Indian entrepreneur-led iSON acquires tech subsidiary of Dubai Govt entity

Africa's IT services company, iSON Technologies, a fully-owned subsidiary of iSON group founded by Indian-origin entrepreneur Ramesh Awtaney, along with its co-investor Dhabi One Investment Services LLC, has announced that it has acquired UAE-based Global Technology Services (GTS) to emerge as a leading IT outsourcing company in the UAE and the GCC.

GTS is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Dubai Government's entity, Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC), which specializes in oil and gas with over 30 active subsidiaries and international joint ventures, and operations in the Middle East, Asia, Europe and Africa.

ISON Technologies is a leading pan-African partner for major companies such as AVAYA, IBM, Cisco, Oracle, Juniper and Riverbed, and offers end-to-end IT services including systems integration, application management, cloud, analytics and managed services.

The GTS acquisition enables iSON Technologies to expand its services and client portfolio in the UAE and the GCC. The deal will allow GTS to leverage iSON Group's vast footprint across 29 countries in the African, India and ASEAN regions besides the Middle East, as well as access to newer sectors such as telecommunications, aviation, media and entertainment.

The acquisition also reduces ENOC's capital expenditure on IT infrastructure significantly and provides a more consistent operational expenditure with access to the latest technology upgrades. With this acquisition, iSON Technologies will be able to provide significant operational and cost efficiencies along with a better service to ENOC and iSON's other partners in the UAE and GCC.

Ramesh Awtaney, Founder and Chairman, iSON Group, said, "The GTS acquisition gives us an unparalleled and distinctive edge in existing and new geographies, and builds on the exceptional customer trust that iSON has earned through our experience of working with Fortune 50 IT companies especially in Africa and APAC. It reinforces our commitment to assemble best-in-class IT and technology services and solutions across all stages of the outsourcing lifecycle."

ENOC's Executive Director for Shared Services, Sina Khoory, added, "iSON's core business is IT Services including mobile, in the Middle East and Africa, and this therefore is a solid, value enhancing match for GTS. With GTS's third party business and the services provided to ENOC Group, ISON strengthens its capabilities to expand their service and client portfolio in the UAE and GCC."

Welcoming the move, Oracle ECEMEA's VP, Business Applications, Arun Khehar, said, "Since inception over 15 years ago, GTS has been one of the premium Partners for Oracle, delivering over 100 Oracle Application projects within and beyond MENA region. With their domain knowledge in various industries such as oil and gas, utilities, real estate and public sector, they are unique in their commitment and investment in Oracle's industry solution approach."

The GTS acquisition marks yet another milestone for iSON Group, which has seen trailblazing growth this year. Earlier this month, under its BPO business, iSON Group opened an ultra-modern customer care and skills development centre adding about 2000 more jobs in Ibadan, Nigeria.

iSON had also won the India-Africa Champion in Biz Award 2015 in the "Distinguished Achievement in IT & ITES" category from ASSOCHAM this October.