Value-added distributor Networks Unlimited Africa is celebrating its 25th year in business in 2019.
The company distributes best-of-breed products and offers the best and latest solutions within the converged technology, data centre, networking, and security landscapes.
CEO Anton Jacobsz notes: “For any company, 25 years in business is a significant milestone and this anniversary provides an important opportunity to celebrate not only where we are today as a business, but also how we reached this point. It is incredible to look back and see how certain things have changed – and yet the important variables have stayed the same.”
Headquartered in Centurion, Networks Unlimited Africa also has regional offices in Cape Town, Durban, Kenya and Mauritius, as well as representatives in the SADC, central African and west African regions.
The company was founded in 1994 by Craig Copeland and Wayne Bird, who met while working at the UK headquarters of network management company, Networks Unlimited. After successful negotiations with the UK firm,the duo established Networks Unlimited SA in Cape Town in 1994.
Jacobsz notes: “Initially the company was run in much the same vein as its UK counterpart, as a service orientated company. Once a respectable customer base had been established, including notable local blue chip companies, Craig Copeland and Wayne Bird decided the time was right to depart from this focus and establish the organisation as a product-orientated business, moving the firm towards network management, security and product solutions.”
Today, the company is led by Jacobsz, who joined Networks Unlimited Africa in 2013, with Bird and Copeland remaining involved at director level.
Jacobsz has been involved in the IT industry for a total of 29 years, spending 19 of these in senior management positions. He oversees the business from the Centurion head office, with the two directors remaining based at the regional Cape Town office.
Networks Unlimited Africa’s current portfolio includes a number of cutting edge solutions – from the network edge to the data centre. Its products and solutions address key areas such as cybersecurity in the IT/OT space; hybrid cloud; datacentre and infrastructure; networking and integration; SD-WAN solutions; network performance management and application performance management; application delivery networking and load balancing; DataOps management and data management; and backup and recovery solutions.
“Looking ahead, I foresee the major areas of investment in this industry including service assurance; security from the end point to the data centre (including staff training and process control); cloud technology; cost reduction and operational efficiency such as SD-WAN solutions and software defined networking; and data management, including the collection of data, its storage, backup and recovery, disaster recovery, and data management for artificial learning and business intelligence.”
Jacobsz notes that commitment to quality and service has always been at the heart of the company’s philosophy.
“We are continuously on the look-out for forward-thinking potential partners that provide best-of-breed offerings and solutions at the very forefront of new technology.
“We have a passion for innovation and providing management solutions and specialised services that deliver real business benefits to the user. We look forward to taking the company into the next 25 years – and beyond! – with confidence, enthusiasm and pride,” he concludes.