Estelle de Beer Archives - �鶹ԭ�� Africa News Center

Power Partnership: �鶹ԭ�� and OpenText’s 30-Plus Year Relationship Builds Stronger AI Foundations for Customers

�鶹ԭ�� News — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 10:19:22 +0000

�鶹ԭ�� and ’s visionary partnership, forged in 1992, may be one of the longest-lasting and deepest relationships in enterprise software. Today, the partnership is helping enterprise customers build solid foundations for innovation and well-governed AI.

This is according to , Chief Partner Officer for MEA South at �鶹ԭ��, a Diamond Influence Partner of the upcoming OpenText Summit Africa 2026 in Johannesburg.

De Beer says: “Back in the early 90s, everything was about structured data – that’s �鶹ԭ��’s heritage and the backbone of the enterprise resource planning (ERP) that companies run their businesses on. But even back then, we had the foresight to recognise that large amounts of data weren’t governed and controlled by �鶹ԭ�� systems. This unstructured data included e-mails, contracts and drawings that were very relevant to business transactions.

“Remarkably, we saw the importance of connecting structured and unstructured data from a business perspective, knowing that this contextual information would add richness to transactional data,” she says. “Our partnership with OpenText was a natural joining of forces, combining �鶹ԭ��’s ERP with OpenText’s secure information and content management. From the start, we put OpenText in our solution extensions, with OpenText probably the flagship. Over time, we have built something few can duplicate: a fully autonomous system that captures integrated data across portfolios.”

De Beer says there is a general recognition that many companies have a lot of records that aren’t governed and accessible. “When you pick up an invoice, for example, how do you know which transaction it relates to, what the broader picture is and what the lead-up to the transaction was? Connecting all of this information to the �鶹ԭ�� system gives a full contextual view of the transaction and all related e-mails and contracts.”

The partnership delivers measurable business value. A report by IDC entitled: ‘The ’ found a 351% three-year ROI with just 13 months to payback, a 37% improvement in accounts payable team efficiencies, and significant improvements in time to make vendor payments and complete document migrations.

The partnership is so successful that OpenText has won �鶹ԭ��’s highest recognition – its Pinnacle award – 21 times.

, ISV Partner Business Manager for MEA Region at �鶹ԭ��. (Image: AI-enhanced)

Naeem Muhammad, ISV Partner Business Manager for MEA Region at �鶹ԭ��, notes that the OpenText solution extensions are treated as important �鶹ԭ�� solutions. “OpenText SKUs are available in the �鶹ԭ�� price list, and �鶹ԭ�� offers end-to-end OpenText customer support, contracts and SLAs. We treat them like �鶹ԭ�� products. We also find our Global Strategic Service Partners, such as leading consulting firms, work very well with �鶹ԭ�� and OpenText in what we describe as ‘the power of three’.”

De Beer adds: “When software companies partner, it’s often a hands-off relationship, but this is very much hands on. We have trained people who sell, manage and support OpenText, and customers sign one contract with us.”

Ongoing innovation

Importantly, the partners collaborate closely in helping customers move into the future, De Beer and Muhammad say.

“When customers move from legacy �鶹ԭ�� to later versions, and transformational projects, it is not always clear to customers how to bring the contracts and unstructured data along. OpenText supports transformational projects, helping with archiving and migration,” De Beer says. “After migration, the partnership really comes into its own, giving customers connected systems and a foundation to build on.”

As AI adoption increases, streamlining access to both structured and unstructured data is important for enterprises, Muhammad says: “AI is only as good as the data it has access to, so with �鶹ԭ�� and OpenText, it is all combined. Our �鶹ԭ�� Autonomous Enterprise can access the entire pool of data to take it to the next level. The structured and unstructured data together gives us the right base to build innovation and AI on.”

De Beer adds: “Both �鶹ԭ�� and OpenText have our own AI journeys, but our roadmaps are very connected and they augment each other. At �鶹ԭ��, we have embedded AI into our flagship Autonomous Enterprise solution, with AI agents in every process. This is where governance becomes important, because humans still need to be in control. With OpenText, we jointly decide where human interventions happen and how governance is applied.”

The partnership benefits �鶹ԭ��, OpenText, its partners and their customers, De Beer says. “With OpenText, we have a more complete, richer platform we can offer customers, that extends seamlessly because of the roadmaps we built together. For partners, it means more opportunities and a broader solutions set to take to customers. And the customer gets a very complete and governed view of all business information, with security and the same rules applied across the information chain. It’s a win-win for everyone,” she concludes.

The will be held on Thursday, 3 September at The Canvas in Riversands, Johannesburg. �鶹ԭ��’s sales and partner teams will be on site and available to discuss with customers and partners, and showcase how the �鶹ԭ��-OpenText partnership benefits enterprises.

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�鶹ԭ�� Africa Partner Awards Recognise Outstanding Contributions to Continent’s Digital Transformation, AI Ambitions

�鶹ԭ�� News — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 07:11:36 +0000

CAPE TOWN, South Africa — March 3rd, 2026 — �鶹ԭ�� today revealed the winners of this year’s at an event held in Stellenbosch.

, Managing Director for Southern Africa at �鶹ԭ��, says the role of partners has never been more critical. “Organisations across the continent are redesigning processes, embedding intelligence into core systems, and reimagining how value is created. Success requires deep industry expertise, AI capabilities and the ability to translate innovation into measurable business outcomes. As a partner-led organisation, �鶹ԭ�� is proud to work alongside a thriving ecosystem of expert partners who help bring Business AI, clean core ERP and intelligent automation to life, enabling our customers to become more resilient, more profitable and better prepared for the future.”

The �鶹ԭ�� Africa Partner Awards recognise excellence within �鶹ԭ��’s partner ecosystem across eight distinct categories. Winners are evaluated according to strict criteria, with a focus on partner organisations that help clients throughout Africa transform their capabilities and smooth the way to the adoption of powerful new technologies such as AI.

According to , Chief Partner Officer for MEA South at �鶹ԭ��, the winners at this year’s �鶹ԭ�� Africa Partner Award represent the highest standards of excellence, innovation and commitment in advancing the technology ambitions of organisations across the continent. “Our partners play a vital role in translating strategy into execution and innovation into measurable business value. We are proud to work alongside such a strong and trusted ecosystem as we collectively support Africa’s ongoing digital transformation journey.”

The winning companies at the 2026 �鶹ԭ�� Africa Partner Awards include:

and, winners of the Customer Transformation: Corporate category, which recognises sales excellence in the corporate segment that fosters ambitious business planning, in their respective regions.
, winner of the Customer Transformation: Large Enterprise category for its excellence in amplifying �鶹ԭ��’s large enterprise strategy by offering �鶹ԭ�� Business Suite and helping deliver large-scale transformation.
Tano Digital Solutions (Southern Africa) and, winners in the Customer Transformation: Partner-Led Territories category which recognises partners that actively invests and creates value by focusing on customer lifetime value across the customer value journey.
, winner in the Customer Success Management category, for partners that exceed in consistently delivering value to customers and helping ensure customers achieved the desired outcomes while using �鶹ԭ�� products and services.
and (Emerging Africa), winners in the �鶹ԭ�� Cloud ERP: New Customer Acquisition category which recognises partners that have successfully brought in net-new-name customers to begin an innovation journey with �鶹ԭ�� Cloud ERP solutions.
, winner in the �鶹ԭ�� Business AI: Customer Adoption category which recognises leaders in �鶹ԭ��’s partner ecosystem based on the activation and consumption of embedded AI features in cloud solutions from �鶹ԭ�� in their customer base.
, winner in the Managed Service Provider: Top Performance category, awarded to top-performing managed service providers based on deals closed and growth in annual contract value.
in the Partner Solution Success category, which recognises a partner solution that successfully delivers ongoing customer value by extending the �鶹ԭ�� solution portfolio, as evidenced by customer demand and solution sales.

��Pillay adds: “In an era defined by embedded AI and autonomous enterprise architectures, no organisation can transform in isolation. We look forward to continuing our vital work with our partner ecosystem as African organisations build the capabilities they’ll need to compete and succeed in the years ahead.”

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Identify Your Suckers and Feed Your Fuelers

Estelle de Beer — Mon, 08 Aug 2022 07:08:36 +0000

I have never been more at peace, more productive or worked harder than right now. It’s such a weird realization, after chasing that elusive work-life-balance unicorn for over twenty-five years!

Raising two kids while working 8–10-hour days and commuting for another two hours, makes a mockery of this work-life-balance vision that we are sold as “this is what success looks like” all our lives. Yet, we are bombarded with this vision of achievement throughout our careers. What a great sales job – to get you to work harder and harder, fueled by feeling less successful and closer to failure along the way.

Then Covid smacked us like an oncoming speed train and derailed everything we thought we had under control. My flawed perspective of balance was placed center stage. The dictionary tells us that balance is “an even distribution of weight… in which different elements are equal or in correct proportions”.

After the initial weeks of shock and chaos that accompanied the hard lockdown, it soon become clear that managing endless remote calls stuck to a chair in your kitchen while trying to manage your household, only brought anxiety, exhaustion, and a complete sense of desperation for the familiarity of what you’d lost. In that dark moment it dawns on you that you didn’t lose greatness, you only lost a familiar routine. The way out was to find new emotional tools and to make selfish choices about “what��I��need”. Being a woman (and a mother) in the male dominated world of technology where you must work harder, prove your competence, fight for your voice to be heard – it’s hard to make these selfish choices. Your DNA is programmed to make sacrifices, see the bigger picture, and look after others.

This period forced me – and helped me – to re-think what I really need to fuel MY batteries, give ME energy, move ME forward. It also allowed me to recognize the things and people that drain me, that suck my energy and oxygen dry. A good place to start is to ask for feedback from trusted people, at work and at home – where do they see you shine, see you disappear, see you behave without intent and focus, see you not stepping up, see you not giving up. A picture emerges that I call my “Fuelers” and my” Suckers”. This realization is a growth journey in itself.

“Embracing chaos might be the journey you have to take to finding peace.”

That’s the easy part. The hard part is to��do��something about it, to make some life changes – lasting changes. To re-establish your energy balance, not work-life-balance, you instinctively want to remove things from the “heavy side” of the imbalance. I found this to be ineffective and a new sucker. I shifted my focus to the other side – to add things to my “lighter” side, my fuelers. Being in hard lockdown with your partner, or family, for 24-hours a day makes this an interesting experiment which presents many challenges, but mostly wonderful opportunities for change. “Small steps, consistently,” became something we tackled both jointly and individually. It started with something very simple – boardgames. Immersing yourself in something completely unknown, with new rules and structures became a wonderful outlet for our competitive natures. We acquired new skills, lost track of time, engaged in a physical challenge, improved our strategic thinking to outsmart each other and ended up having a lot of fun! This became the start of our weekend routine and soon we collected and mastered at least ten of the top global board games. My “lighter” side started filling up, with ease. The key is not simply adding new things but maintaining consistency in what you add. I kept adding new, deliberate activities, which became new habits, which became new life choices. For me, the real achievement of balance is about the energy being in balance, not the separation of work and “life”.

The interesting thing about feeding your fuelers is that you don’t have to remove all the suckers. I still have days filled with nine back-to-back meetings, hard conversations, difficult people and situations to deal with. With a consistent library of fuelers to use, I have more perspective to approach these challenges with a calm clarity, leaving me with a feeling of control and inner peace, and less guilt about not living up to others’ expectations and demands.

Embracing chaos might be the journey you have to take to finding peace.

The dictionary tells us that balance is “an even distribution of weight… in which different elements are equal or in correct proportions”. Don’t make the wrong assumptions of what these elements should be.

This article first appeared here:

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