Datacentrix's transformation journey yields fruit

After a years-long transformational journey, Datacentrix has made significant gains in delivering an agile, single-minded, customer-centric company with the capability to assist customers in navigating the ever-changing information technology (IT) landscape.

The integrated information and communication technology (ICT) systems provider was starting to see the fruits of its integration strategy as it delivered double-digit growth for the third consecutive year.

“We have aligned our capability to optimise our response to changing market conditions, as well as to leverage opportunities in the market and drive efficiencies,” said Datacentrix CEO Ahmed Mahomed on Tuesday.

Speaking at a presentation of the group’s full-year financial results, he said that, from a products-focused group to a predominantly complex infrastructure solutions group, the role of Datacentrix in the market was no longer “one of merely” upgrading technology, but of helping businesses to optimise the benefits of the “always-on, connected world” through the provision of “competitively priced, scalable, fit-for-purpose solutions.”

“Fundamentally, the business has changed . . . What we have built is an agile and integrated business,” he commented.

Equipped with a portfolio of most of the significant enterprise hardware and software vendor partners, the fundamental business principles, including strong technical and execution capability, seamless integration of all technology disciplines and an integrated business, were in place and being maintained.

“Datacentrix achieved double-digit growth [during the financial year to February 2016] despite tough economic conditions, an achievement we believe can be directly attributed to the company’s unique positioning within the current marketplace,” Mahomed added.

Financial pressures across the board were “shrinking IT budgets”, leaving customers seeking out competitively priced, fit-for-purpose solutions that were scalable and provided more capability for less.

Further, as a Pinnacle Holdings company, Datacentrix now had further access to an extended solution set and had eliminated the need to source alternative vendors or solutions in noncore areas.

In January, Pinnacle raised its stake in Datacentrix to 55.3%.

This had changed the dynamics of the company, with Datacentrix already extracting benefit from the synergies with the Pinnacle group, with combined critical mass gaining it cost efficiencies, a better footprint in Africa and an expanded offering, Mahomed explained.

Going forward, Datacentrix aimed to continue with its strategy to expand both organically and acquisitively.