By Karim Salah
Raya Information Technology achieved 25% sales growth during the first half (H1) of this year, having recorded EGP 453m in 2014. The company acquired 11.47% of the total annual returns of parent company Raya Holding.
Raya Information Technology signed an agreement with a government bank to build a data centre and provide infrastructure worth EGP 120m, and aims to expand in the African market, particularly in Ethiopia and Uganda. The company is also working to launch a representative office in Tanzania in the near future, and is considering investment opportunities in the local market to provide solar energy services to its clients.
This year, Raya will focus on providing solutions for the banking and communications sector, as well as continuously developing technology networks and communications centres. Raya has constructed more than eight data centres for its customers across Egypt.
CEO of Raya Information Technology Hisham Abdel Rassoul said the company recorded EGP 453m in sales last year. Abdel Rassoul anticipates an increase in sales this year thanks to Raya signing a number of contracts with the banking and communications sectors.
He said the company has contracted with Etisalat Egypt to provide specialised technological solutions in its networks centre and to build a 1,000 sqm data centre with 145 stalls at a cost of EGP 60m.
The company also carried out civil work and worked on mechanical, electrical, energy, and light current systems, as well as infrastructure management for data centres.
Raya also entered a contract to provide advanced technology networks with Cisco. The networks will allow the companies to integrate servers, voice networks, and data networks in one work system. This helps enhance operations and improve the level of service provided to customers.
He added that these solutions will indirectly improve Etisalat Egypt’s infrastructure, develop infrastructure at data centres, and enhance productive capacity for the network.
He pointed out that the company is offering a package of services and integrated technological solutions in the field of networks, information technology, and secure systems, and has launched a number of data centres for all customers in the local, Arab, and African markets.
Abdel Rassoul said the company is working with the local banking sector to enhance the efficiency of internal networks which link the main centre to branches. Raya will also help secure information and preserve the information, network, cloud computing application, and advanced data centre security.
He said the company has contracted with a large bank to supply 500 ATMs at a cost of $10m, and these machines will be spread across a number of governorates.
The contract included a number of special programmes for ATMs which were developed through Raya engineers to provide surveillance and security solutions for the machines, and includes linking the machines and managing them efficiently through a main control centre.
He pointed out that last month the company contracted with a government bank to provide infrastructure and build a main data centre at a cost of EGP 120m.
Raya also contracted with another bank to build a surveillance and command centre to allow the bank to monitor work within branches and control systems operating within the branch. The first stage of the project involves linking 100 branches to the command centre, while the second phase will add another 100 branches, bringing the total number of branches controlled by the command centre to 200 by the end of 2015.
He added that the company began offering cloud computing services to its customers on the local market, which were provided to a number of Egyptian banks. He pointed out that Raya serves more than 20 petroleum and gas companies, with government and international companies among them.
Banks’ access to dollars so that companies may purchase technological solutions and projects to serve their customers on the local market is one of the biggest challenges currently faced by the company and the sector as a whole, he explained. Abdel Rassoul called for restrictions on hard currency transfers to be eased as they negatively impact the volume of work, and information technology companies in general.
He added that the company contracted with Mobinil and Vodafone to provide technological services and solutions for their communications networks, explaining that the company is focusing on the communications sector at present.
The company welcomes the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA)’s initiative to expand into Africa and supply new investments in the near future, and Raya recently participated in a trip to Africa with ITIDA. Abdul Rassoul noted that the African market was hungry for information technology and infrastructure development.
Meanwhile, Business Development Manager at Raya, Mohamed Abu Bakr, said the company conducted extensive studies on opportunities for expansion on the horizon. The studies revealed the importance of making a quick entry into African markets and taking advantage of investment opportunities there.
Abu Bakr said the company has a long list of Egypt’s biggest customers, including the three mobile operations Mobinil, Vodafone, and Etisalat, as well as TE, a number of government banks, and more than 20 petroleum companies.
He revealed that the company has over 350 projects planned for this year and is working to complete them according to agreed-upon timelines.
Abu Bakr added that the company has begun expanding to foreign markets in African and Arab countries and recently delivered four projects to United Nations organisations working in Ethiopia. The projects focused on the field of infrastructure for information technology and networks for UN offices in Ethiopia.
He emphasised that these projects represent a real beginning towards expansion in East Africa, noting that the company aims to build an office in Tanzania in the near future to serve East African markets, particularly Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Uganda.
Abu Bakr said expanding into African markets is in line with the Egyptian government’s vision and support for the sector in this regard. Raya Information Technology has always been a pioneer in this field, taking the lead in expanding to support the Egyptian economy as well as consolidating economic relations with Africa.
