IBM and Workgroup have concluded a strategic distribution agreement which will Workgroup to distribute IBM hardware brands. Workgroup will distribute products including partner industry specific solutions, IBM services and training facilitation, throughout Africa.
According to Lillian Barnard, Business Partners Executive, IBM Sub-Saharan Africa this announcement is key to supporting the organisations strategic growth focus. “IBM’s investments in 2011 are focused on high-potential opportunities of which one is the Africa Region. The growth plan is to expand to 40 Branch Offices by 2015 and to capture this hyper growth; we needed broad and effective strategies for distribution.” says Barnard.
“IBM has already made significant investments into Africa including new operations in Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana. Angola, Senegal and Tanzania will come on line in the next 6 months. IBM is very serious about Africa and we are very serious about Africa locally.”
“This partnership is an important step forward for Workgroup IT as this move will assist us in solidifying IBM’s presence and brand consciousness in the African market,” says Doug Woolley, MD of Workgroup IT. “We’ve already cemented our position as a leading software and hardware supplier in the Sub-Saharan Africa region, and we are confident in our ability to do the same for IBM in Africa.”
“Workgroup offers a sound distribution structure and this distribution agreement will go a long way towards providing IBM with the right channel requirements around access to IBM products and customised solutions in the region,” he adds.
By Angela Meadon
