Cloud communications experts Connect has announced the acquisition of South African providers of enterprise communication, customer experience (CX) and cloud contact centre solutions, Pivotal Data and illation.
The acquisition not only expands Connect’s presence in the South Africa market, with the local company set to operate under the Connect SA brand, but also increases the group’s skilled resource to support global clients.
The deal was backed by Santander UK PLC.
The companies are a natural fit for each other, not only delivering solutions in similar fields but also sharing a customer-first ethos. This will ensure that colleagues in different parts of the worldwide operation can work seamlessly together to deliver high-quality CCaaS, CX and unified communications solutions and accelerate clients’ digital transformation.
For Connect CEO Adam Young, the deal offers clear strategic benefits to all parties. “Pivotal Data and illation are both well-established in South Africa as experts in the enterprise communication and CX spaces, delivering highly effective solutions for local and international businesses. With Connect’s global network and vendor agnostic approach we can offer enhanced services to those clients and bring the skills and solutions that Pivotal Data and illation have to our existing global customer base.”
Pivotal Data co-founder and CEO, Bruce Arnold, is looking forward to bringing the benefits of being part of Connect to the clients he has built successful relationships with. He said: “We will be exploring the exciting new opportunities it unlocks to bolster their communication capabilities with Connect SA’s broader offering and deeper experience and expertise.”
Gert Swart, CEO of illation, emphasised the benefits of the acquisition for his colleagues. “Customer experience is changing as a result of evolving customer expectations on one hand and technological innovations on the other. Our large digital first technical team possesses specialised expertise and a unique skill set across the Total Experience, (CX and EX-domains), which will greatly benefit Connect’s business.”
As part of the deal, Connect has also affirmed its commitment to broad-based black economic empowerment (BBBEE) and the professional development of the existing staff – something Bruce Arnold felt was crucial. “Connect’s leadership have set out a plan to invest to up-skill South Africans and tap into the country’s wealth of talent, which is mutually beneficial for the country and the company.”
But as well as benefiting South Africa, Adam Young sees real opportunities from the acquisition for UK businesses. “We have already identified some powerful solutions provided by both companies that can address important customer requirements in the UK and we look forward to bringing those to market.”
About Connect
Connect are the independent communications experts who can transform how your organisation communicates – both internally and externally. We deliver solutions and services that join up your employee and customer communications across platforms, across sites and across countries, in three core areas: Contact Centres, Unified Communications and Network Services. We provide simple, elegant solutions to the most complex problems.