Cover story

Emile Burger, Tarsus CEO

Distributors are at the very heart of the IT industry, sitting at the nexus between manufactures and resellers. But these companies no longer just fill your software or hardware orders; they’ve evolved into sophisticated organisations that wrap a range of services around the technology. Emile Burger, CEO of Tarsus Distribution, reckons that between R50bn and R60bn a year runs through the local channel, which is split 60/40 between the private and the public sectors. He adds that this number doesn’t include OEMs selling directly to customers.

He arrived at Tarsus in 2023, and has grown the business at just over 40% each year. He thinks he can sustain this growth for another two years, after which the curve will begin to flatten. Meanwhile, he says the local IT industry is seeing between 5% and 7% growth year-on-year. Tarsus was bought by Alviva in 2021 for R185mn. Alviva took itself private in 2023, with a consortium paying R2.5bn.