norton Rose Fulbright. The award was given on the basis of the following accomplishments: outstanding contribution to the profession over the past three years; commitment to ethics; contributing towards the South African community; excellence in customer service; achievement of business and growth targets; and contributing to transformation for the benefit of the previously disadvantaged.

Suresh Kana, the PWC South Africa CEO was announced as the Overall Professional of the Year. Kana started his career in 1976 and was promoted to the position of Senior Partner for PwC Africa in July 2012.

The Overall Woman Professional of the Year was presented to Sindi Zilwa, the CEO and co-founder of Nkonki. Zilwa has more than 20 of experience in the field of auditing following her qualification as a Chartered Accountant. She currently serves on the audit committees for various JSE-listed companies.

Adelle Lombard, Structural Engineer at GIBB Engineering, was awarded the Investec Award for Young Professional of the Year. Lombard joined GIBB five years ago as a Cum Laude student from Stellenbosch University and has since been involved in and leading up various complicated and successful projects.

“We would like to congratulate all the winners and nominees of the 2014 SAPSA awards and we look forward to another successful event next year,” concludes Jackson.

The full list of winners is:

* Management Consulting Professional of the Year – Asher Bohbot from EOH
* Management Consulting Professional Services Firm of the Year – Accenture
* Woman Professional of the Year: Legal & Finance category – Sindi Zilwa from Nkonki
* Young Professional of the Year – Adele Lombard from GIBB Engineering
* Lifetime Achievement Award: Law Firms – Robert Legh from Bowman Gilfilan
* Lifetime Achievement Award: Law Firms – Attie Pretorius from Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr
* Lifetime Achievement Award: Law Firms – Sbu Gule, Chairman of Norton Rose Fulbright
* Legal Firm of the Year – Norton Rose Fulbright
* Audit/Accounting Professional of the Year – Suresh Kana from PwC
* Audit/Accounting Firm of the Year – Grant Thornton
* Lifetime Achievement Award: Audit/ Accounting Firms – Brian Eaton from RSM Betty & Dickson
* Lifetime Achievement Award: Audit/ Accounting Firms – Nonkululeko Gobodo from SizweNtsalubaGobodo
* Quantity Survey/ Project Management Firm of the Year – Akweni Project Management
* Lifetime Achievement Award: Engineering Firms – Stanford Mkhacane from Nyeleti Consulting
* Lifetime Achievement Award: Engineering Firms – Trueman Goba from Hatch Goba
* Engineering Firm of the Year – GIBB Engineering
* Engineering/ Built Environment Woman Professional of the Year – Danai Magugumela from Bosch Stemele Engineering
* Architectural Firm of the Year – GAPP Architects
* Lifetime Achievement: Architecture – Rodney Grosskopff
* Lifetime Achievement: Architecture – Louis Karol
* Overall Professional Services Firm of the Year Award – Norton Rose Fulbright
* Overall Professional of the Year – Suresh Kana from PwC
* Overall Woman Professional of the Year – Sindi Zilwa from Nkonki
* Young Professional of the Year – Adelle Lombard from GIBB Engineering
Read more at http://pressoffice.eoh.co.za/sa-hosts-first-professional-services-awards#FBbxiAvUUO8y0kdC.99

2014 winners of southern African AABLA round announced

Wednesday, October 15, 2014
The victors of the southern African round of Africa’s most prestigious business awards, the CNBC Africa All Africa Business Leaders Awards presented by Johnnie Walker Blue Label (AABLA), were announced at a glittering ceremony in Johannesburg on 2 October.

The AABLA recognise the continent’s most pioneering business game-changers in a variety of categories that mirror the multifaceted nature of the African business landscape.

The award categories include Young Business Leader of the Year, Business Leader of the Year, Entrepreneur of the Year and the Lifetime Achievement Award sponsored by Johnnie Walker Blue Label.

In the category of Southern African Business Leader of the Year, CEO of EOH Holdings Limited, Asher Bohbot, was lauded for his pioneering vision and consistent drive to formulate solutions-based business and IT strategies across his myriad of endeavours.

Fred Robertson was celebrated as southern Africa’s Entrepreneur of the Year, a category sponsored by the IDC. A leading figure in the region’s business landscape, Robertson has gained experience on national and international business stages through his directorship and co-founding of numerous leading of black economic empowerment companies; including the JSE-listed brokerage Brimstone Investment Corporation, where he serves as chairman. The Young Business Leader of the Year Award was jointly presented to group CEOs of The Creative Counsel, Gil Oved and Ran Neu-Ner. The Creative Counsel is South Africa’s leading activations agency and ranks as the top marketing, media and advertising group in the country. These two dynamic leaders combine proven entrepreneurial instinct with charisma and innovation to sustain the creative force that drives the success of their company.

2014’s Southern African Lifetime Achievement Award was bestowed upon Phuthuma Nhleko, a remarkable business leader who has shaped the region’s business climate through a dedication to best practice and innovation. Former CEO of the MTN Group, Nhleko has had a long and impactful career, which has seen him serving on the boards of several major companies, including the GSM Association, Worldwide African Investment Holdings, Johnnic Holdings, Nedbank Group and Old Mutual SA.

“As the African economy continues to emerge and grow, it is pioneering individuals such as these who continue to lead the continent on the path to prosperity. We are proud to be in a position to acknowledge them at the highest level,” says Dominic Mearing, Head of Reserve at Brandhouse.

The AABLA partnered with BMW South Africa to ensure the awards finalists and judges were transferred to and from the event in style and comfort and will do so again for the finale. The southern African round marked the penultimate regional leg of the awards, with East Africa’s business elite having been honoured in Nairobi on 20 September.

The final regional round is set to take place in West Africa on 23 October, before the winners from the three regions go on to compete in the highly anticipated finale event, to take place in Johannesburg on 14 November.

At the CNBC Africa All Africa Business Leaders Awards presented by Johnnie Walker Blue Label finale event, the regional winners will vie for the ultimate title of Africa’s most inimitable business leader in their respective fields.
Read more at http://pressoffice.eoh.co.za/winners-of-southern-african-aabla-round-announced-2014#brRS8RtbOvPCrhhg.99

EOH announces impressive annual results

Wednesday, September 17, 2014
In brief:

* Revenue increased by 42% to R7 220 million ( 2013: R5 086 million)
* Profit after tax increased by 49% to R492 million (2013: R331 million)
* Headline earnings per share (HEPS) up 32% to 446,6 cents ( 2013: 339 cents)
* Cash increased by 63% to R1 065 million (2013: R653 million)

EOH is a leader in consulting, technology and outsourcing solutions. EOH operates in South Africa, Africa and the UK. EOH employs over 8 000 people providing end-to-end solutions for over 2 000 enterprise clients in all major industries.

EOH has been listed on the JSE Limited (“JSE”) since 1998 and has consistently delivered strong financial results.

EOH is a client-centric organisation and its approach to business relationships and business partners is firmly embedded in its philosophy of “Partner for Life”. The company’s solutions draw from a comprehensive portfolio of applications, IT management, industrial technologies and business process outsourcing (‘BPO’). Driven by its design, build and operate approach, EOH is able to provide end-to-end solutions across industry verticals. “EOH has the widest offerings in our industry” says CEO Asher Bohbot.EOH has a presence in 134 locations in South Africa, 29 African countries and the UK.

EOH will continue to grow aggressively through the development of new solutions, new lines of business and the enhancement of Industry specific businesses. Growth will be focused on outsourcing Information technology and processes, information management, analytics, mobility and digitalisation. Industrial technology will be another major growth area. EOH will begin distributing its own niche IP Software products internationally; this growth is significant in both size and strategic importance to EOH’s future.

EOH sees public sector involvement as both a responsibility and a business opportunity. With its wide range of offerings, expertise and experience, EOH can help to improve service delivery in this important sector of the economy.

The board of directors of EOH expressed its satisfaction with the performance for the period under review. Revenue increased by 42% to R7 220 million and profit after tax is up by 49% to R492 million. The growth is attributable to a combination of both organic growth and recent acquisitions. Earnings per share (EPS) and headline earnings per share (HEPS) have grown by 30% and 32% respectively. Cash has increased by 63% to R1 065 million, placing EOH in a strong financial position with substantial cash resources to ensure sustainable future growth.

All areas of EOH’s business operations have seen strong growth during the period under review, with a further shift to services in line with EOH’s strategic intent. Services revenue has increased to R5,5 billion a 51.7% increase over the previous corresponding period. Software sales have increased to R737 million a 7.3%. The revenue from infrastructure sales increased by 27.2% to R982 million. Overall margin is 9.3%.

“EOH’s success is largely attributable to its unfailing business philosophy that is centred around people,” says CEO Asher Bohbot. “We have always strived to attract, develop and retain the best people in the industry with the purpose of creating life-long, mutually beneficial partnerships with our customers and partners. Doing things right first time epitomises the philosophy of EOH,” says Bohbot.

EOH is certified as a Large Enterprise Level 2 Contributor with BEE Procurement Recognition of 156% as a value adding vendor. EOH’s current black shareholding is 36.1%. 54.9% of EOH’s staff and 66% of its board members are black.

EOH’s corporate social investment initiatives are focused around education and youth development. One of its community involvement projects is the Maths Centre Programme which has its primary object to equip teachers with skills to develop learner competency in maths. EOH has also given its support to The Child and Youth Development Programme of Afrika Tikkun. This programme provides support to youth during their school career and assists them in finding employment in the workplace. It has also continued supporting its enterprise development initiatives aimed at developing black owned ICT companies through financial and non-financial support which includes the transfer of business skills.

EOH continues with its Youth Job Creation Initiative in its third year running. The initiative is aimed at promoting internship and training programmes for the youth, repatriation of job’s offshored to other countries and the creation of jobs by offshoring services to other countries, co-operating with Government to mobilise business to take advantage of government incentives schemes for job creation. In 2014 EOH took on another 600 interns and learners to provide the opportunity for young graduates to gain valuable work experience in business. The majority of all the learners and interns throughout the 3 year programme have found permanent employment in EOH.

EOH is recognised for the quality of its people and its strong delivery capabilities. “EOH has the people, the scale, the offerings, the financial resources, the agility and the know-how to continue to grow,” concludes Bohbot.
Read more at http://pressoffice.eoh.co.za/eoh-announces-impressive-annual-results-2014#6XIIih7J2VEEyvLP.99

EOH launches an ADR programme in the US

Tuesday, July 08, 2014
EOH Holdings Limited (EOH) launched its American Depositary Receipt (ADR) programme in the United States through a sponsored programme with BNY Mellon this week.

EOH is a leader in consulting, technology and outsourcing solutions. The South African based ICT services group is listed on the main board of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in the Computer Services sub-sector with a market capitalisation of over R10.4 billion (US$1 billion). It is the largest ICT service provider in Africa and the largest implementer of enterprise applications. Listed in 1998, the company is known for consistently delivering strong financial results reflected in its compounded annual growth rate of 45% since its listing.

EOH is a client centric organisation and its approach to business relationships with clients and technology partners is firmly embedded in its philosophy of ‘partner for life’. EOH’s philosophy is centred on Best People; Partner for Life; Right First Time; Sustainable Transformation and growing the business, both top and bottom line, in a sustainable manner while remaining entrepreneurial.

EOH provides solutions and services in its three main areas of business – information technology, industrial technologies and business process outsourcing solutions – to medium and large enterprises which include the majority of blue chip companies in South Africa. EOH’s operating model is based on a two dimensional approach; lines of business and industry verticals, with the lines of business clustered around consulting, technology and outsourcing. This model enables EOH to provide high value, end-to-end solutions to its clients in all industry verticals.

“The launch of our ADR programme will enable international investors interested in companies in emerging markets to more easily invest in EOH,” explains Asher Bohbot, CEO. “We will use our DR programme to introduce EOH to international investors interested in investing in companies in emerging markets, particularly in South Africa. EOH offers good growth prospects as well as annual dividends. We operate predominantly in South Africa but also have operations in 22 other African countries. We are consolidating and expanding our African footprint and our service offerings to existing clients in the region. We will continue to grow aggressively, both organically and through acquisitions”.Each EOH DR represents one ordinary share and trades on the OTC market in the US under the symbol ‘EOHYY’. EOH ordinary shares trade on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) under the symbol “EOH.”

EOH was last month ranked by Financial Mail (in conjunction with Accenture) as the fourth best performing company on the JSE and has been among the top five best performing companies on the JSE for the last four years. EOH stands out from its peers as a result of :

* Its outstanding people and skill sets
* Its ability to deliver expected results to its clients through its Right First Time quality programme
* Its focus on solutions and its comprehensive end-to-end service offerings
* Strong outsourcing and cloud services
* Sound black economic empowerment profile
* Its strong financial performance over many years.

Lauren de Klerk, Vice President of BNY Mellon’s Depositary Receipts business, says: “We look forward to working with EOH to unlock the potential of the US investment community.”

BNY Mellon has launched over 60 American Depository Receipt programmes, making South African companies easily tradable for US investors. Shoprite, Growthpoint, Redefine, Blue Label Telecoms, Cashbuild, Sibanye Gold, Mix Telematics and Clover launched programmes in 2013 and there are several in the pipeline for 2014.

“Investor demand for South African stocks is high. American investors prefer to invest in ADRs, rather than foreign ordinary shares, as the custody costs and brokerage costs are cheaper, investors are often precluded from investing offshore and ADRs are easily accessible through their brokers. ADRs are ‘wrapped’ to be seen as local investments which institutional and retail investors can include in their local portfolios,” explains De Klerk.

More about DRs and BNY Mellon

38 of the JSE top 40 have a DR programme. BNY Mellon is the market leader in DRs worldwide with 82% market share in South Africa. The US market has more than US$ 1 trillion invested in DRs. DRs increase liquidity on the JSE. An independent study of 628 companies with DR programmes showed liquidity increased by more than 40% and share prices increased over time.

BNY Mellon acts as depositary for more than 2 700 American and global depositary receipt programmes in 68 countries. Learn more at www.bnymellon.com/dr

BNY Mellon is a global investments company dedicated to helping its clients manage and service their financial assets throughout the investment lifecycle. BNY Mellon delivers informed investment management and investment services in 35 countries and more than 100 markets. BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK).
Read more at http://pressoffice.eoh.co.za/eoh-launched-an-adr-programme-in-the-us#Ak5hS7skuEEL3Y2E.99

The EOH Youth Job Creation Initiative helps to expand knowledge in Oracle technology in South Africa

Tuesday, June 10, 2014
The EOH Youth Job Creation Initiative aims to address Oracle partner needs and skills development in the local market place. The intention behind this initiative is to build and expand Oracle skillsets within South Africa.

EOH is one of the largest ICT providers in South Africa, and a Platinum level member of Oracle Partner Network (OPN).

The 12-month programme takes learners through workplace readiness training; systems support or systems development NQF aligned training; Oracle knowledge in either Oracle Database administration, Java development, Oracle Fusion Middleware or Oracle Hardware support coupled with workplace exposure for experiential learning.

Oracle offers the entire technology stack, from servers and storage, to database and middleware, through applications and into the cloud. Oracle is shifting the complexity from IT, moving it out of the enterprise by engineering hardware and software to work together – in the cloud and in the data centre. By eliminating complexity and simplifying IT, Oracle enables its customers to accelerate innovation and create added value for their customers.

“Developing skills and creating jobs within the South African economy is intrinsically linked,” says Stefan Diedericks, Alliance and Channel Director, Oracle South Africa. “By providing educational opportunities, EOH is helping to expand the skills being asked for by the market.”

EOH launched a Youth Job Creation Initiative two years ago aimed at stimulating youth job creation by interacting with its customers, business partners and Government.

The initiative aims to:

• Promote internship and training programmes
• Repatriate jobs offshored to other countries and the creation of jobs by offshoring services to other countries
• Work with Government to mobilise business to take advantage of Government incentive schemes for job creation
• Encourage business to invest more in SA which will result in job creation

In November 2013 we rolled out the second year of our initiative giving 200 interns and 400 learners in partnership with MICT SETA and 372 learners in partnership with FASSET the opportunity to enter the formal working sector. All 200 interns and 572 learners have been absorbed in the business after three months of work readiness training and orientation of the EOH business. Theoretically, if every business in South Africa were to do the same, it would mean the employment of hundreds of thousands young South Africans. The benefits are immense – for the youth, for society and ultimately for the very businesses that invested time and effort in passing on the skills. “After all, it is easier to run a business in a successful society,” concludes EOH CEO Asher Bohbot.
Read more at http://pressoffice.eoh.co.za/eoh-youth-job-creation-initiative-helps-to-expand-knowledge-in-oracle-technology-in-south-africa#W8MR5XIUSttYuXsP.99

Read more at http://pressoffice.eoh.co.za/eoh-and-rockerfeller-foundation-partner-to-accelerate-ICT-job-growth-in-sa#L52LASJLUBFKsSyB.99

Department of Higher Education and Training endorses EOH Youth Job Creation Initiative

Tuesday, May 27, 2014
The Department of Higher Education and Training is responsible for post-school education and training in South Africa, with oversight of, among others, the universities and universities of technology, as well as technical and vocational education and training for FET colleges. Created in 2009 after the election of President Jacob Zuma, the DHET is the outcome of the creation of two distinct government departments responsible for delivering on the human development needs of the country as these relate to education, training and skills development.

The mission of the DHET is to develop capable and skilled citizens that are able to participate and compete in a sustainable, diversified and inclusive economy, which meets the developmental goals of our country. It is in light of this important mission, particularly the placement of young South Africans into work-integrated and workplace-based learning opportunities, that the DHET has endorsed the EOH Youth Job Creation Initiative.

“The partnership between the Department of Higher Education and Training and the EOH Youth Job Creation Initiative provides an exciting opportunity for both government and the private sector to smooth young people’s transition from education and training into the labour market. This partnership not only recognises but is in fact a demonstration that public-private initiatives aimed at enhanced graduate employability are critical for job-rich economic growth, and as the department, we are proud to be associated with this important initiative,” says Lebogang Mokwena from the Department of Higher Education and Training.

EOH launched a Youth Job Creation Initiative two years ago aimed at stimulating youth job creation by interacting with its customers, business partners and government.

The initiative aims to:* Promote internship and training programmes for the youth;
* Repatriate jobs offshored to other countries and the creation of jobs by offshoring services to other countries;
* Work with government to mobilise business to take advantage of government incentive schemes for job creation; and
* Encourage business to invest more in South Africa, which will result in job creation.

In 2013 alone, EOH created over 1 500 job opportunities for the youth. Working together with its customers, business partners, and government, EOH has set itself a target to create 28 000 jobs by 2016. The company believes it has to date created over 10 000 job opportunities through idea sharing with its partners.

If every business in South Africa was to do the same, it would mean the employment of hundreds of thousands of young South Africans. The benefits are immense – for the youth, for society, and ultimately, for the very businesses that invested time and effort in passing on the skills. “After all, it is easier to run a business in a successful society,” concludes EOH CEO Asher Bohbot.
Read more at http://pressoffice.eoh.co.za/department-of-higher-education-and-training-endorses-eoh-youth-job-creation-initiative#e63wQYrHFoVtW3So.99

EOH SAP Services expands offering into retail market

Friday, May 09, 2014
The retail industry is a fascinating place to be. Consumer demands are increasing at a higher rate than ever before, cross-communication and collaboration has never been so important, and it doesn’t stop there.

The ability to interact with customers on a personal level and rewarding them for their loyalty maintains a positive brand perception, while big data and the ability to analyse the changing market in real-time provides a great opportunity to act quickly in a competitive situation. Maximising asset effectiveness and maintaining a skilled workforce is equally important in the journey to minimising risk, meeting customers’ needs and maintaining market share.

EOH SAP Services is excited to announce the official launch of its SAP Retail operation. The Cape Town event will highlight the company’s commitment to adding a “Science to Retail”, and showcase its proven ability to deploy complete end-to-end retail solutions. EOH SAP Services will also review the technology influencing retail operational strategies and its experience in these areas.

Ebrahim Laher, MD of EOH SAP Services, says: “Our commitment to the SAP solution offerings necessitated growth into our regional service delivery. To this end, we are growing our footprint in the Cape region to service our coastal and national client base. Using strategies like right shoring, job creation and the EOH SAP Centre of Excellence (COE), we are able to offer more value to clients across multiple industries.”

The EOH SAP value proposition includes core ERP, analytics, mobility, enterprise content management, HANA and support services.

According to Allie Khan, Executive SAP Services Coastal: “The coastal region is home to significant retailers headquartered in the Eastern and Western Cape. We intend to engage through thought leadership and deploying leading SAP technologies. Our SAP competency employs in excess of 700 SAP consultants, of which 120 have a specific retail background.”

EOH SAP Services invites its current and future clients and partners to formally launch its SAP Retail offering.

More information and bookings found at http://eohsapretaillaunch.eventbrite.com.
Read more at http://pressoffice.eoh.co.za/eoh-sap-services-expand-market-offering-into-retail-market#AJc3DgrSplRzsBlW.99

EOH announces impressive interim results

Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Highlights:

* Revenue increased by 38.4% to R3 308 million (2013: R2 389 million).
* Profit after tax increased by 49.4% to R224 million (2013: R163 million).
* Headline earnings per share (HEPS) up 33.9% to 229.6 cents (2013: 171.5 cents).
* Cash increased by 47.5% to R785 million (2013: R532 million).

EOH is a leader in consulting, technology and outsourcing solutions. Listed on the JSE in 1998, EOH operates in South Africa, Africa and the UK. EOH employs over 7 000 people operating from 120 locations in South Africa and operates in 14 African countries. EOH is expanding rapidly, which confirms that technology is only as good as the people behind it.

The board of directors of EOH expressed its satisfaction with the performance for the period under review. Revenue increased by 38.4% to R3 308 million, and profit after tax is up by 49.4% to R224 million. The growth is attributable to a combination of both organic growth and recent acquisitions. Earnings per share (EPS) and headline earnings per share (HEPS) have grown by 30.3% and 33.9% respectively. Cash has increased by 47.5% to R785 million, placing EOH in a strong financial position with substantial cash resources to ensure sustainable strong future growth.

All areas of EOH’s business operations have seen growth, with the revenue from services being the most significant revenue generator. Services revenue has increased to R2 357 million, a 42% increase over the previous comparative period. Software sales have increased to R423 million (increase of 20.8%). Infrastructure increased by 39.3% to R527 million. The overall operating margin is 10.1%.

EOH is certified as a Large Enterprise Level 2 Contributor with BEE Procurement Recognition of 156% as a value-adding vendor. EOH understands that the inter-dependence of people, business and the community is inseparable and that a company is fundamentally a social structure. EOH is committed to the principle of action speaks louder than words and has therefore concentrated its efforts on ensuring that its social initiatives are both sustainable and useful to society. EOH’s corporate social investment initiatives are therefore focused around education, particularly in the fields of maths and science, and the company has intensified its efforts around its “EOH youth job creation initiative”.

Apart from working with customers and partners, in November 2013, EOH rolled out its own internal programme for the second year of its youth job creation initiative, giving 200 interns and 772 learners the opportunity to enter the formal working sector. All 200 interns and 772 learners have been absorbed in the business after three months of work readiness training and orientation. “If every business in South Africa were to do the same, it would mean the employment of hundreds of thousands of young South Africans,” says Asher Bohbot EOH CEO.

The benefits are immense – for the youth, for society and ultimately for the very businesses that invested time and effort in passing on the skills. “After all, it is easier to run a business in a successful society,” says Bohbot. EOH Enterprise Development initiatives are aimed at developing black-owned ICT companies through financial and non-financial support, which includes the transfer of business skills.

EOH plans to expand its solutions and service offerings, strengthen its knowledge-based industry services and grow all areas of its business. Major growth areas are expected to be in managed services (including cloud and mobility solutions), IT management, applications including enterprise applications, information analytics and digitalisation, industrial technologies and business process outsourcing. This will be achieved through organic growth complemented by strategic acquisitions.

“We plan to continue to grow our public sector activities; EOH has the solutions, knowledge, skills and organisational ability to help improve service delivery in this sector. As a South African enterprise, EOH has the responsibility to contribute in this area in any way it can. The public sector represents a major business opportunity and will form part of our future,” says Bohbot.

EOH will continue its foray into Africa by capitalising on its activities in 14 countries, by increasing its in-country presence and offering the full breadth of EOH’s products and services.

“We have the people, the financial resources, the agility, the track record, and know-how to continue to grow aggressively in all areas of our business,” concludes Bohbot.
Read more at http://pressoffice.eoh.co.za/eoh-announces-impressive-interim-results-2014#55yYlr1f4ioXmCoh.99

EOH employs another 972 learners and Interns

Monday, March 10, 2014
EOH believes that all businesses should take responsibility for equipping our youth with the skills they need to become employable. With over five million unemployed people in the country – and 75% of them youth – the government alone cannot shoulder the burden of creating employment.

Businesses are obliged to step in to address the situation. Doing so is surprisingly simple and is not a costly exercise. It is simply a matter of giving young people work experience.

EOH launched a Youth Job Creation Initiative two years ago aimed at stimulating youth job creation by interacting with its customers, business partners and government.

The initiative aims to:

* Promote internship and training programmes
* Repatriate jobs offshored to other countries and the creation of jobs by offshoring services to other countries
* Work with government to mobilise business to take advantage of government incentive schemes for job creation
* Encourage business to invest more in SA which will result in job creation (JSE listed companies have R600 billion in cash…)In 2012 EOH, in partnership with the Media, Information and Communication Technologies Sector Education and Training Authority (MICT Seta), brought on board 620 learners and interns creating job and skills development opportunities for Youth. These learners and interns at the time made up 15% of the staff workforce, at the end of the year-long programme 80% of the learners and interns were offered permanent employment within EOH, placing the rest of the learners and interns in our clients and business partners environments.

In November 2013 EOH rolled out the second year of its initiative giving 200 interns and 400 learners in partnership with MICT Seta and 372 learners in partnership with the Seta for finance, accounting, management consulting and other financial services the opportunity to enter the formal working sector for the rest of their career lives. It’s been proven that a youth with one years of experience has an 80% chance of receiving employment elsewhere. All 200 interns and 572 learners have been absorbed in the business after three months of work readiness training and orientation of the EOH business. Theoretically, if every business in South Africa were to do the same, it would mean the employment of hundreds of thousands young South Africans. The benefits are immense – for the youth, for society and ultimately for the very businesses that invested time and effort in passing on the skills. “After all, it is easier to run a business in a successful society,” concludes EOH CEO Asher Bohbot.

EOH’s objective is to create 28 000 jobs by 2016, through dialogue and idea sharing with its customers and business partners, the commpany not only believes it can achieve this but that it can do so much more. It estimates to date that through this interaction, its clients and business partners in their own capacity have created over 10 000 learning opportunities for the youth.
Read more at http://pressoffice.eoh.co.za/eoh-employs-another-972-learners-and-interns#0EmP0wqUhQ90Ic2l.99

EOH acquisition of 100% of Sybrin

Monday, October 14, 2013
Today, EOH announced the acquisition of 100% of Sybrin for an undisclosed sum. Sybrin is a specialised developer of software for the financial services and other industry sectors. Some of Sybrin’s products include workflow software, payment, imaging and document management solutions.

Sybrin employs over 150 people and has completed over 400 product implementations across four industry verticals, with a core focus on financial services.

Sybrin is headquartered in South Africa and has regional offices in Kenya, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Rwanda and Mozambique, and works across 17 African countries, Europe and the Middle East. Sybrin has been in business for over 20 years.

Asher Bohbot, CEO of EOH, stated: “EOH is delighted that Sybrin has joined the EOH family. We were attracted to Sybrin because of its strong management team, solution set and African presence. Sybrin is a great fit into our existing strategy, which includes stronger vertical focus and aggressive African expansion.”

Steve Prowse, CEO of Sybrin, says: “We are joining EOH because of its culture and entrepreneurial spirit. We wanted a partner that could bring our company to the next level, and we are very excited to be part of EOH. We at Sybrin believe that in the EOH stable, we can become a much greater force in our chosen markets. We already work with EOH at many of our clients, and are very excited with the huge opportunities that exist into the future.”

Brian Gubbins, EOH Business Development Director, is clear of the value that Sybrin adds to EOH’s existing solution sets. “Sybrin’s core financial services capabilities and workflow management solutions add great value and enhance our current offerings to our existing client base. EOH can also add great value to Sybrin clients who we do not currently partner with. While Sybrin’s focus has been predominately in the financial services sector, we see great potential for their solutions across all industry verticals.”

“Sybrin already partners with many of our existing technology partners, and in turn, will add to strengthening these relationships and our combined value propositions going forward,” adds Bohbot.
Read more at http://pressoffice.eoh.co.za/eoh-acquisition-of-100-percent-of-sybrin#C810CIURFRGcLQJf.99

BOSAL selects Infor’s micro-vertical suite especially designed for the automotive tier supplier industry

Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Infor, a leading provider of business application software serving more than 70 000 customers, today announced that BOSAL, a leading manufacturer of complete emission control systems, has selected Infor LN Automotive.

The company plans to standardise all business processes in the new BOSAL Global Operating Model on a single ERP system, improving business processes, efficiency and transparency. The manufacturer will also implement Infor ION (Intelligent Open Network) to profit from increased interoperability and competitiveness, as well as Infor Automotive Exchange, Infor Supplier Exchange and Infor EAM (Enterprise Asset Management).

BOSAL is headquartered in Lummen, Belgium. Its 5 500+ employees in 34 manufacturing plants and 18 distribution centres support major car manufacturers around the world with world-class products and services. With Infor LN Automotive, BOSAL will not only standardise on a single system, but will also provide a consumer-grade user experience with a modern interface and social capabilities. BOSAL also chose the Infor suite for its micro-vertical functionality specific to the automotive supplier business.

Designed for speed

Jane Thomson, managing director of Softworx, a premier Infor reseller in sub-Saharan Africa, says Infor ION is the fuel the entire system runs on: “The open lightweight middleware platform is based on industry standards and integrates Infor and non-Infor applications, like reporting and product life cycle management solutions, which are already deployed at BOSAL.”

Thomson says Infor ION improves the ability to execute faster and stay ahead of competition: “Infor ION Workflow & Events provides BOSAL with a framework to create, standardise and monitor business processes and make changes without needing IT involvement. Thus, the company will be able to create value from the very beginning of the implementation project.”

Instead of having to wait for a complete replacement of all existing systems, Infor ION connects new Infor solutions, such as Infor Automotive Exchange or Infor Supplier Exchange, to current legacy ERP systems and consequently enables BOSAL to progressively exchange further parts of the infrastructure.

“Infor’s solutions are designed for speed of adoption, and provide us with functionality required to increase our responsiveness to our customer requirements and bring products to the market quicker,” says Werner de Wever, CIO at BOSAL. “The complete automotive suite with deep core ERP functionality, plus ION integrations to Automotive Exchange, Supplier Exchange, Asset Management and embedded BI, offers technological and financial benefits, next to adding value for users. The consumer-grade experience and social capabilities really make the difference and prove that we are ahead of our competitors in the market.”

“With Infor ION as process enabler, BOSAL will be able to benefit from efficiency gains early on in the project. It will be put in place incrementally and will deliver direct value, building on existing investments. This is why they choose to work with Infor,” said Bernd Hau, RVP Sales Automotive EMEA at Infor.
Read more at http://pressoffice.eoh.co.za/bosal-selects-infors-micro-vertical-suite-especially-designed-for-automotive-tier-supplier-industry#tWC6ty22iteBs7Ed.99

EOH announces impressive interim results

Tuesday, March 12, 2013
EOH once again proves itself as a consistent performer by releasing impressive interim results for the six months to 31 January 2013.

In brief:

* Group revenue increased by 45.5% to R2 389.2 million (2012: R1 642.3 million)
* Profit after tax increased by 53.5% to R163.5 million (2012: R106.5 million)
* Headline earnings per share (HEPS) up 35.2% to 171.5 cents (2012:126.9 cents)
* Cash increased by 37.0% to R532.5 million (2012: R388.8 million)

EOH is the largest provider of enterprise applications, technology, outsourcing, cloud and managed services solutions. EOH announced its interim results for the six months ended 31 January 2013. The company plans to continue growing both organically and acquisitively. Growth areas include infrastructure and application managed services, cloud offerings, enterprise applications, information management, business process outsourcing, security and industrial technology.

“EOH is now one of the strongest players in the IT arena with 6 000 people, 3 500 customers, good brand, strong reputation for delivery capabilities, and a very healthy financial standing. EOH has the widest offerings in our industry,” says CEO Asher Bohbot.

The board of directors of EOH expressed its satisfaction with the performance for the period under review. Revenue increased by 45.5% to R2 389.2 million and profit after tax is up by 53.5% to R163.5 million. The growth is attributable to a combination of both organic growth and recent acquisitions. Earnings per share (EPS) and headline earnings per share (HEPS) have grown by 38.7% and 35.2%, respectively. Cash has increased by 37.0% to R532.5 million, placing EOH in a strong financial position with substantial cash resources to ensure sustainable future growth.

All areas of EOH’s business operations have seen strong growth during the period under review, with a further shift to services in line with EOH’s strategic intent. Services revenue has increased to R1 660.2 million, a 61.7% increase over the previous corresponding period. Software sales have increased by 32.7% to R350.6 million. Infrastructure sales have increased by 7.7% to R378.3 million. Overall margin is 9.9%.

EOH’s success is largely attributable to its unfailing business philosophy that is centred on people, says Bohbot. “We have always strived to attract, develop and retain the best people in the industry with the purpose of creating life-long, mutually beneficial partnerships with our customers and partners. Doing things right first time epitomises what we do at EOH,” says Bohbot.

EOH is certified as a Large Enterprise Level 2 Contributor with BEE Procurement Recognition of 156% as a value-adding vendor. EOH’s current black shareholding is 34.6%. Fifty-nine percent of EOH’s staff and 55% of its board members are black. EOH’s corporate social investment initiatives are focused around education and wellness. One of its community involvement projects is the Maths Centre Programme, which has its primary object to equip teachers with skills to develop learner competency in maths. EOH has also given its support to The Child and Youth Development Programme of Afrika Tikkun. This programme provides support to youth during their school careers and assists them in finding employment in the workplace. It has also continued supporting its enterprise development initiatives aimed at developing black-owned ICT companies through financial and non-financial support, which includes the transfer of business skills.

As a South African enterprise, EOH has the responsibility to actively contribute its knowledge and resources to improve public sector service delivery, says Bohbot. “The public sector represents a major business opportunity and will form part of our future growth.”

EOH continues with its Youth Job Creation Initiative and has taken it to another level. EOH is now running workshops with its major customers and vendors with the view to encouraging other businesses to follow EOH’s example of employing 620 young people to participate in its year-long learnership and internship programmes. Another intake of young trainees will join EOH later this year. ‘”We hope to mobilise business to take advantage of the government incentive programmes, invest more in South Africa and its people, and to discourage the off-shoring of activities to overseas countries at the expense of jobs for South Africans”, says Bohbot.

“We have the people, financial resources agility, track record, and know-how to continue to grow aggressively in all areas of our business and to expand into new services and territories. Prospects in the rest of Africa are encouraging and we see future growth in identified countries,” concludes Bohbot.
Read more at http://pressoffice.eoh.co.za/eoh-announces-impressive-interim-results-2013#HqwhWSUc4VrWXPBo.99

Department of Labour PPP agreement clarification

Friday, February 15, 2013
In November 2012, EOH acquired Siemens Information Services (SIS). One of SIS’s major customers is the Department of Labour (DOL). This relationship is governed in terms of a Public Private Partnership (PPP) concluded in 2002. When EOH acquired SIS, it essentially stepped into the “shoes of SIS”.

The PPP agreement provides for a transitional termination period during which period the service provider hands over the various services, contracts and assets to the department, ensuring a smooth transition and no disruption to services. The specific services to be provided during this transitional period are governed by the Termination Support Services Agreement catered for in the PPP agreement.

The Honourable Minister of Labour, Mildred Oliphant, has informed us that the internal processes governing the provision of Termination Support Services by EOH is under review.

We understand that when EOH changed the name of SIS to EOH Managed Services, it created the perception that a new service provider (EOH) had been appointed, which resulted in the internal procurement processes of the department being questioned. It appears to be a simple case of a ‘mistaken identity’.

In the two months during which EOH has been involved with the Department of Labour, we have delivered excellent services and received repeated praise for such from the department. The introduction of systems and skills by EOH has made a major positive impact on critical processes in the department. EOH is continuing to deliver services to the department under a perfectly scrutinised valid agreement. We are engaged with the department to resolve this misunderstanding.

As the leader in software systems in SA, EOH will continue to add significant value to the improvement of service delivery by government, as we have demonstrated during the two months which we have been involved with the Department of Labour.
Read more at http://pressoffice.eoh.co.za/department-of-labour-ppp-agreement-clarification#UWleE6Zyc5YR35hv.99

EOH achieves Level 2 BBBEE rating

Wednesday, January 23, 2013
EOH, a leading technology outsourcing and managed services company, increased its Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) rating from Large Enterprise Level 3 to Large Enterprise Level 2 contributor.

This shows a huge commitment to BBBEE and is underpinned by the following statistics:

Black Ownership – 34.62%
Board Representation – 60% Black
Employment Equity – 59% Black
BEE Procurement Recognition – 156%
Skills Development – Variety of Programmes
Enterprise Development – 6% of NPAT

On the social investment front, EOH is involved in maths and science improvement projects in many schools; people upliftment programmes; and many other initiatives aimed at breaking the cycle of poverty.

“At EOH, we are proud and view this achievement as being both good for the economic growth of our country and the upliftment of previously disadvantaged people. Economic stability is critical to South Africa and EOH believes that companies in South Africa must contribute to our economy over and above the normal course of doing business,” says Pumeza Bam, EOH HR Director.

EOH recognises that one of the biggest problems facing South Africa is youth unemployment. To that effect, EOH has launched the “EOH job creation initiative” aimed at engaging its blue chip customers, business partners and government to devise ways to stimulate job creation.

“EOH itself has recruited 620 learners and interns, which account for about 15% of our permanent workforce. Through sharing these and other experiences, we believe we can have an impact on South Africa’s youth unemployment problem,” continues Bam.

“EOH is committed to skills development, and with over 5 000 people in all major locations in South Africa, we believe we have done a lot and realise we have a lot more to do.”

Over the past year, EOH has grown all areas of its business and views business growth as the dominant catalyst in solving unemployment and other societal ills.

“The technology market is a growing market, and with our leading outsourcing, cloud services and application skills, we see ourselves continuing to grow substantially, and in the journey developing and nurturing a much bigger skills base,” concludes Bam.
Read more at http://pressoffice.eoh.co.za/eoh-achieves-level-2-BBBEE-rating#uVT6vSZgVkdKwWGW.99

Infor provides process manufacturers with a complete ‘Idea to Invoice’ solution

Friday, October 19, 2012
Infor, a leading provider of business application software serving more than 70 000 customers, recently announced the integration of Infor Optiva and Infor M3, creating a complete process industry-specific application that enables customers to bring products to market faster, at a lower cost, and with greater confidence in their ability to navigate regulatory and statutory requirements.

Jane Thomson, Managing Director at local Infor partner Softworx, says: “With the integration of Infor’s PLM software and Infor M3, customers will experience far more support from the point the concept comes alive, right through to the sourcing, manufacturing, sales and finance of the product.”

This integration delivers on Infor’s commitment to speed and innovation through the extension of two best-in-class applications. Infor10 ION technology provides the platform that enables the applications to seamlessly share data and information, bringing new levels of speed and visibility to companies in process manufacturing industries, such as food and beverage, chemicals, cosmetics, and personal and household goods.

“Another key element is the sharing of data across systems and between brands, which means there is no longer duplication and, ultimately, the development and procurement processes are substantially more effective.”

Infor Optiva and Infor M3 are brought together preconfigured using Infor ION technology, Infor’s lightweight integration platform that executes business processes and operates with a standard business language to provide a connection that is “unbreakable” by software upgrades, patches or enhancements. Additionally, Infor10 ION Workspace provides a common, sleek user interface across PLM, ERPand other Infor applications, creating a consumer-grade experience that helps customers make better, faster, more-informed decisions.

The integration of Infor Optiva for M3 helps ensure product safety by providing a roadmap that focuses on the needs of companies in the process manufacturing industry, including the connection between PLM and ERP to help minimise the risk of a recall, manage compliance and labelling, and reduce the impact of any product issues. Additionally, by leveraging application features that manage ingredients, specifications, recipes, allergens and nutritional information, customers are able to alleviate many of the challenges faced in both product development and production, such as compliance checks, quality control, labelling, potency and attributes, shelf life, catch weight, and traceability.

“Market pressures demand that companies launch products in an increasingly short time-frame, causing manufacturing, design and regulatory complexities,” says Thomson. “Savvy process manufacturers have identified PLM as the answer to getting ahead of the competition by bringing products to the market faster, safer and at lower cost. The integration of PLM and M3 delivers an unprecedented level of product safety and compliance tools, reducing the business risk posed by product recalls.”

Read more at http://pressoffice.eoh.co.za/infor-provides-process-manufacturers-with-complete-idea-to-invoice-solution#qMzQzqRY8FEooSgF.99

EOH expands SAP service offering to coastal regions

Tuesday, October 09, 2012
EOH’s SAP offering has seen consistent success over the past three years, which culminated in a string of awards at the SAP partner function held recently.

Ebrahim Laher, EOH SAP Services managing director, says EOH’s commitment to the SAP solution offerings necessitated regional growth and service delivery. “We are growing our footprint in the Cape region, specifically to service our coastal and national client base. Using strategies like right shoring, job creation and the EOH SAP Centre of Excellence (COE), we are able to offer more value to clients.”

The EOH SAP value proposition includes Core ERP, Analytics, Mobility, ECM and Support services across industries.

According to Allie Khan, executive SAP Services Coastal: “The coastal region is home to significant retailers and oil companies in South Africa. Furthermore, a large base of manufacturing and industrial corporations are headquartered in the Eastern and Western Capes. We are positive that we can leverage our team of approximately 250 SAP consultants to add value to these industries.”

As part of its expansion strategy, EOH SAP Services invites its current and future clients and partners to a formal launch of its coastal SAP offerings. The event will focus on an introduction to its executive team, vision and key areas of its value proposition.

More information and bookings can be found at http://eohsap.eventbrite.com/.
Read more at http://pressoffice.eoh.co.za/eoh-expands-sap-service-offering-to-coastal-regions#3C4qwg0HoG3Qdwi8.99

Focusing on the ‘beauty’ of enterprise applications

Thursday, October 04, 2012
Duncan Angrove, President of Infor, the world’s third-largest supplier of enterprise applications and services, was quoted earlier this year referring to what he calls the ‘beauty’ of applications – the look, feel and usability, saying” “I won’t ship it if it’s not beautiful.” This new focus from the company that has recently seen a major turnaround in leadership and strategy is demonstrating the future of enterprise applications, according to Jane Thomson, managing director of Softworx, a local Infor partner.

“The usability, look, feel and interface technology of enterprise software and applications has definitely not seen the same rapid transformation as that of the consumer space,” says Thomson. “Infor is now leading the charge when it comes to developing applications that reflect what consumers might experience when browsing the Internet.”

Thomson says that Infor’s strategy involves taking the above-mentioned innovation and usability and applying the thinking to enterprise software. Taking into account that enterprise applications are about making decisions and productivity, not just browsing the Internet, Thomson says Infor plans to do this by giving users more control and personalisation, by adding contextual data from multiple applications, while also making applications social and mobile.

Along with the changes at Infor, the company has hired over 600 engineers to work on the architecture, as well as an in-house design team to develop applications to reflect usability more akin to the likes of the Web of social networks. “The firm’s strategy of rapid development and business agility is geared to take the company to the leading position in enterprise applications, and it’s clear they are well on their way.”

Among this rapid development and innovation, Infor’s recently launched ION integration technology is the fastest-growing product in the firm’s history. Thomson says the ION Suite, which is the lightweight middleware layer built into the software that helps to ease any integration challenges customers would otherwise face, is also driving the sale of other products. “ION is simple and easy to use and our customers in South Africa are excited about access to this type of innovation.”
Read more at http://pressoffice.eoh.co.za/focusing-on-the-beauty-of-enterprise-applications#v49yShBqZuYZIofk.99

EOH announces outstanding annual results

Wednesday, September 12, 2012
In brief:
* Group revenue increased by 50.0% to R3 642.9 million (2011: R2 420.0 million)
* Profit before tax increased by 45.0% to R339.9 million (2011: R234.4 million)
* Headline earnings per share (HEPS) up 29.1% to 253.1 cents (2011: 196.1 cents)
* Cash increased by 40.5% to R451.8 million (2011: R321.5 million)
* Dividend up by 32.6% to 70 cents (2011: 48 cents)

EOH, a leader in technology and business solutions, the largest implementer of enterprise applications in South Africa and a provider of end-to-end solutions, announced outstanding annual results for the period ended 31 July 2012. The company plans to continue growing both organically and acquisitively. The main growth areas include infrastructure and application managed services, cloud offerings, enterprise applications, information management, business process outsourcing, security and intelligent infrastructure.

“EOH is now the strongest player in the IT arena with 4 700 people, 3 500 customers, good brand, strong reputation for delivery capabilities and a very healthy financial standing. EOH has the widest offerings in our industry,” says CEO Asher Bohbot.

The board of directors of EOH expressed its satisfaction with the performance for the period under review. Revenue increased by 50.0% to R3 642.9 million and profit before tax is up by 45.0% to R339.9 million. The growth is attributable to a combination of both organic growth and recent acquisitions. Earnings per share (EPS) and headline earnings per share (HEPS) have grown by 29.8% and 29.1%, respectively. Cash has increased by 41% to R451.9 million, placing EOH in a strong financial position with substantial cash resources to ensure sustainable future growth.

EOH has declared a 70 cents dividend.

All areas of EOH’s business operations have seen strong growth during the period under review, with a further shift to services in line with EOH’s strategic intent. Services revenue has increased to R2 344.6 million, a 61% increase over the previous corresponding period. Software sales have increased by 28% to R614.9 million. Infrastructure sales have increased by 39% to R683 million. Overall margin is at 9.8% compared to 9.6% in the previous period.

EOH’s success is largely attributable to its unfailing business philosophy that is centred on people, says Bohbot. “We have always strived to attract, develop and retain the best people in the industry with the purpose of creating life-long, mutually beneficial partnerships with our customers and partners. Doing things right first time epitomises what we do at EOH,” says Bohbot.

EOH is certified as a Large Enterprise Level 3 Contributor with BEE Procurement Recognition of 138% as a value-adding vendor. EOH’s current black shareholding is 37.47%. Fifty-seven percent of EOH’s staff and 60% of its board members are black. EOH’s corporate social investment (CSI) initiatives are focused around education and wellness. One of its community involvement projects is the Maths Centre Programme, whose primary object is to equip teachers with skills to develop learner competency in Maths. It has also given its support to The Child and Youth Development Programme of Afrika Tikkun. This programme provides support to youth during their school careers and assists them in finding employment in the workplace. During this year, EOH has spent R3.7 million on CSI initiatives. Its enterprise development initiatives are aimed at developing black-owned ICT companies through financial and non-financial support, which includes the transfer of business skills. EOH has spent R21.1 million in the form of loans and training on enterprise development.

EOH has 620 trainees participating in a year-long graduate and school leavers’ programme and has spent R8.4 million on this programme so far and is committed to spending a further R7.8 million over the next six months.

As a South African enterprise, EOH has the responsibility to actively contribute its knowledge and resources to improve public sector effectiveness, says Bohbot. “The public sector represents a major business opportunity and will form part of our future growth. I am also happy to say that our job creation initiative is gaining momentum. With the assumption that skills equal jobs, we have embarked on a learnership programme whereby 620 young people will be given the opportunity to participate in year-long learnership and trainee programmes.

“We are working with our international partners and large customers on plans to avoid sending jobs overseas and to rather bring global jobs to South Africa. We are also lobbying government to create regulations and incentives to keep jobs in South Africa and to bring more opportunities to our shores. To support this point of view, EOH has initiated an off-shoring business, in addition to creating an internal role for job creation,” says Bohbot.

There are certainly opportunities to grow EOH’s solutions and service offerings and to strengthen EOH’s industry verticals, says Bohbot. “We have the resources, track record, know-how, ability and capability to continue to grow aggressively. Prospects in the rest of Africa are encouraging and EOH sees opportunities in this territory,” concludes Bohbot.
Read more at http://pressoffice.eoh.co.za/eoh-announces-outstanding-annual-results-2012#09LQWRbUciJU0trQ.99

EOH – The largest SAP partner

Thursday, August 30, 2012
Listed technology group EOH has once again been recognised by software giant SAP as one of its leading partners with exceptional performance across all areas. The software giant announced the recipients of the 2012 SAP Partner Awards for Africa at an awards ceremony recently, and EOH scooped up three of the top 10 awards.

SAP Partner Awards are presented annually to the top-performing SAP partners that have excelled in developing and growing their partnership with SAP, delivering exceptional performance across diverse industries and solutions to customers. The criteria for the SAP Partner Awards assessed partners’ year-on-year revenue growth, the number of net new customers, number of customers sold to, as well as customer references and customer enablement.

EOH general manager Kirtan Sita says the SAP Partner and Quality Awards are aimed at recognising partners that have achieved excellence in planning and executing their SAP projects and programmes; delivering significant benefits to their organisations.

“EOH took top honours in the SAP Partner of the Year category. In the 10 key categories, EOH was nominated six times and we won three of the top awards.”

The SAP Quality Awards celebrate partners in Africa that use SAP’s quality principles in key focus areas, which include effectively managing software implementations marked by complex technical and business process requirements; making the extraordinary look ordinary; excelling in execution; and delivering significant benefits and achieving fast, low-cost implementations to meet today’s demands for fast time to value.

SAP Africa’s managing director, Pfungwa Serima, says the SAP Partner Awards in Africa acknowledges and salutes the successes of business partners that work with SAP to deliver exceptional customer service, great partner value and continue to embrace SAP’s new technology strategies.

EOH’s awards include ‘Best SAP Large Enterprises System Integrator of the Year’, recognising EOH as the biggest and best in class. Furthermore, the ‘SAP MD’s Special Award’ demonstrates EOH’s excellence in the industry, this in support of its service excellence in helping customers realise best value from their investment in SAP. EOH SAP Services sales executive Mike Hartman was bestowed the highest honour of ‘Sales person of the Year’.

“There is no doubt that these awards go a long way in recognising EOH as a key industry market maker as well as our focused efforts in service excellence and thought leadership. We look forward to cementing our position in the market by focusing on our growth strategy pillars and various initiatives that we will continue to roll out in the business of FY2013,” says Sita.

Award winners are from partner organisations that have been successful in developing great partnerships with SAP across the continent. This is evident by the fact that SAP’s partner business grew more than 206% with 55 new partners coming onboard in the last year. Today, SAP has more than 11 500 partners worldwide. “Helping Africa Grow” is the theme within SAP Africa this year, which underpins SAP’s ambition and focus on global and local growth beyond excellence. SAP calls partners to embrace the new opportunities that are emerging within the SAP partner network and the market.
Read more at http://pressoffice.eoh.co.za/eoh-the-largest-sap-partner#oY4T4A9jpY6xpvUz.99

EOH buys Siemens IT Solutions and Services South Africa

Thursday, August 23, 2012
In line with multinational Siemens AG’s stated objective of exiting the global IT services market, Siemens has sold 100% of Siemens IT Solutions and Services South Africa to EOH, subject to regulatory approval. This followed an extensive process by Siemens to determine the best possible partner to service its existing South African client base and look after its employees.

Siemens IT Solutions and Services’ business focus is to support, organise and provide technology-based services to clients in the public and private sectors.

In terms of the agreement, EOH will take over the total operations of the company, including all personnel. This acquisition will further enhance EOH’s service offering in its managed services operations and application practices in the public and private sectors.

EOH is listed on the JSE with annual compounded revenue growth in excess of 40% per annum and was ranked the fourth best-performing company on the JSE by the Financial Mail. EOH is the largest applications practice in South Africa and a leader in managed services, cloud services and outsourcing in southern Africa.

EOH employs more than 4 700 people, of whom 57% are black, has more than 2 500 large clients, and offers solutions to its wide range of clients across all aspects of information technology in the areas of IT services and solutions, applications, infrastructure, managed services and outsourcing. EOH has a level 3 BBBEE rating, with 37.4% of its shares owned by black shareholders.

Siemens has been active in South Africa for more than 150 years and employs approximately 2 000 people. The company continues to play an important role in the country’s infrastructure, economic and social development. Siemens offers a wide range of solutions and services in South Africa, where its Industry, Infrastructure & Cities, Energy and Healthcare sectors occupy leading positions. These Siemens business sectors are unaffected by the deal.

“We are delighted to be chosen by Siemens to take over its IT operations in South Africa and we will endeavour to provide great and valued services to its clients,” says Asher Bohbot, CEO of EOH.
Read more at http://pressoffice.eoh.co.za/eoh-buys-siemens-it-solutions-and-services-south-africa#kpSVW8uHqACDIPwP.99

EOH Job Creation Initiative

Tuesday, July 24, 2012
There are five million unemployed people in South Africa. Youth make up 75% of South Africa’s unemployed. EOH’s view is that job creation is primarily the responsibility of business. Government’s role is to create the environment and incentives for business to thrive and create jobs. Government can’t shoulder the burden, and is definitely not able to employ more people. To government’s credit, it has already put in place schemes and incentives to encourage business to develop business and to employ more people.

“Business in SA can’t think like our counterparts in developed countries; there they have responsibility primarily to their shareholders. In SA, business must have a much broader role, which must include the wellbeing of our society. The interesting thing is that this kind of thinking is not in conflict with shareholders’ interests. It is harder to run a successful business in a failing society,” says Asher Bohbot, EOH CEO.

EOH has launched the “EOH Job Creation Initiative” aimed at stimulating job creation by interacting with its customers, business partners and government.

The main areas of the EOH Job Creation Initiative are:

* The promotion of internships and training programmes
* Repatriation of jobs off-shored to other countries and the creation of jobs by offshoring services to other countries
* Working with government to mobilise business to take advantage of government incentive schemes for job creation
* Encourage business to invest more in SA, which will result in job creation. (JSE-listed companies have R600 billion in cash…).“We estimate that we are currently offshoring between 20 000 and 25 000 jobs. Our objective for the next three years is to bring some 10 000 jobs back home. We also want to help in creating internships for 20 000 graduates and learnerships for 30 000 matriculants. EOH believes that we are short of skills, rather than short of jobs; one set of skills equals one job,” says Bohbot.

“We have a need to skill our people, starting with school leavers and graduates through learnership and internship programmes. At EOH, we have 600 learners and interns, who represent 15% of our workforce; just imagine, theoretically, if every business in SA were to do the same, it would mean the employment of hundreds of thousands of young South Africans. We believe business needs to take up the role of further developing our youth; it’s good for our society and it’s good for business; this is our experience at EOH. We encourage business to do the same.”

Research shows that a youth without work experience has a high chance of never finding employment; however, when a youth has some job experience, he has 80% chance of remaining employed.

“Business has a responsibility to do much more, not just for our country, but for business,” concludes Bohbot.
Read more at http://pressoffice.eoh.co.za/eoh-job-creation-initiative#qoJjchIW1PCWb8yC.99

Managing applications in the cloud

Thursday, June 21, 2012
The proliferation of Web and mobile applications and content is currently changing the application and software market. This is according to Haydn Pinnell, Divisional Director of EOH Application Management. “When your customers pay per click and do not receive the expected result, they will go and click somewhere else,” warns Pinnell.

“Time to market and the ability to rapidly change are key differentiators for most organisations. Doing business with customers and other organisations through Web-based and cloud-based applications require a completely different application management strategy, from requirements through to development and testing, and into performance and change management,” Pinnell states.

Performance and security of data are being touted as the biggest challenges currently facing Web and cloud-based applications, says Pinnell. “In the traditional enterprise and packaged application world, we still see a fundamental shift to a more flexible and agile approach to application management, with the priority shifting away from customisation and more towards creating visibility into the performance and availability of business-critical applications.”

Pinnell says the biggest stumbling block that South African businesses face is a definitive lack of visibility into the application life cycle phases, specifically around performance and change. “Business and IT executives alike are currently unable to obtain the visibility they need to objectively analyse the risk that change will have on the business, much less the poor performance that their organisations face. A proactive approach to providing visibility into application management will greatly rectify the situation. However, a prevailing trend in the industry sees businesses remaining ignorant of the fact 90% of the time, due to a lack of resources in the form of people, processes and technology.”

Visibility remains key, says Pinnell. “Around 99% of all organisations we approach have software products and tools in place that manage a piece of the application life cycle, such as testing tools, requirements analysis tools, project management tools and performance or infrastructure management tools, to mention a few. This approach is, however, very limited in terms of demonstrating the value that the business gains in its entirety.”

Pinnell says the solution lies in the provision of a comprehensive business and IT focused metrics that spans an organisation’s entire application and infrastructure bouquet. “It will provide visibility and empower the business to identify the risk it faces with relation to poor performance, application quality and security, and the impact of change,” Pinnell concludes.
Read more at http://pressoffice.eoh.co.za/managing-applications-in-the-cloud#kBfOAsd27J8DBJzG.99

EOH announced as Microsoft Large Account Reseller

Thursday, May 03, 2012
EOH joins the upper echelon of Microsoft partnerships by becoming an Enterprise Software Advisor, also known as a Large Account Reseller (LAR), one of only six companies in South Africa. “It is an incredible privilege for EOH and will act as an enabler to do more business as an end-to-end systems integrator in the Microsoft space,” says Simon Peter, the Director of EOH Microsoft Licensing.

EOH has made its intention of becoming the number one Microsoft partner in South Africa very clear. “In order to achieve and maintain this target, we need a focused services and licensing business. As a result, EOH embarked on the journey of building the required Gold competencies, which now stands at 14 Gold for the EOH group,” explains Peter.

The EOH Design, Build and Operate model will also be used in the licensing business. EOH will offer services in the form of software advisory, software asset management reviews and licensing models.

Microsoft is extremely excited about having EOH on-board as a LAR. “We are meticulous and specific when choosing and building strong partnerships with capable and expert organisations. We are confident that EOH will serve as a trusted technology advisor to our mutual customers,” says Kevin Derman, Partner Sales Lead at Microsoft South Africa. “We have brought EOH on-board to become a Large Account Reseller based on our faith in its abilities to offer Microsoft Solutions and licensing advice at a level that is compatible with the high standards that we expect from our Certified Partners in the market,” concludes Derman.

EOH further expands its IT training capability

Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Listed technology company, EOH Holdings, announced today that it has acquired the specialist training company, Faculty Training Institute (FTI).

FTI is widely known as one of the leading business analyst, project management, enterprise architecture and testing training providers. In recognition of its impact on the development of the business analyst profession in South Africa, it has recently been appointed as an Institute of Sectoral and Occupational Excellence by the Media, Advertising and ICT Sector Education Training Authority (MICT SETA), which will increase the uptake of national qualifications in this area.

FTI was established in 1989 and has over two decades of corporate and individual training excellence, many thousands of graduates, and is the trusted skills development partner to more than 250 corporate companies nationally. It delivers numerous local and international courses, customised for South Africa, from its training centres in both Johannesburg and Cape Town, and at the offices of corporate clients.

The modern world continues to shift towards a knowledge economy, where old skills and paradigms become obsolete, and new careers and roles emerge. These roles require multi-skilled individuals capable of high-order thinking and problem-solving skills, across a range of industries and knowledge domains.

“We are passionate about developing human potential, especially where that potential can be utilised to unlock value and drive efficiencies in our corporate customers,” says Steve Erlank, CEO of FTI. “Everywhere you go you will find business analysts and project managers that came through our programmes. We are very proud of that. Being part of EOH will significantly increase the reach of our programmes.”

According to EOH CEO, Asher Bohbot, the acquisition of FTI enables EOH to provide vital skills to its clients. “There is a natural fit in the philosophies of our two organisations, which focuses on people and their potential,” says Bohbot. “It is also aligned with our commitment to provide learnerships in an area where there is a shortage of skills. FTI’s ability to provide the up-skilling of talent directly from our organisation is of great value to us,” concludes Bohbot.
Read more at http://pressoffice.eoh.co.za/eoh-further-expands-it-training-capability#qeSG8OJpMTWJKElL.99

EOH further expands its IT training capability

Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Listed technology company, EOH Holdings, announced today that it has acquired the specialist training company, Faculty Training Institute (FTI).

FTI is widely known as one of the leading business analyst, project management, enterprise architecture and testing training providers. In recognition of its impact on the development of the business analyst profession in South Africa, it has recently been appointed as an Institute of Sectoral and Occupational Excellence by the Media, Advertising and ICT Sector Education Training Authority (MICT SETA), which will increase the uptake of national qualifications in this area.

FTI was established in 1989 and has over two decades of corporate and individual training excellence, many thousands of graduates, and is the trusted skills development partner to more than 250 corporate companies nationally. It delivers numerous local and international courses, customised for South Africa, from its training centres in both Johannesburg and Cape Town, and at the offices of corporate clients.

The modern world continues to shift towards a knowledge economy, where old skills and paradigms become obsolete, and new careers and roles emerge. These roles require multi-skilled individuals capable of high-order thinking and problem-solving skills, across a range of industries and knowledge domains.

“We are passionate about developing human potential, especially where that potential can be utilised to unlock value and drive efficiencies in our corporate customers,” says Steve Erlank, CEO of FTI. “Everywhere you go you will find business analysts and project managers that came through our programmes. We are very proud of that. Being part of EOH will significantly increase the reach of our programmes.”

According to EOH CEO, Asher Bohbot, the acquisition of FTI enables EOH to provide vital skills to its clients. “There is a natural fit in the philosophies of our two organisations, which focuses on people and their potential,” says Bohbot. “It is also aligned with our commitment to provide learnerships in an area where there is a shortage of skills. FTI’s ability to provide the up-skilling of talent directly from our organisation is of great value to us,” concludes Bohbot.
Read more at http://pressoffice.eoh.co.za/eoh-further-expands-it-training-capability#qeSG8OJpMTWJKElL.99

EOH named best new partner of the year for Kofax

Monday, April 02, 2012
During the recent Kofax Transform 2012 Conference that was held from 11 – 13 March, in San Diego, EOH was named as the Best New Partner of the Year for 2012. The conference was centred on capture-enabled business process management (BPM).

“In just one short year, we have managed to deliver beyond expectations to clinch the title of Kofax’s Best New Partner of the Year for 2012,” says Ursula Dorfling, the Kofax Channel Partner Manager at EOH Application Management. “I am extremely proud of the Kofax team and channel and would like to thank all involved for their role in growing the Kofax footprint in South Africa and making it such a resounding success.”

EOH Application Management was awarded the right to be a master distributor of Kofax’s entire solution portfolio to value-added resellers and system integrators in South Africa in 2011.

Organisations today must deal with a vast amount of incoming information from many different sources, says Dorfling. “Efficient, automated business processes are critical to managing it, improving productivity and serving customer needs. But getting there can be a challenge. Each step may contain internally and externally generated information, combined with human interactions and decisions that can cause processing delays, introduce potential for error, and pose a compliance risk.”

Kofax overcomes these challenges by artfully combining state-of-the-art information capture systems with a dynamic case management process, which is driven by outside events requiring incremental and progressive responses, human judgment and co-ordination.

“Combining intelligent information capture processes with BPM allows for information to be captured automatically, extracted, validated and classified through a touchless process, whether it originates in the form of paper, fax, e-mail, SMS, XML or a PDF format. The documentation is then made available to the right people, processes or devices at the right time, in the right format,” explains Dorfling.

“Capture Enabled BPM enables organisations to automate the process of capturing purified information that aids business to make faster, more informed decisions in addition to handling exceptions and discrepancies in captured content far more effectively in terms of Dynamic Case Management,” says Dorfling.

With the veritable explosion of information availability and the dawn of the big data era, it is not hard to understand why accurate data capture tools are playing an increasingly important role in organisations.
Read more at http://pressoffice.eoh.co.za/eoh-named-best-new-partner-of-year-for-kofax#Mli1vf0oZfsr2YB6.99

ERP solutions remain integral to business success

Tuesday, March 27, 2012
ERP is a term that management and IT professionals discuss at length. But what exactly does it mean; what does it encompass; why should a company see it as a key business solution; and is it here to stay?

Jane Thomson, MD of Softworx, a leading provider of business applications, says: “An enterprise resource planning (ERP) system is exactly that; it is a means for an organisation to use its resources more effectively.” ERP on its own is not a software programme; instead, ERP solutions are developed to meet the demands of a company’s customers, suppliers, employees and other business units.

Thomson says it is inevitable that an ERP solution will be required by a company at some point during its lifecycle. “An integrated ERP solution that matches the way a company does business can make a difference to the success of an organisation, setting the fast growing company apart from an average performer.”

Without an ERP system, a company will most likely have a vast number of different software solutions that do not talk to one another effectively. Business functionality is optimised by customised and interactive solutions. Thomson says that as an organisation develops and grows, it becomes integral to the success of the company that the right business applications and solutions are in place.

For a considerable number of years, there has been talk of the demise of ERP as successive new technologies have surfaced. Service Oriented Architecture was one such technology that set the rumour mills turning. Thomson says she does see ERP disappearing. “It is the primary system of record and will continue to be the foundation. The market has seen growth in ERP requirements but I don’t subscribe to some organisations claiming to have experienced double-digit growth.”

Continued investment in research and development by leading ERP providers like Infor will continue to see revitalised ERP solutions – including templates, industry-specific functionality and tools to improve speed of implementation, and ease of upgrades – leading the way for small, medium-sized and large enterprises. Infor, a leading provider of business application software servicing over 70 000 customers around the globe, is represented by Softworx in South Africa. Infor is able to respond to changing business challenges quickly and effectively. “This is what sets their solutions apart in the industry,” says Thomson.

The ERP system automates business processes by placing them into a simple and concise visual format. Information can flow constantly, allowing an integrated view of a client’s information process at any point. Purchases and expenditures can be registered at a central database and interactions between marketing, sales, quality control product processes, supply lines, stocks and other areas can all be found at a single point.

The right ERP software can provide an organisation with the tools to cut costs, improve operational efficiency, and make smarter decisions — faster. Thomson says an ERP system need not be an astronomical expense. “We give our clients a tailored and flexible solution that is cost-effective and allows them to add functionality as their organisation grows.”

Infor will be hosting its Infor10 road show in South Africa this month. Thomson says the road show provides Softworx and Infor with an opportunity to provide clients and prospects with the latest industry insights while showcasing leading business application solutions.
Read more at http://pressoffice.eoh.co.za/erp-solutions-remain-integral-to-business-success#cwDtLGyo2lx7fCSU.99

Softworx provides customers with innovative on-the-move mobile platform

Thursday, March 01, 2012
Jane Thomson, Softworx MD, says the launch of Infor10 Motion enables Softworx to continue to provide innovative and flexible deployment solutions. Infor10 Motion is a unique cloud-based mobile platform built on the powerful Infor10 ION integration framework.

“We have predicted for some time now that critical business software is increasingly moving to the cloud. I believe that this year in South Africa, we will see it become even more of a reality. Business is going to be forced to adopt cloud strategies as a result of delivery requirements as well as to counter financial challenges.”

Infor10 Motion applications provide fast, reliable connections to back-office systems, regardless of location, through smartphones and tablets, to accelerate productivity and help users work smarter and faster. Differentiated from complex and convoluted mobile platforms, Infor10 Motion provides a consistent user experience, a loosely coupled architecture and a simple and easy process for deployment.

“South Africa is quickly following the worldwide trend of companies creating mobile workforces. To ensure the success of this movement, companies need to provide their employees with the tools to stay informed and to be able to take action from wherever they are,” says Thomson. “Infor10 Motion does just this. Softworx is now able to break down the traditional office and to take it to where our customers are conducting their business – on the road, at the airport, wherever the opportunity exists.”

Infor has immediately made available two applications, Infor10 Road Warrior, a mobile CRM application with embedded business intelligence, and Infor ION ActivityDeck, which allows users to respond to important tasks, receive real-time alerts and approve pending requests.

“We are constantly providing our customers with mobile development tools and foundation services that enable them to use mobile applications, like Infor10 Road Warrior, across the extended enterprise,” concludes Thomson.

Additional information:

The Infor10 Motion Platform

Infor10 Motion is built with a loosely coupled architecture on the Infor10 ION framework, meaning that Infor10 Motion applications can plug into different back-office systems such as ERP, CRM, expense management or supply chain management. Infor10 Motion provides native, rich applications that leverage the data that already exists in enterprise deployments. Security is built into Infor10 Motion to help address the threat of theft and data loss and enable customers to retain control over critical business data.

Infor10 Motion applications leverage the familiar, simple and intuitive ways that users are already accustomed to interacting with their smart devices, allowing them to work and act faster. This includes taking into account differences between devices, such as tablets versus smartphones. Because it is core product independent, Infor10 Motion is able to adopt a consistent user experience across back-office applications.

Infor10 Motion applications are further differentiated by being “app aware”, which enhances the user experience by detecting when another app on the device could provide additional functionality, including consumer apps that would work in the context of the enterprise. An example of this is Infor10 Road Warrior, which incorporates Skype and FaceTime within a customer’s contact record so sales personnel can move seamlessly into consumer collaboration tools with their customers.

Infor10 Motion is cloud-based, which uniquely simplifies the way customers can deploy and adopt the platform. The Infor10 Motion App Manager (IMAM) provides a single location for companies to deploy Infor10 Motion applications quickly within their existing IT infrastructure, unlike other mobile platforms which require an add-on solution to centralise the effort of multiple deployments. Once a company has gained access to IMAM, they are ready to begin using Infor10 Motion applications. IMAM also allows managers to determine which users have access to specific information, and the capability to change those settings at any point.

Infor10 Road Warrior and Infor ION ActivityDeck

Infor10 Road Warrior empowers sales productivity by sending mobile alerts, approvals and tasks, allowing users to make decisions faster, turning what was previously considered down-time into a tool to outpace the competition.

This connectivity is coupled with embedded business intelligence to provide an overview of data-heavy screens, helping users make sense of data more rapidly, highlight problems at a glance, and compare current and historical order volume, reducing the amount of time spent searching for information. Additionally, integrating with consumer apps like Skype and FaceTime helps Infor10 Road Warrior users better collaborate and communicate with their customers.

Infor ION ActivityDeck helps solve the critical problems that arise when users are on the road and have no visibility into pressing issues going on in the background. ION ActivityDeck provides users the ability to remain connected to the back office so they are able to respond to important tasks, receive real-time alerts, and approve pending requests, keeping business in motion. Similar in function to Twitter, ION ActivityDeck provides the ability to define filters based on most anything, helping users answer questions and take action before they become issues.
Read more at http://pressoffice.eoh.co.za/softworx-provides-customers-with-innovative-on-the-move-mobile-platform#z9vJJsGSsZyTHuaB.99

User experience a critical next step for ERP systems

Wednesday, February 22, 2012
With constant advances in Internet user experience and the substantial volume of information that is available to users with one click, the expectations from most people on what to expect from their online encounter has dramatically changed. Added to this is the rise of social media behemoths like Twitter and Facebook that have introduced a new level of user-centric interface. As a result, the expectation from software applications has morphed with users expecting the same slick experience from their business software as they do from their general day-to-day online usage.

A new study entitled “The South African Social Media Landscape 2011”, released in October by World Wide Worx and Fuseware, suggests that there are 1.1 million Twitter users in South Africa, a 20-fold increase in just over a year, and 4.2 million South African Facebook users.

“The uptake of social networking is dramatic and the growth is across all age and demographic groups,” says Jane Thomson, Managing Director of Softworx. “When users log off their social networking site and then log on to their ERP software, it’s hard not to notice the often ‘clunky’ interface that exists in these business systems.”

Interestingly, some business software giants are taking note of the changing expectations, and products now do exist offering much slicker systems and processes. Infor, the third-largest enterprise systems vendor in the world, recently launched Infor10, boasting a completely new interface and new and improved functionality.

“The new product has been termed the ‘ERP game changer’ and I would have to agree,” continued Thomson. Softworx, the official Infor reseller for sub-Saharan Africa, will bring Infor10 to South Africa. “The interface now has a Facebook-styled appearance more in-line with a Web 2.0 experience, and that, combined with improved functionality, makes this offering unequalled.”

Infor10 features ION middleware, which basically forms the foundation for connecting and integrating Infor and non-Infor applications, enabling-information sharing in a common format.

The product is also available as a tailored option for specialised industry offerings for Infor’s core 14 vertical industries, including automotive, fashion, hospitality, general manufacturing, food and beverage.

Infor asserts that the generic “one-size-fits-all” software requires time-consuming configuration and customisation to give industry-required functionality and that it doesn’t address the specific needs of an industry, hence Infor’s focus is on delivering complete industry suite offerings.

Similar to desktop social networking applications like Tweetdeck, Infor10 presents all relevant information on one screen, including role-based workflows, task and alerts, in-context business intelligence, event management, consumer-like search capabilities and business activity streams. In essence, users are able to search and select the feeds they would like to see on their workspace.

In addition to the full enterprise systems offerings, Infor10 is integrated with Buzzient, a social media engine that delivers relevant information captured on blogs, Web sites and discussion forums. The tool monitors data about a certain customer or product, and, through a sentiment analysis, is able to assess the impact on performance.

“We are very impressed with the features and performance of Infor10 and it is notable to see the level at which this product operates compared to other similar products in the market. It certainly is a game changer,” concludes Thomson.
Read more at http://pressoffice.eoh.co.za/user-experience-a-critical-next-step-for-erp-systems#3lttMGvGyUgl8cyW.99

Infor10 customer road show comes to Johannesburg

Tuesday, February 07, 2012
Infor, a leading provider of business application software serving more than 70 000 customers, today announced the details for the South African leg of Infor10 On the Road.

The event will bring together senior Infor executives, channel partners, press and Infor customers, as Infor shares its new corporate and product strategy – Infor10.

News:
* The all-day event is set for Tuesday 27 March, at Montecasino, in Fourways, Sandton. The Gold sponsor of the event is Infor channel partner Softworx.
* Infor executives will outline Infor’s new corporate strategy and discuss the company’s latest product developments in the Infor10 release.
* Afternoon seminar sessions will provide more detailed insight into product developments pertaining to enterprise resource planning (ERP) – including Infor10 ERP Enterprise – supply chain management, enterprise asset management, and financial applications for the ‘office of the CFO’, including financial management, performance management and expense management.

Infor quote:

“Attendees to Infor On the Road will see evidence of Infor’s strong business momentum, and witness our innovative new solutions that provide real value to our customers,” said Tim Szabronski, Regional Vice-President for MEA, Infor. “We have charted the path we’ll take to serve our customers, build our products and grow our business for years to come. ‘Infor On the Road’ is all about taking this strategy out to our customers.”

Additional resources:

To register for this free-of-charge event: http://www.infor.co.uk/20120327-infor-on-the-road-africa/registration-africa/.
Read more at http://pressoffice.eoh.co.za/infor10-customer-road-show-comes-to-johannesburg#CzcjRToMo6ZKw2S1.99

EOH Application Management scoops 2011 HP Software Partner of the Year award

Friday, February 03, 2012
EOH Application Management walked away with a staggering five accolades at the recent HP Awards. “We were awarded the HP Software Partner of the Year for South Africa, as well as the HP Software Partner of the year for the entire Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa (MEMA) region. To crown the results, EOH was named as one of the top 20 HP Software partners in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region,” says EOH Application Management Managing Director, Haydn Pinnell.

In the individual awards, Rian Van Greunen from EOH AM was named as Outstanding Services Channel Product Manager at HP South Africa’s FY11 Partner Awards. EOH Application Management’s Eskom project also picked up the award for the project of the year, being the single biggest HP Software deal for South Africa in 2011.

Working with a team of professionals that take their work and their clients seriously is at the heart of the matter. “I am extremely proud of each and every member of the EOH Application Management team,” says Pinnell. “There are so many people and divisions within EOH Application Management that are interlinked and interdependent in making customer satisfaction a reality. Having a host of HP products to work with that are reliable and visionary in their own right also helps a great deal.”

Clive Brindley, the HP Software Channel and Commercial Manager for South Africa, says EOH Application Management has squarely put South Africa on the MEMA regional map. “As the only HP Platinum Partner in the country, EOH Application Management plays a very important role in the partner network, leveraging relationships and bringing more innovation and satisfaction to our customers. Having clinched the top HP Software partner out of all our partners in the MEMA region is no small feat, and we are looking forward to another successful year with great expectations on the horizon. We are very excited and very happy that they won the award,” says Brindley.

The key to success lies in building long-term relationships with clients, says Pinnell. “The task never ends with simply making a sale. Ensuring that the product is successfully implemented and supported in addition to driving the usage of the product within the organisation is crucial,” Pinnell concludes.
Read more at http://pressoffice.eoh.co.za/eoh-application-management-scoops-2011-hp-software-partner-of-year-award#5h54L7WQ1UdtgpVU.99

EOH Mthombo announces acquisition of Airborne Consulting

Thursday, February 02, 2012
EOH, one of South Africa’s top IT service providers and the largest enterprise applications provider in the country, today officially announced the acquisition of Airborne Consulting.

The acquisition of Airborne Consulting complements EOH’s portfolio and growth strategy, says Asher Bohbot, CEO of EOH. “The business philosophy and management practices employed by Airborne Consulting are a good culture match for EOH. The company provides a range of offerings which are in line with EOH’s strategy of building capacity in the Western Cape,” says Bohbot.

Airborne Consulting was created in 2004 by Sean O’Connell and Brian Harding, and it specialises in software development, management consulting, infrastructure and managed services. The company has a proven track record, having garnered an enviable portfolio of blue-chip clients in the financial services sector to whom it has delivered sophisticated and reliable IT solutions through the years. Airborne Consulting is a Microsoft Certified partner of choice, having achieved gold partner status across five competencies.

“Expanding our footprint in the Western Cape is one of our key strategies,” says Bohbot. “The acquisition complements EOH’s technology capabilities and further allows us to enhance the spectrum of our offering to our customers in the Western Cape. With 120 employees, the addition of Airborne Technologies to the EOH family brings us closer to a 4 000-strong team. Airborne joining EOH enhances our size, expertise and underscores our philosophy of working with the best people in the industry,” concludes Bohbot.
Read more at http://pressoffice.eoh.co.za/eoh-mthombo-announced-aquisition-of-airborne-consulting#zVGLx1sdtBKMuaJm.99

The three pillars of human resource outsourcing

Friday, January 20, 2012
Outsourcing a strategically important business function such as human resources is a difficult business decision to make, says Riaan Terblanche, the Managing Director of HRO, an EOH company.

“Companies are concerned about aspects such as losing control over knowledge and processes ranging to the pitfalls surrounding total quality management.”

Recent statistics show that more and more companies ranging in the 1 000 to 20 000 headcount bracket are outsourcing their human resource activities in an effort to cut costs, says Terblanche.

“Human resources, as a non-profit cost centre, is an ideal candidate for outsourcing, given the state of the global economy. The incidence of large multinational organisations outsourcing their HR administrative functions such as payroll, recruitment or benefit administration to off-shore locations is also increasing.”

Almost 10% of Fortune 500 companies have some kind of HR business process outsourcing (BPO) agreement in place that covers full spectrum outsourcing. “These are typically multi-year agreements that span a multitude of processes such as core human resource management record-keeping, payroll, benefits administration, employee self service and call centres,” explains Terblanche.

HR BPO is the fastest growing segment of the overall business process outsourcing (BPO) market. “This statement is further underscored by the increasing number of middle-market BPO agreements that are being signed that do not necessarily have the level of complexity that a Fortune 500 company has. I define the middle-market segment more in terms of its complexity factors than by its revenue or headcount,” says Terblanche, further adding that the middle-market seems to be expanding into the HR BPO market.

From the many functions in human resources, it is typically the non-strategic and burdensome administrative functions that are shipped off to third-party suppliers of BPO. This trend is however changing to include more strategic functions such as organisational design, talent and performance management. The three pillars of outsourcing do however form a strong platform to work from to ensure the success of a BPO agreement:

1) Cost Gains: More often than not, the primary reason behind outsourcing is cost savings. If this is the only reason, and the outsourcing decision is based on cost savings in isolation, there is little guarantee of success. In fact, an analysis of the typical risk clauses in SLAs governing this space clearly shows that cost savings alone are unable to guarantee outsourcing success.

2) Efficiency Gains: This is undoubtedly a key driver in the outsourcing environment. Where third-party suppliers of BPO are innovators and are doing things smarter, the chances of successful outsourcing is greatly improved. Often, this is a function of the outsourcing partner`s ability to innovate with technology as an enabler as opposed to simply employing standard human capital management platforms and traditional technology.

3) Transformation Gains: The SIPP (Standard Integrated People Practices) model in human resources, in addition to a `right first time` methodology, inevitably leads to cost savings and innovation on standardisation. Often, the correct approach and definition of `work` as opposed to `people` is what confuses HR`s capability to drive the organisation`s strategic outcomes.

“Recent case studies indicate that where the three pillars of outsourcing are involved on an integrated basis, the potential success of HR outsourcing is increased significantly. It is therefore in the company`s best interest to keep these factors in mind when deciding on an HR BPO agreement,” concludes Terblanche.
Read more at http://pressoffice.eoh.co.za/three-pillars-of-human-resource-outsourcing#FYeuDPFIk5FMSDcz.99

Organisations hesitant to run core business applications in the cloud

Thursday, January 19, 2012
The concept of `the cloud` has been hyped-up by the industry to such an extent that one would be hard-pressed to find a technology business without some level of cloud strategy.

Jane Thomson, Managing Director of Softworx, a South African provider of business applications and local Infor partner, says: “As with any industry, the cloud is the ICT industry`s over-hyped buzzword that is used often, but is largely misunderstood.”

While 60% of South African organisations have expressed interest in the cloud, and while some organisations are moving some of their applications into the cloud, Thomson says the movement is still understandably cautious.

“South African business has taken initial steps running non-mission-critical applications like back-office operations, human resources, talent management and sales force automation in the cloud. The thinking is that, should the cloud fail under any circumstances, the core business of the organisation can still continue.”

Some of the major enterprise software providers are upping the ante when it comes to offering cloud-based applications: Infor, the world`s third-largest ERP vendor, has been touted as leading the migration of core industry processes to the cloud. Infor has already gained a significant subscription base, and with the recent introduction of Infor10, customers have the choice of the type of deployment they prefer.

“Infor10 offers flexible deployment options,” continues Thomson, “which I imagine will be an attractive selling point for South African customers.” Flexible deployment means Infor10 customers have the opportunity to select how much of the system they operate in the cloud. Customers can run their entire solution on Infor10 CloudSuite, or they can keep core enterprise systems on-premise, while running other applications or services in the cloud. The Infor10 CloudSuite Platform features a unified user experience and security, and enables two-tiered, hybrid deployments.

“Whether customers access functionality from in the cloud or in the more traditional licensing models, they get the same functionality and look-and-feel,” explains Thomson.

“Infor partners, such as Softworx, use local domain expertise to advise organisations which deployment would be best for their users to connect to any Infor applications. Customers can even move from one deployment model to another, since the same application code is used for all deployment models.”

As with most cloud applications, Infor10 CloudSuite has the benefit of allowing customers to choose the deployment option that suits their business best, as well as greatly reducing the initial multi-tenant solutions set-up time to hours and minutes, instead of days and weeks. Customers now also have the power to lower their capital budget requirements for system usage and reduce the overall burden on in-house IT staff.

“It is interesting to note that critical business software is making the move to the cloud, and I predict the uptake in South Africa, based on recessionary challenges and strategic business decisions in 2012, will show increasing acceleration,” concludes Thomson.
Read more at http://pressoffice.eoh.co.za/organisations-hesitant-to-run-core-business-applications-in-cloud#jpxacLrS5qTeegwT.99

EOH Microsoft Services announced as Microsoft Software Development Partner of the Year

Friday, January 13, 2012
During the recent Microsoft Partner Event that was hosted at the ICC, in Durban, EOH Microsoft Services, formerly known as Belay, walked away with the title of Microsoft Software Development Partner of the Year for the second year running.

The award recognises EOH Microsoft Services as the best Microsoft development business in the country, says Renesh Buldeo from EOH Microsoft Services, a division of EOH Mthombo.

“The process is quite a stringent one and requires a prospective candidate to hold a gold status rating with Microsoft. We had to quantify and qualify our efforts across a number of categories, focusing on innovation, the value delivered to our customers and the quality of the service delivered in accordance with Microsoft standards,” explains Buldeo.

We would not have been able to qualify for the award without the contribution of our staff, says Buldeo. “EOH Microsoft Services are very proud to have the calibre of people we have in our business, which instils a high level of confidence from our clients in our products and our level of service delivery. The award ultimately gives recognition to our people for another great year of outstanding customer delivery at EOH Microsoft Services,” concludes Buldeo.

For more information about EOH Microsoft Services, see: www.belay.co.za/.
Read more at http://pressoffice.eoh.co.za/eoh-microsoft-services-announced-as-microsoft-software-development-partner-of-year#GrfoIGEqKflKu88Q.99

Infor10 fuels business transformation at BAE Systems Military Air and Information

Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Infor, a leading provider of business application software with operations serving more than 70 000 customers, announced that BAE Systems Military Air and Information (MAI) has chosen Infor10 to support a substantial business transformation programme.

The solution, which integrates ERP, business intelligence, bar coding, and a supplier commerce portal through Infor10 ION, will enable BAE Systems MAI to rationalise and standardise its lean core business processes, improving operational efficiency and boosting performance in the delivery and support of major programs, such as the Eurofighter Typhoon and F35 Joint Strike Fighter.

Neil Cormack, Supply Chain Director of Softworx, a South African provider of business applications and local Infor partner, says Softworx has successfully deployed the core ERP solution (ERP LN) at two BAE Systems divisions in South Africa, with bar coded inventory management roll-out currently in-progress, and the third division is due to go live in mid-2012.

News points:

* The Integrated Infor10 solution chosen by BAE Systems MAI includes ERP, business intelligence, bar coding capabilities, a supplier commerce portal and a training tool designed to accelerate user adoption and performance.* Underpinning the solution is Infor10 ION, Infor’s unique, lightweight middleware, which will connect and integrate applications, enabling BAE Systems MAI to quickly extract information across the business. This improved visibility will accelerate effective decision-making and enhance BAE Systems MAI’s competitiveness when bidding for new projects.

* The Infor10 deployment will also incorporate Infor10 Workspace to provide a common look-and-feel and a single sign-on across the multiple applications. It delivers a consumer-grade experience and in-context intelligence that will help enable faster decision-making.

* Infor was selected as it can deliver a comprehensive, industry-specific solution, built on deep domain expertise in the aerospace and defence industry.

* Infor10 will be a key enabler in delivering BAE Systems MAI’s business transformation programme. BAE Systems MAI anticipates substantial savings through reduced licensing and IT maintenance costs.

* As part of the Infor10 solution, Infor10 Business Intelligence, powered by ION, will deliver contextual and near real-time information for management reporting, speeding up the time it currently takes BAE Systems MAI to collect and analyse data.

* By scanning goods received, allocating them to work orders and updating stock details, Infor10 Barcode will enable BAE Systems MAI to improve inventory processes, driving tighter management of stock and enhancing responsiveness.

“With tighter budgets and greater demands from defence customers around the world, our business is facing significant challenges but also a range of exciting opportunities in all our markets,” said Adrian Fallows, head of strategic business systems, BAE Systems MAI. “Supported by Infor10, this transformation programme will drive our competitiveness and ensure BAE Systems MAI is more efficient and responsive to market conditions.”

“The recession has hit defence spending hard and organisations like BAE Systems know they need to operate faster and smarter than the competition in order to win new business and reduce cost of defence platforms,” said Arsenin Rodriguez, director of business consulting, aerospace and defence, Infor. “The leaner, faster processes and live, contextual information which Infor10 delivers are crucial in driving quick, informed business decisions, and ensuring the agility necessary to exploit new opportunities within the defence sector.”

Additional resources:

Note: registration may be required to access online content
Infor10 – www.infor.com/solutions/infor10/
Infor Aerospace & Defense – www.infor.com/industries/aerospace/
Read more at http://pressoffice.eoh.co.za/infor10-fuels-business-transformation-at-bae-systems-military-air-and-information#Ge4hVL7ev6WJQMQ9.99