CAPE TOWN, South Africa--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kocho, the UK-headquartered provider of cyber security, identity, cloud transformation and managed services, today announced it has established operations in Cape Town, South Africa. The new office will create frontline and DevOps roles to support Kocho’s expanding portfolio of international customers.
Leading Kocho’s South Africa operations is Ricardo Canovi, who joins the company as Country Manager (GM). Canovi brings 25 years of experience to the role, including two years at Altron Managed Solutions, where he was Senior Manager of Service Operations, and 20 years working across IT roles at Standard Bank Group. He will oversee initial recruitment, building a team of tech specialists who will provide ongoing cyber, cloud and DevOps support to meet growing demand for Kocho’s services.
“Opening an office in Cape Town will further boost our ability to provide the very best possible support service to our clients, which is an important part of Kocho’s growth strategy. South Africa is rife with IT talent, so it’s the ideal location for our first African office,” said Des Lekerman, CEO at Kocho. “Ricardo’s experience in IT, combined with his work in the finance industry, makes him the ideal person to set up and manage our operation in South Africa.”
Kocho is a fast-growing company that helps mid-market and enterprise organisations adopt complex, digital technologies while also protecting against cyber threats. The office in Cape Town comes as a response to the growing demand for cybersecurity solutions and cloud managed services across many different industries, and in particular within finance, health, manufacturing and professional services. The newly created DevOps roles directly tie into Kocho’s growing investment into cloud transformation and managed services capabilities.
“We are excited to see Kocho’s growth plans in South Africa as its new office will create key jobs and support local economic stimulation,” said Reshni Singh, CEO at Business Process Enabling South Africa (BPESA) – the international trade body and sector association for Global Business Services (GBS) in South Africa. “In particular, we look forward to seeing Kocho deliver its diverse portfolio of services – including advanced digital managed services rooted in security.”
Kocho’s headcount across its three UK offices – in London, Cardiff and Surrey – together with its operations in Manilla, is at 260, and its current annual revenue is £40.6 million. Kocho projects this figure will double in the next five years through acquisitions and via organic growth.
About Kocho:
Kocho combines the power of Microsoft cloud technology with world-class identity and cyber security expertise together with managed services to steer UK organisations on a course to secure cloud transformation.
Founded in 2001, and previously known as TiG Data Intelligence and ThirdSpace, the company rebranded as Kocho in 2022, following the acquisition of security and identity specialist, ThirdSpace in March 2021. Headquartered in London, it also has operations in Cardiff, Surrey, Manilla and Cape Town. In September 2022, Kocho acquired Mobliciti, a specialist in Enterprise Mobility and Wi-Fi solutions. Customers span mid-market organisations up to large enterprises, operating in the financial services, health, manufacturing and professional services sectors. Brands relying on Kocho include Bupa, AVIVA, William Blair and Liontrust Asset Management.
