Opteq S.A Boost Expansion Plans With New 10 Year Exclusivity License

At a ceremony at Opteq South Africa’s ( OSA) Head Office in Woodmead Johannesburg last month Mike Zietsman the C.E.O of OSA and the M.D. of Opteq Systems International ( OSI) signed a new 10 year Licensing, Agency and Operating Agreement operative from 16th July 2010.

 

The Agreement is a renewal of the previous contract initiated when OSA launched in 2005 and gives OSA an exclusive license to market the Opteq iQ offerings in the Republic of South Africa through to July 2020, and is renewable thereafter on a 5 year cycle given that the terms and conditions of the Agreement are met to both parties satisfaction. In addition under the terms of the new Agreement should OSI wish to enter any new market in any other territory, it shall afford OSA the first right of refusal to conclude an agreement for that territory/country based substantially on terms similar to the current Agreement.

 

The driving idea behind OSA’s flagship product, Opteq IQ, is to get the most out of a customer’s network by providing a comprehensive and flexible Network Management, WAN Optimisation, Network Management & Network Security Solutions on one platform offering a modular package unmatched in today’s market. The solution is built on a robust optimised operating system which saves costs and through an easy-to-deploy, easy-to-use web browser user interface, it completely removes the complexity of network operations management without compromising capability or ability. Opteq iQ is a solution platform that enables organisations to manage their networks and related infrastructure in the same way that they manage the rest of their business.

 

A key ingredient in the initial success of OSA was the creation and marketing of Remote Management Services (RMS).  RMS was developed & implemented by Opteq SA as a remote managed support service to all Opteq SA clients. Ninety percent of Opteq customers rely on these services and each is tailored according to the customer’s particular requirements and the extent of the modules of the Opteq solution utilised.

 

 

Following the signing of the Agreement Mike |Zietsman said

 

“ This is a very important step for OSA, and dovetails with the expansion programme we have for the business and our client base. We have come a long way in our first 5 years. We have created product awareness and have established a solid blue-chip customer base, in the private, government and ISP sectors. We will continue to build on the enormous potential we have identified there, but included in  our future plans is a greater focus on our reseller programme by appointing ISP’s to offer the range of Opteq iQ solutions to their client base as a managed service. The Opteq managed service solution will play a vital role for companies looking at making use of Cloud Computing or Hosted Services while managing and securing WAN connectivity.

 

In the first two years we traded profitably, but the global economic downturn had a negative impact on most businesses, and we at OS.A. experienced our share of pain, with the commercial sector drawing back from or delaying large I.T. project investment. Thankfully, we had already decided to re-focus much of our activity towards the public sector, as we knew that this was a market where there was a definite need to catch up, that it was urgent, and that money was available to invest. With the Opteq iQ modular product range, OSA is clearly a leader in its field. However, despite our impressive list of clients and install base, OSA recognises that we still have the capability to grow our business substantially in South Africa and Africa as a whole. It is the intention of OSA to develop the national regions and provide a platform for growth into the rest of Africa.

 

The duration and terms of our new agreement with OSI gives us the ideal platform to take forward our expansion progamme. The growth plans for which OSA will shortly be seeking funding have always been at the heart of both OSI and OSA’s strategic direction, and had it not been for the global recession of 2008/9 may well have been implemented some 12 to 18 months ago. In terms of achieving OSA’s goals  we need investment capital and we are looking to raise an initial minimum of R20m, but ideally within 12 months a further R10m to allow us to speed up our research, planning and entry into the other African Markets. It is our intention to issue a detailed Information Memorandum to potential lenders/partners later this month inviting indicative proposals by mid September 2010, and from the responses received a preferred bidder list will be compiled to allow a full due diligence process. Final bids should be submitted by end October 2010, which should enable funding to be secured and put in place by the end of this calendar year.

 

Since the Opteq iQ product was brought to market in 2005 OSA have learned some invaluable lessons, all of which have been taken into account in our future expansion plans. OSA believe the strategy to adopt a staged development is the right approach, and delivering the goods in South Africa will generate profits to invest for growth, and we believe will make it easier to attract the considerable cash injection to launch on a staged global basis. In 2006, figures from the International Data Corporation, calculated the IT spend in South Africa as just short of $7billion, and the IT spend in the Middle East and the African continent as around $24 billion. There are therefore considerable opportunities for growth on home territory initially, where Opteq already has a presence and respected brand name. However it has to be recognised, that RSA’s share of the worldwide IT spend is less than 0.5% which demonstrates the attraction of a staged global penetration.”

 

Further details about the OSA product range and services can be obtained from the OSA web site www.opteq.co.za or by contacting Nicci Goodfellow the Marketing |Manager at OSA on 011 234 0296, or e.mail to niccig@opteq.co.za.

Any-one requiring further details about OSA’s expansion programme should contact Tim Hansford the Director of Marketing and Strategy on 011 234 0296 or e.mail to timh@opteq.co.za.

 

                                   

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