By Telecom Lead Team:
Interactive Intelligence Group, a provider of unified IP business
communications solutions, has inked an agreement to purchase select Interactive
Intelligence-related contact center assets of its South African-based reseller,
ATIO, in an all-cash deal.
The new company will operate as Interactive Intelligence
South Africa and employ 40 ATIO team members. It will begin direct support of
nearly 40 joint ATIO and Interactive Intelligence customers located throughout
South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa.
ATIO had been an Interactive Intelligence reseller
since 2002.
ATIO has ranked among our top revenue-generating
resellers of all partners throughout Europe, Middle East, and Africa each year
since it first began offering our solutions. This successful track record,
combined with a talented support and services team, mature infrastructure, and
expertise in key industries such as financial services, telecommunications and
government, makes ATIO’s Interactive Intelligence business an ideal acquisition
choice,” said Interactive Intelligence founder and CEO, Don Brown.
This acquisition marks Interactive Intelligence’s
continued strategy to effectively grow existing operations in key international
geographies, which began early last year with reseller acquisitions in Germany
and Australia.
This acquisition also lays a strong foundation for
planned investments in the region that support our rapidly growing cloud-based
communications-as-a-service business.
South Africa specifically has been a natural choice for
contact centers due to its large and articulate English-speaking population and
service-oriented business culture. Another strength is its expanding broadband
connectivity, thus ensuring that the latest unified communications and
collaboration tools will run efficiently,” said Frost & Sullivan’s business
unit leader, ICT Africa, Birgitta Cederstrom.
As part of the transaction, Interactive Intelligence
South Africa will occupy one of ATIO’s buildings in Johannesburg, which will
function as its regional headquarters serving all of Africa.
The new company will continue offering the complete
Interactive Intelligence all-in-one IP communications software suite, which
includes applications for contact center automation, unified communications,
and business process automation.