Global IT infrastructure specialist Siemon has announced two expert appointments to its African team; Iyer Sivakumar and René Proost. Together they will lead the sales support for the region, with Proost taking responsibility for South Africa and Namibia and Sivakumar leading in the majority of countries of East, West and North Africa.
Both recognised industry professionals, the duo have previously driven success for Siemon in other parts of the world and promise to bring that expertise to the rapidly developing market in Africa. Between them they have over 35 years of experience in the IT infrastructure market and established relationships with the industry’s thought leaders and technical innovators.
Sivakumar has grown Siemon’s business in the Middle East for the past four years and says that he plans to capitalise on that experience to share knowledge and expertise in Africa:
“With considerable mineral wealth and abundant natural resources, Africa is poised to increase its telecom infrastructure over the next five to 10 years,” he says.
“The quest for IT knowledge, especially in Africa’s growing professional ICT population is phenomenal. With Internet penetration still relatively low we see a huge challenge and opportunity for ICT growth especially with cabling infrastructure in the region.
“Banks are investing heavily in infrastructure and we see a serious data centre focus for the major institutions. Downtime is taken very seriously and so quality, reliability and resilience are key assets for Siemon to bring to African organisations.”
According to Proost, South Africa and Namibia faces rapid development with emerging market growth predictions forecasting GDP to climb at over four per cent each year, for the next 10 years.
He suggests that, “Investment is predictable in sectors such as finance, telecoms, government, industry and data centres over the next decade. With sights set on this timeframe, IT investment is likely to be spent on systems that offer future-proof bandwidth and the best return.”
In these rapidly growing markets Siemon reports that education and sharing of knowledge are key and commits to hold a series of technology events for end users, consultants and those in the IT channel to focus on the interest in physical infrastructure and data centre design, highlighting emerging topics such as power and cooling, plus convergence for intelligent buildings.
Proost will report to regional director for Siemon EMEA, Martin Verweij, whilst Sivakumar will continue to report to MD of Siemon EMEA, Steven Foster. He comments upon the company’s decision to deploy these two individuals to focus on support for the African markets.
Both recognised industry professionals, the duo have previously driven success for Siemon in other parts of the world and promise to bring that expertise to the rapidly developing market in Africa. Between them they have over 35 years of experience in the IT infrastructure market and established relationships with the industry’s thought leaders and technical innovators.
Sivakumar has grown Siemon’s business in the Middle East for the past four years and says that he plans to capitalise on that experience to share knowledge and expertise in Africa:
“With considerable mineral wealth and abundant natural resources, Africa is poised to increase its telecom infrastructure over the next five to 10 years,” he says.
“The quest for IT knowledge, especially in Africa’s growing professional ICT population is phenomenal. With Internet penetration still relatively low we see a huge challenge and opportunity for ICT growth especially with cabling infrastructure in the region.
“Banks are investing heavily in infrastructure and we see a serious data centre focus for the major institutions. Downtime is taken very seriously and so quality, reliability and resilience are key assets for Siemon to bring to African organisations.”
According to Proost, South Africa and Namibia faces rapid development with emerging market growth predictions forecasting GDP to climb at over four per cent each year, for the next 10 years.
He suggests that, “Investment is predictable in sectors such as finance, telecoms, government, industry and data centres over the next decade. With sights set on this timeframe, IT investment is likely to be spent on systems that offer future-proof bandwidth and the best return.”
In these rapidly growing markets Siemon reports that education and sharing of knowledge are key and commits to hold a series of technology events for end users, consultants and those in the IT channel to focus on the interest in physical infrastructure and data centre design, highlighting emerging topics such as power and cooling, plus convergence for intelligent buildings.
Proost will report to regional director for Siemon EMEA, Martin Verweij, whilst Sivakumar will continue to report to MD of Siemon EMEA, Steven Foster. He comments upon the company’s decision to deploy these two individuals to focus on support for the African markets.
“Clearly there is huge potential for growth in IT investment in many countries in Africa, so supporting decision makers in the region is a sensible move,” he says.
“Our strategy has always been to first offer support and so we have asked two of our most experienced commercial managers to lead our efforts in Africa. Together they will tailor our offering and ensure that those spending on technology get the best possible advice, the best and most reliable performance and the strongest return on their investment.”
“Our strategy has always been to first offer support and so we have asked two of our most experienced commercial managers to lead our efforts in Africa. Together they will tailor our offering and ensure that those spending on technology get the best possible advice, the best and most reliable performance and the strongest return on their investment.”