Leading IT solutions provider, Ariel Technologies and KwaZulu-Natal based Emtateni InfoTech Holdings have joined forces to bring about more meaningful empowerment in the IT industry with the signing of a joint venture agreement which will open doors to a number of exciting new initiatives.

Ariel Technologies KwaZulu-Natal Regional Manager, Michele Goate says: "Ariel Technologies - which is committed to meaningful empowerment in the IT industry - was seeking a skills transfer initiative which would have real meaning and be mutually beneficial to both parties. We believe we have found in Emtateni InfoTech Holdings, a subsidiary of Emtateni Investment Holdings, a company which subscribes to the same philosophy and vision as ourselves."

Chief Executive Officer of Emtateni Investment Holdings, Mbongeni Mhlambo says: "We courted Ariel Technologies as we identified the company as a leading IT player with a good track record and a strong skill base. Ariel Technologies is therefore a desirable vehicle to ensure transfer of skills and building of capacity not only within Emtateni, but within the broader community. We believe empowerment is only meaningful if it impacts on the community and addresses the real issues at hand such as poverty and unemployment."

Ariel Technologies, a leading IT solutions provider with 13 business units focused on three areas - professional services, technology products and focused solutions - brings to the table a national infrastructure. Emtateni InfoTech Holdings provides generic cabling systems, computer networks, Internet website designs and business databases.

Emtateni InfoTech Holdings holds a 51% stake in Dalisu Emtateni Solutions which has developed a new software product - Classmate 2005 (CM2005) which provides a complete management, information and accounting solution for the education sector.

Designed to meet the needs of Outcome Based Education and Curriculum 2005 oriented, CM2005 is designed to improve school administration and offers the flexibility of customisation. An audit trail keeps track of the system usage and through the use of modems, school information can be accessed from anywhere in the country.

Goate said: "We are very excited about this product which could be very meaningful for education in this country. This clever package, with a number of outstanding safety and security checks is made for South African conditions and provides a total solution to education in this country."

This user-friendly product, which can be run from a 486 and works well on a Pentium, has a number of modules covering every possible administrative and financial task. They include a student module, an educator module, an accounting package and work schedule module.

"Visitors to our stand at Computer Faire in Durban will be provided with an opportunity to view this solution as we will be running the CM2005 program on a standalone PC through an NT server running CITRIX onto Sun Solaris. The connectivity across platforms is a major advantage of the product and an added bonus is that one of Ariel Technologies business units is Ariel Enterprises, a major distributor of US-based Sun Microsystems' enterprise network computing products, software and customer training.

To assist with hardware, Ariel Technologies and Emtateni InfoTech are calling on business in South Africa to 'adopt' a school and donate any unused PCs to schools.

Other areas in which the two companies plan to work closely together are on training, GIS and within the health sector. Ariel Technologies has three companies which are leaders in all three areas - Computer Foundation (GIS), Intersolve Health Informatics (health) and Ariel Training (training).

Mhlambo says: "Training is one of the fundamentals underpinning this relationship. Plans are already underway for the establishment of a Training Institute in Durban."

Emtateni Investment Holdings was established in 1997 as one of the largest and most representative KwaZulu-Natal based black controlled consortiums. It is an economic empowerment initiative founded on the principle of deliberately reaching out to companies and groupings from various socio-political backgrounds and different walks of life to encourage working together, ensuring lasting peace, prosperity and to enjoy an inclusive process of wealth creation.

"Emtateni moves from the premise that for the transformation process to succeed and economic stability to be sustainable in South Africa, our economic programmes and processes have to be inclusive and not perpetuate the current disparities," says Mhlambo.

Shareholders include black businesses, women and youth business groups, rural development trusts and other specialist grassroots empowerment companies. Other companies within the group are Emtateni Transport and Distribution, Emtateni Minerals and Energy, Emtateni Professional Services, Emtateni Tourism, Entertainment and Leisure, Emtateni Property and Construction and Emtateni Development Company.

Ariel Technologies (KwaZulu-Natal)

(031) 207 1494

Emtateni Investment Holdings

(031) 301 0540