Avnet Kopp has appointed Petrus Booyens as a dedicated Microsoft Embedded specialist with a specific remit to develop the very significant opportunity for its operating systems in South Africa. In his new role, Petrus Booyens will be working directly with Nick Donaldson, marketing director, Software, at Avnet Embedded, who leads the Avnet Microsoft Embedded team in EMEA. Booyens will focus on Microsoft Embedded brand awareness in South Africa and also work closely with the Microsoft SA office to uncover opportunities for Windows Embedded.
During a recent visit to South Africa, Nick Donaldson said, “The market in South Africa for embedded operating systems is sizeable, but awareness of Microsoft Embedded is still very low. Avnet and Microsoft are strongly committed to investing in the region to make the South African embedded development community aware of the Microsoft family of solutions and the potential that they offer. Petrus’ expertise is truly outstanding, and his appointment will be a great benefit for customers working with this very exciting family of operating systems.”
In his new role, Petrus Booyens will be responsible for the day-to-day running of the Microsoft franchise in South Africa and will work closely with Nick Donaldson as well as Steve Sharp, Windows Embedded account manager, Microsoft, to drive awareness campaigns and build the market in South Africa. Nick Donaldson and Steve Sharp kicked off the program with a two-week tour of Johannesburg and Cape Town visiting customers and partners to understand the market and customer needs. The visits coincided with a series of training events also conducted in Johannesburg and Cape Town, including a series of hands-on training courses from partner ROK Technology where customers bring their own hardware to complete practical exercises on.
“Our training courses are always popular particularly with customers who are developing on their own hardware. Not only do they gain official Microsoft curriculum but they also leave with working Windows Embedded operating systems running on their own systems,” said Jason Tolley of ROK. “It is a great way to learn about the technologies and results in a fast time to market, one of the key advantages to using Windows Embedded. Avnet, Microsoft and ROK are investing in the South African marketplace and it’s important that companies and developers understand the support and advise that is available to them. Jointly we offer experience and resources to South African companies, including business, marketing and technical support, product training and development resources. All companies need to do is make contact and discuss their problems, needs and projects.” said Jason Tolley.
The success of these events will be followed up with regular in-depth training and technical events, including hands-on training and presentations with partner ROK Technology which is keen to promote the fact that organisations and developers in South Africa are not alone.
One customer, Paul Duvenage, Dev InfoTec SA, said, “The visit was a very pleasant surprise; we never thought that sending one of our team, Darko Arnautvic on the training program would put us in direct contact with Avnet and Microsoft. Clearly the trip represented a considerable investment for the two companies, showing their commitment to their customers. For us, it indicated that these global companies are keen to engage with small companies like ours. It also assisted us greatly by putting us in touch with hardware vendors. And we signed up for the Windows Embedded partner program that same evening.”
Lorraine Bardeen, group marketing manager, Windows Embedded Business, said: “Microsoft is focused on helping its partners throughout the region support their customer base. For us, their success is our success. The EMEA market is continuing to show strong signs of growth potential and our investment in markets such as South Africa, where demand is rapidly scaling, represents our commitment is to the regional partner community. Dedicated Microsoft Embedded Specialists are key people in helping to make Windows Embedded technologies and platforms available in new markets and accessible to new customers.”
For more information contact Petrus Booyens, Avnet Kopp, +27 (0)11 809 6100, petrus.booyens@avnet.co.za, www.avnet.co.za
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