The company has won a large chunk of a technology tender from the South African Revenue Service (SARS) valued at R1,5bn over three years. <\/p>\n
In Didata’s two deals, to carry voice and data traffic, it has ousted Telkom, which is supplying SARS with those services now. It was described as a “David beats Goliath” victory by Kaplan Equity MD Irnest Kaplan, who estimates the deals are worth R250m a year to Didata. <\/p>\n
The decision was largely based on the offerings of Didata’s subsidiary, Internet Solutions. “This means all SARS phone calls in future will be handled by Internet Solutions, and not Telkom,” Kaplan said. <\/p>\n
It was understandable that Internet Solutions could win the data contract as it runs an extensive national data network and carries data for many large corporations. But winning the voice contract away from Telkom was a major coup, Kaplan said. <\/p>\n
“We believe the deal is a major win for the industry at large,” he said. Telkom would lose up to R300m a year in revenue it previously earned from the SARS. <\/p>\n
Didata had already been chosen to supply internet services when part of the tender was awarded earlier. Business Connexion, GijimaAst and Bytes Technology won other parts of the tender. <\/p>\n