--- title: AI has started a tech ‘supercycle’, says Datatec’s Jens... description: Datatec CEO Jens Montanana says AI has triggered a lasting step change in demand for compute, networking and cybersecurity. The JSE-listed group's gross... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/ai-has-started-a-tech-supercycle-says-datatec-s-jens-montanana-d4ziaa8qb twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: AI has started a tech ‘supercycle’, says Datatec’s Jens Montanana | daily.dev og:description: Datatec CEO Jens Montanana says AI has triggered a lasting step change in demand for compute, networking and cybersecurity. The JSE-listed group's gross... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/ai-has-started-a-tech-supercycle-says-datatec-s-jens-montanana-d4ziaa8qb og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/D4ZiAa8qB.png og:image:alt: AI has started a tech ‘supercycle’, says Datatec’s Jens Montanana og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # AI has started a tech ‘supercycle’, says Datatec’s Jens Montanana **[TechCentral](https://daily.dev/sources/techcentral)** · 4 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Datatec CEO Jens Montanana says AI has triggered a lasting step change in demand for compute, networking and cybersecurity. The JSE-listed group's gross invoiced income rose 18% to $4.8 billion in the first half, with adjusted Ebitda up 17% to $150.7 million. Underlying earnings per share jumped 56.5%, boosted by a Brazilian court ruling worth $38.4 million; without the $17.1 million of tax-free interest alone, growth would have been about 19%, according to TechCentral's calculations. Component shortages, mainly for high-end Cisco gear used in AI infrastructure, and discounting on large deals are also squeezing margins. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### How much did a Brazilian court ruling add to Datatec's earnings growth A Brazilian subsidiary of Logicalis Latin America won a final court ruling in March making about $38.4 million recoverable, including $17.1 million in tax-free interest. Without that interest alone, Datatec's underlying earnings per share would have risen about 19% instead of the reported 56.5% jump, according to TechCentral's calculations. _Investors weighing one-off gains against real growth can follow earnings breakdowns like this on daily.dev._ ### What is causing component shortages for networking hardware like Cisco routers Component shortages have returned mainly for high-end Cisco routers and switches used in AI infrastructure, as heavy buying from hyperscalers creates supply inflation across the tech industry. Datatec CEO Jens Montanana said the shortage isn't as acute as roughly five years ago, but delayed shipments built up a backlog in the first half. _Teams planning network hardware procurement can track supply chain shifts like this via daily.dev._ ### How much debt did Westcon take on from its General Atlantic recapitalization General Atlantic lent Westcon $375 million over six years at 9% interest as part of a recapitalization that funded Datatec's special dividend of R29 per share. Westcon's average net debt now stands at just over 3.5 times its adjusted Ebitda for the past 12 months, a ratio the CEO expects to fall. _Those evaluating vendor financing deals can keep tabs on IT distributor debt trends through daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [AI, cybersecurity power standout year for Datatec](https://daily.dev/posts/ai-cybersecurity-power-standout-year-for-datatec-1uxgrtdes) · TechCentral · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [AI Dominates the Tech Landscape](https://daily.dev/posts/ai-dominates-the-tech-landscape-1cjibqmmj) · Medium · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [Premium: The AI Data Center Financial Crisis](https://daily.dev/posts/premium-the-ai-data-center-financial-crisis-btrqhfo66) · Where's Your Ed At · 4 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#cyber](https://daily.dev/tags/cyber), [#ai-infrastructure](https://daily.dev/tags/ai-infrastructure) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/ai-has-started-a-tech-supercycle-says-datatec-s-jens-montanana-d4ziaa8qb) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"AI has started a tech ‘supercycle’, says Datatec’s Jens Montanana","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/ai-has-started-a-tech-supercycle-says-datatec-s-jens-montanana-d4ziaa8qb","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/ai-has-started-a-tech-supercycle-says-datatec-s-jens-montanana-d4ziaa8qb"},"datePublished":"2026-10-29T08:02:26.855Z","dateModified":"2026-10-29T08:03:00.993Z","description":"Datatec CEO Jens Montanana says AI has triggered a lasting step change in demand for compute, networking and cybersecurity. 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