Didata to seal Nigerian deal
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Information Technology Editor
DIMENSION Data (Didata) will today sign an agreement with the oil-rich Nigerian state of Akwa Ibom to be its information technology partner.
The work likely to be undertaken by Didata during the three-year contract is yet to be finalised, but the state is expected to spend between $10m and 15m a year on its technology needs.
Executive state governor Obong Victor Attah and members of the science and technology secretariat will sign a memorandum of understanding at Didata's Bryanston headquarters. Akwa Ibom is one of Nigeria's 37 states and produces about a third of the country's oil.
The is the first time Didata has won a significant deal in Nigeria, said James McCormack, the head of its Into Africa operations.
"This is an important step for us and we hope this long-term contract will lead to further business."
The first phase will see Didata earn 250000 in a three-month task to compile a detailed plan to get the state's ambitious ideas off the ground.
"At the moment the state has very little technology," said McCormack. " Part of our work is to make sure that the areas we work in have reliable power supplies."
One of Didata's main tasks will be to equip a science and technology park to house an incubation centre and, in theory, to attract high-tech companies to a central location.
"We will be kitting out those buildings with a technology infrastructure including servers, desktop computers and networks for 3000 government workers. We will train 300 of those 3000 in a trainthe-trainers programme," he said.
Didata will also create a network to connect the state's 18 different secretariats and give them all internet access.
Dec 05 2003 07:13:32:000AM Lesley Stones Business Day 1st Edition
Profile Group (Pty) Ltd. has taken care in preparing all information on this website, but does not accept any liability for errors or out-of-date information.
