Global analytics software and services company, SAS, and JSE-listed technology company Altron, today announced the signing of a strategic partnership agreement, with exclusivity for the public sector.
The two companies will combine their strengths in a collaborative effort to help customers in South Africa transform their data into intelligence through the application of analytic software and services, focusing on all industries with exclusivity for the public sector.
A first for SAS in the South African market, this landmark partnership will see Altron establish a dedicated SAS business unit within its Bytes Systems Integration (Altron BSI) operation to sell and licence SAS software to support both the public and private sectors in industries such as financial services, retail, healthcare, education, revenue services etc.
Mteto Nyati, Altron Group Chief Executive, pointed out that the strategic partnership between Altron and SAS will empower our customers to make informed decisions through analytics in critical areas of business such as workforce management, detection of fraudulent payments, public safety information to keep watch on offender crime rates and patters, immigration violations and the like.
“When data is correctly processed and analysed, it is possible to make predictions about behaviours, potential risks, fraud and likely outcomes etc.,” he said. “For example, predictions made by means of an algorithm could be used to adjust the deployment of police services to address challenges of citizen safety and security in South Africa.”
“As Altron is a proudly South African company with an extensive customer base and deep local expertise, this partnership will enable us to deploy our solutions into the market with speed and agility to help our customers transform their data into intelligence and insights. It also illustrates the synergies between us – we are the global leader in advanced data analytics, while data analytics is one of Altron’s focus areas for growth as a business,” said Desan Naidoo, SAS Vice President for Africa.
He added that the partnership between Altron and SAS would be built on the principles of mutual value, complementary value proposition and the shared commitment to provide extended value to our customers and the public sector community.
“We are already providing a breadth of technology solutions to our customers and this partnership with SAS will expand our offering in data analytics. Our customers will receive end-to-end solutions for their data analytics requirements,” Nyati added.
The Global Business Intelligence & Analytics Market is poised to grow to US$26.78 billion by 2020, with a strong emphasis and growth predictions in regions such as the Middle East and Africa where it is expected to reach between US$3.8 and US$4.2 billion in the same period.
Edited by Fundisiwe Maseko
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