Sidwell Ngqandu, former GM and acting CIO of the South African State Information Technology Agency (SITA) has been appointed sales director at Columbus Technologies, a subsidiary of the Swiss-based Brainware group.
He replaces Theo Fourie who is moving into an operations role and will also be managing the company’s relationships with its international partners.
Columbus Technologies is an internationally recognised, award-winning enterprise tier one OEM developer in South Africa. It provides comprehensive solutions in the areas of centralised life cycle management of IT infrastructure, from operating system rollouts, to automated software management, and updates and ongoing security patches.
Ngqandu is a Certified Information Systems Auditor who has an MBA from the North West University, and has completed an executive development programme at Gibs and a senior management programme at the University of Pretoria.
“Sidwell has a wealth of experience in ICT governance and management, and has advised a large number of senior CIOs on governance, asset management, information security and ICT infrastructure management, which makes him ideal for the position of sales director at the company,” says Mpume Dywili, CEO of Columbus Technologies.
“He also has longstanding links with the Government IT Officers (GITO) Council. We needed a senior team member who can not only represent the company at government level, but also add value to our customers as an advisor on a range of ICT policy and governance issues. In addition, Sidwell also has a wealth of experience in project management, which is a great advantage.”
Ngqandu says he made the decision to join Columbus Technologies as it’s a South African company with excellent local development capability in OEM and professional services and is backed by strong ties with the international Brainware group.
“Our ability to provide asset management, contract management, mobile device management and general infrastructure management through an easy to use, flexible set of modules with strong local training and support, makes us a good fit for solving many of government’s immediate ICT management and compliance needs,” adds Ngqandu.
“This applies equally to the private sector, where we are also aiming to retain and grow business.”
Prior to joining Columbus Technologies, he had a developed a working relationship with the directors and was impressed with the direction in which they have taken the business.
“My goal is to help build Columbus Technologies into the ICT company of choice for government CIOs,” he adds.
He replaces Theo Fourie who is moving into an operations role and will also be managing the company’s relationships with its international partners.
Columbus Technologies is an internationally recognised, award-winning enterprise tier one OEM developer in South Africa. It provides comprehensive solutions in the areas of centralised life cycle management of IT infrastructure, from operating system rollouts, to automated software management, and updates and ongoing security patches.
Ngqandu is a Certified Information Systems Auditor who has an MBA from the North West University, and has completed an executive development programme at Gibs and a senior management programme at the University of Pretoria.
“Sidwell has a wealth of experience in ICT governance and management, and has advised a large number of senior CIOs on governance, asset management, information security and ICT infrastructure management, which makes him ideal for the position of sales director at the company,” says Mpume Dywili, CEO of Columbus Technologies.
“He also has longstanding links with the Government IT Officers (GITO) Council. We needed a senior team member who can not only represent the company at government level, but also add value to our customers as an advisor on a range of ICT policy and governance issues. In addition, Sidwell also has a wealth of experience in project management, which is a great advantage.”
Ngqandu says he made the decision to join Columbus Technologies as it’s a South African company with excellent local development capability in OEM and professional services and is backed by strong ties with the international Brainware group.
“Our ability to provide asset management, contract management, mobile device management and general infrastructure management through an easy to use, flexible set of modules with strong local training and support, makes us a good fit for solving many of government’s immediate ICT management and compliance needs,” adds Ngqandu.
“This applies equally to the private sector, where we are also aiming to retain and grow business.”
Prior to joining Columbus Technologies, he had a developed a working relationship with the directors and was impressed with the direction in which they have taken the business.
“My goal is to help build Columbus Technologies into the ICT company of choice for government CIOs,” he adds.