GijimaAst snares R122m deal

Johannesburg, 11 Feb 2008

JSE-listed ICT firm GijimaAst has won a five-year, R122 million contract to deliver support services to Anglo Platinum.

The deal sees GijimaAst provide SAP support to Anglo Plats' SA, Zimbabwe and Zurich operations. This includes mining operations, refineries and beneficiation plants, as well as administration and support areas.

GijimaAst CEO Jonas Bogoshi says this deal builds on a relationship already established with the mining giant.

"This strengthens our strategic partnership with the Anglo Group. To date, we have been supplying our mining software through our GMSI subsidiary, as well as some areas of support. This deal marks our entry into the SAP support environment at Anglo," he explains.

GijimaAst will deliver support to Anglo Plats' ERP systems, including finance, HR, asset management, in- and out-bound logistics, as well as technical services like SAP basis and development. The company will also be responsible for the integration of standard support services through its business consulting competency.

Anglo Plats hopes this deal will reduce the amount of management time previously spent on the system, as well as cut the costs associated with an applications support environment.

Company CIO Alistair Knock comments: "GijimaAst was chosen based on its track record in SAP consulting and its ability to provide integrated solutions across business systems, including our core mining systems."

The mining sector already accounts for nearly 15% of GijimaAst's revenue. The company employs more than 60 mining engineers for the deployment and servicing of technology, and 150 SAP and Microsoft specialists, with specific experience of the mining industry.

However, Bogoshi says there is still a "wealth" of opportunity available in the ICT sector.

"Our partnerships are beginning to come through for us. We've put a lot of investment into GMSI and worked hard on building our competencies on SAP and Microsoft. Mining customers, like Anglo, who have used us in one area, can improve their return by extending these programmes to a company that understands all sides. However, the real benefit will come when the mining and enterprise processes are integrated," he explains.