Former IS director joins Vharanani

Johannesburg, 12 Apr 2010

Public sector specialist and former Internet Solutions (IS) director, Collen Mashawana, has emerged as Vharanani Consulting Services executive director responsible for driving revenue and business development. With a wealth of experience and knowledge in government, Mashawana will continue in his new role to assist government in its quest to improve its service delivery.

Vharanani Consulting Services (VCS) is a 100% black-owned company that provides IT consulting and project management services to national, provincial and local government, including state-owned entities.

Having worked for a number of multinational companies over the years, Mashawana is currently shareholder and serves on the boards of various other reputable organisations. He joined Vharanani Consulting in 2009, where he is also a board member and shareholder.

Mashawana has built a strong relationship with the three spheres of South African government, devoting a lot of time to understand government's service delivery mandate. In his new role, he focuses on assisting government meet its service delivery promise by providing all IT requirements from identifying the deliverables, understanding the business objectives, the budget, the mandate and the delivery timeframes.

He says the first part of this service delivery is reducing overheads to allow government departments to use available funds to improve service delivery. “I have always maintained that in order to get a good understanding of government departments, it is critical to look at their budgets to realise where the biggest needs are. Only by understanding the role that technology plays in service delivery, is it possible to provide solutions that meet the needs of government and also support any service delivery objectives.”

Vharanani Consulting Services offers a range of services from managing a single project to complete IT outsource. It includes assessment, design and implementation, management and support, security and disaster recovery. Its knowledgeable professionals can assist in documenting policies, procedures and controls, and can also assess and implement regulation - mandated security and business continuity plans.

The company also provides planning services for strategic planning of development institutions, project formulation, development product design, and implementation planning. Its planning facilitators are experienced in the logical framework approach to planning, as well as objectives oriented strategic planning facilitation.

“Government has placed an increasing focus on service delivery and has realigned its various departments in order to achieve this. As a service provider to government, it is the job of Vharanani Consulting Services to support government in its quest,” he concludes.

Vharanani Consulting Services (VCS)

Vharanani Consulting Services (VCS) is a 100% black-owned company that provides IT consulting services and project management mostly in national, provincial, local government and state-owned entities. Based in Johannesburg and Limpopo, the company employs experts across the range of specialised areas. Its team is diverse, not only in terms of its racial and gender mix, but also in terms of the skills and experience they offer. The growth of Vharanani Properties and the demand from clients for turnkey IT solutions to complement their property requirements resulted in the launch of Vharanani Consulting Services as a standalone IT business.

The company focuses on addressing all IT requirements from identifying the deliverables, understanding the business objectives, the budget, the mandate and the delivery timeframes. Vharanani Consulting Services remains close to the implementation to ensure projects are successfully implemented. Vharanani Consulting Services also makes use of partners in the industry through its wide business networks and combined experience in the information technology, construction and development sectors.

As a result of this network, it is able to put together the best combination of skills required by any project and provide the necessary management to ensure an effective outcome within the right time and the allocated budget.

Both shareholders and most of its employees have worked within the government and understand the challenges, business drive, legislature, mandate and the importance of service delivery. It believes that all institutions - public, private or civil society - have a duty and role in the development process. This commitment to development is visible in its business approach, values and quest for innovation and excellence.

Vharanani Consulting Services remains independent of any hardware or software vendor relationship. As a result, each of its consultants objectively serves as a trusted technology advisor to any market depending on what best suits their environment and strategy. It provides services with honesty, integrity and professionalism. It seeks to create a collaborative partnership with all its clients as it provides innovative and state-of-the-art solutions that ensure efficiency and growth. It has a vision to become a dynamic and value driven organisation achieving excellence in the development of information technology solutions that are current and effective.

The range of services Vharanani Consulting Services offers is limitless from managing a single project to complete IT outsource. Services include assessment, design and implementation, management and support, security and disaster recovery. Its knowledgeable professionals can assist in documenting policies, procedures and controls, and can also assess and implement regulation - mandated security and business continuity plans.

Vharanani Consulting Services also provides planning services for strategic planning of development institutions, project formulation, development product design, and implementation planning. Its planning facilitators are experienced in the logical framework approach to planning, as well as objectives oriented strategic planning facilitation.

The company has established project management and implementation capacity which provides the following services: programme and project design; output oriented implementation management; financial administration and management; monitoring and evaluation of programmes and projects; stakeholder management to ensure that all relevant stakeholders in development programmes are kept informed and supportive of objectives and implementation processes.

Vharanani Consulting Services prides itself on the capacity and skills of its professional staff and associates in order to ensure high quality service.

Editorial contacts