Software and solutions company DVT has opened the doors to its new 2 000 square metre premises in Cape Town’s fast-growing Northgate Island precinct, heralding the start of a massive expansion drive that will see the company more than double its headcount in the next two years.
The move was prompted by the rapid growth and success of the DVT’s Global Testing Centre in Cape Town, now the largest specialist software testing centre in the Southern Hemisphere. DVT is the engine room of Dynamic Technology Holdings, the largest privately-owned software group in Africa and is actively expanding its services portfolio into developed regions like the UK, Australia and the US.
Keynote speaker and official ribbon cutter at the launch event in Cape Town this week, Alan Winde, the Provincial Minister of Economic Opportunities for the Western Cape Government, says that DVT is a shining example of the initiative and leadership required for the advancement of job creation in the region.
“Our job as Government is to create an ecosystem and an environment that makes a real difference to the people that live in this region, that allows and encourages the economy to grow,” says Winde.
“We have a mandate from the 6,5-million people that live in the region – our customers – and as part of that mandate have made an R800-million commitment through numerous programmes like CapaCiTi 1000 to create opportunities in this dynamic ICT sector in close co-operation with partners like DVT,” he says.
“How do we remove the red tape and clear a path for young people that want opportunities to follow their passions and develop their skills in this space? We do it by investing in them and building bigger and better places for them to work, which is why this DVT expansion is so exciting for me personally.
“We also do it by creating and testing new technologies that shape and shift our economy forward every day, and what better place to do that than in the biggest software development and testing centre on the continent.”
DVT CEO Jaco van der Merwe said the Global Testing Centre is an example of what can be achieved if companies focus on growth-creation opportunities, not only for their customers but also their staff.
“DVT started in Cape Town so it’s appropriate that the next step of our evolution has now started in Cape Town as well,” says Van der Merwe.
“Our work within the greater social fabric of the region through programmes like the Western Cape Government’s CapaCiTi program – which together with our own Learnership and internship programs accounts for more than 90% of our Global Testing Centre staff intake – shows the sensitivity shown to both market demand and social demand,” he says.
“The one always goes with the other, especially in South Africa where the needs of both camps are crying out for intelligent, consistent investment and growth.”
DVT MD for the Western Cape region Jacques Fouché says the new space gives DVT the room it needs to follow its ambitious growth trajectory.
“We’re looking to double the capacity of the Global Testing Centre, which translates directly into a significant increase in the intake of trainee testers and developers from schools, universities and CapaCiTi over the next 18 months to two years,” he says.
“In doing so we’re not only opening the doors for more opportunities for bright young minds in the region, but also for more opportunities for the company in places like the UK where we’re already working with customers to create a follow-the-sun software testing service far more attractive than they’d find in almost any other region.”
DVT founder and Group CEO, Chris Wilkins, praised the attributes of the DVT team and the vision shown by government leaders like Alan Winde as the catalysts for DVT’s foray into new markets.
“Without (Global Testing Centre COO) Mario Matthee there would be no Testing Centre, and without Jacques Fouché there would be no launchpad for DVT from Cape Town to the rest of the world,” he says.
“Testing is an accepted offshore competency, it’s a huge market, and we now have a great springboard to push into territories like the UK, Australia and the US,” he says. “We have a definitive 5 to 10-year plan at the highest level, and this investment is very much a signal that the plan is in action.”
