Intelligent CIO Africa Issue 10 | Page 7

NEWS Oracle NetSuite expands business operations in South Africa cloud ERP in the region from fast growing, innovative and emerging international businesses. “South Africa and the region as a whole, represent the next great opportunity for NetSuite,” said Mark Woodhams, Oracle NetSuite Vice President EMEA. “This announcement is further proof that, with the global resources of Oracle behind us, we can now scale rapidly and better serve the needs of the region.” Oracle NetSuite has announced the expansion of business operations in South Africa. With the support of Oracle’s global resources behind it, NetSuite has added a dedicated sales team and new leadership; new solution provider partners to strengthen its existing partner ecosystem; and new customers such as Jasco and ElectroMechanica on NetSuite OneWorld. This expansion is in response to the increasing demand for “The South African market is uniquely positioned for this expanded investment in the region,” said Khaled Ismail, Vice President, Oracle Digital Application Business, ECEMEA. “Companies here are realising the value, flexibility and scalability of the cloud and are beginning to understand that their ageing, legacy on-premise systems are no longer meeting their needs in this digital age.” As part of its expansion strategy, in addition to its existing partner in the region, BlueBridge One, NetSuite added four new implementation partners operating in South Africa, including Business Connexion, EOH Mthombo, Dimension Data, and XZQ Services. SA’s Belgium Campus ITversity joins Infor Education Alliance Programme Earlier this month, Eyewitness News reported that the latest South African jobs statistics continue to reflect an appallingly high unemployment rate. For this reason, Belgian entrepreneurs, Jan Rombouts and Enrico Jacobs established the Belgium Campus in 1999. The Campus strives to alleviate the educational and unemployment challenges in South Africa, specifically by aiding candidates in meeting the critical skills needs in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector. With a focus on continuous improvement, and in recognition of the dire need to integrate technology and innovation into education, the Campus has joined the Infor Education Alliance Programme (EAP). The Infor EAP delivers next-generation tools for future leaders, and works with local universities across www.intelligentcio.com the EMEA region. Participants in the programme get access to specialised software packages, training materials, and customised learning experiences, using groundbreaking technology that is already transforming work for more than 90,000 organisations worldwide. The Director of the Infor EAP, EMEA, Mark Stewart concludes; “We are very excited to work with the university to support their students with career opportunities at Infor and with its master partner in this region, Softworx. It’s great to be partnering with this leading institution in South Africa. Belgium Campus has a unique approach and focus in developing top talent to serve the IT industry. This alliance adds to this, allowing students to take their knowledge of technology and apply this to a growing demand for digital skills in business.” Mark Stewart, Director of the Infor EAP, EMEA INTELLIGENTCIO 7