| Mon 28 Oct 2002, 16:14 | | SPESCOM ANNOUNCES LATEST BEE ENDEAVOUR |
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SPESCOM ANNOUNCES LATEST BEE ENDEAVOUR
Spescom Limited
ISIN: ZAE000017919
SHARE CODE: SPS
Johannesburg, October 28, 2002: In its latest Empowerment initiative,
multi-national technology innovator, Spescom, has announced that certain
strategic aspects of the group`s Cisco Systems network business will move to
Sourcecom - a company committed to the goal of becoming the leading BEE IT
player in the country.
According to Spescom`s CEO, SA Operations, Vernon Leas, the deal will
benefit both businesses.
"Spescom and Sourcecom have enjoyed a close association for some time now,
particularly with regard to network equipment and voice network systems related
business. This deal will translate into the development of a symbiotic
relationship that will see potential projects in relevant areas being passed on,
or shared, between the two organisations.
"Spescom thoroughly values the relationship we have enjoyed with Cisco
Systems over the years. Through this collaborative relationship with
Sourcecom we hope to obtain optimum market penetration in our respective
fields," says Leas.
He notes that Spescom attained a number of world-first, innovative
solutions in the IP call centre arena.
Leas confirms that the deal was particularly attractive to Spescom as it
provided the group with another opportunity to support BEE initiatives in IT.
"Due to its BEE profile, Sourcecom has distinct advantages in a number of key
market areas. This will enable both companies to explore new projects with their
respective unique expertise, which should yield mutual and customer benefits.
Spescom is dedicated to its empowerment programme and also to serve the best
interests of customers, shareholders and staff. The implementation of this
agreement is testament to this commitment," confirms Leas.
The agreement provides for Sourcecom to take over the Cisco corporate
network customers as well as existing Service Level Agreements (SLA`s),
where required.
Sourcecom`s national services manager, Tim Pryce, says the deal will allow the
company to broaden its skills base in Cisco technologies.
"Sourcecom is active in providing Cisco-based, large-scale network
solutions with advanced traffic management and content delivery
networking. In addition we offer security solutions, wireless LAN
solutions and converged voice and data networks," says Pryce.
According to Pryce, Sourcecom possesses one of the most advanced BEE
programmes in the country, with over 80% of the company equity, 75% of its
technical skills and three of its five directors being drawn from this sector.
"The acquisition of an established customer base from Spescom further
strengthens our position in the market as well as our initiative to be
demographically representative at all levels," Pryce concludes.
ends
About Spescom
Spescom is a multi-national technology innovator with direct operations in the
US, UK and South Africa.
The group is publicly listed on the JSE Securities Exchange SA (Spescom
Ltd), and on the NASDAQ OTCBB : ALTS.OB (Spescom Software Inc).
Spescom addresses the information and communications technology market
providing both products and solutions to connect to the network economy, as well
as enterprise software to manage information and knowledge.
Specifically, Spescom provides solutions in the areas of access network;
enterprise information management; multimedia transaction recording; broadcast;
customer contact centres; and test & measurement.
Spescom markets its products worldwide through appointed partners and
distributors under the eB(tm) brand for its enterprise software, and the
DataVoice(tm) brand for its multimedia transaction recording solutions.
Spescom`s global customer base consists of multi-national organisations
including leading enterprises in the utilities, telecommunications,
transportation, financial, banking and insurance sectors.
Worldwide, customers include Siemens, British Telecoms, Network Rail
(formerly Railtrack), Lloyds of London, Barclays Bank, Abbey National
Bank, WH Smith, Caterpillar, Bechtel, AmerenUE, Entergy, Bombardier, Ocean
Energy, Sempra Energy, Telkom, SABC, Old Mutual, Eskom, Transnet, First
National Bank.
For more information on Spescom, please visit www.spescomsoftware.com and
www.spescom.com
Barbara Kruger,
Spescom chief communications officer,
Tel: +27 11 266 1701
fax: +27 11 266 1553
Cell: 082 456 0328
Email: bkruger@spescom.com
or
Deirdre Blain
BLAIN & ASSOCIATES
Tel: +27 11 789-8548
Fax: +27 11 789-8567
Cell: 083-305 8859
Email: blain@iafrica.com
Date: 28/10/2002 03:50:00 PM Produced by the JSE SENS Department
