GWK is a South Africa-based agriculture solutions provider whose mission is to promote sustainability, innovation, and equity in the country’s food supply chain.
Operating across multiple business units, GWK provides an array of services to farmers such as consulting on planting and mechanization, organizing grain and livestock auctions, and procuring the plants and seeds that provide the country sustenance.
A complex organization with diverse divisions and functions, GWK—and by proxy, its farmers, customers and other partners—is heavily reliant on its IT infrastructure. A large part of that is powered by Mercury Flash, a top database management tool for Rocket® UniData® and UniVerse®, developed by Rocket partner Paradigm Systems.
Paradigm leverages the UniData and UniVerse application development platforms to deliver high availability solutions that stand up to the needs of modern businesses. Paradigm president and CEO Jay LaBonte considers the platforms’ MultiValue database models—which are not only more efficient than other database models, but also accelerate application development time—“a key differentiator."
As a Paradigm customer, GWK has depended on the UniVerse and UniData platforms for decades, extending their core applications multiple times over the years to meet the ever-evolving demands of business. “Flexible, reliable, and cost-effective, Paradigm’s solutions enable us to manage our diverse operations effectively across the entire country in both rural and urban areas,” says Wim van Rooyen, Managing Director of GWK Farm Foods. “We consider our decision to stick with our incumbent solutions, bucking the trend in our industry to rip and replace, a real strategic advantage.”
As other companies continue to pursue costly application replacement projects—often with mixed results—GWK reports that it has no plans to switch its IT providers. “Paradigm provides us with robust, economical solutions that can efficiently scale with the growth of our business. We have been impressed time and time again with the quality and the professionalism of their work,” van Rooyen says.
"UniData and UniVerse have proven themselves in diverse industries from agriculture and food supply chains to real estate and restaurants. GWK’s decision to continue to leverage this tried-and-true platform has proved to be a strategic asset in an industry where the prevailing attitude is rip-and-replace. I’m proud to support GWK in their mission to innovate South Africa’s food supply chain and empower emerging businesses and entrepreneurs."
Jay LaBonte - President and CEO - Paradigm Systems
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