Dimension Data, the global specialist IT solutions and services provider, has been positioned by BMI-TechKnowledge as the largest provider of IT services to the South African market.

“In its latest IT services market sizing and forecast of 2010-2015 report published in December 2011, BMI-T recognised that Dimension Data was still the largest provider of IT services in South Africa in 2010, accounting for 15.4% of the total IT services market, up from 14.8% in 2009,” the company said on Tuesday.

According to BMI-T, the South African IT services market was valued at R33.8 billion in 2010, reflecting a year-on-year growth of 8.5%. The market was expected to grow at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 9.5% over the five-year forecast period, reaching a total of R53.3 billion by 2015.

“The reason we have grown is because of the quality of our people and their desire to deliver exceptional services to our clients,” Brent Flint, services executive for Dimension Data Middle East and Africa said.

BMI-T reported that the maintenance, support and upgrade service segment was expected to account for the largest portion of the total IT services market, while hosting was expected to reflect the fastest growth rate over the five-year forecast period, with a CAGR of 18.1%.

Managed services were also expected to reflect a significant growth over the forecast period, with a CAGR of 14.6%.

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Convergence Partners investee company, Dimension Data has been positioned by Gartner, Inc., in the Leaders Quadrant of the Magic Quadrant for Communications Outsourcing and Professional Services (COPS) report.

Compiled by Gartner analysts, the Magic Quadrant examined 19 vendors of IT services for business communications systems worldwide, employing two main evaluation criteria. These include:

• ability to execute; and
• completeness of vision.

Dimension Data CEO, Brett Dawson said, “Our placement in the Leaders Quadrant is an important milestone for Dimension Data as we believe it illustrates that the market and most importantly our clients recognise the significant progress we’ve made on our journey towards becoming a world leading services led organisation.

Didata Press Release

Howard Earley, COO of Plessey, a Convergence Partners investee says that Plessey has identified the opportunities that exist and need for a next-generation service provider with the ability to build the infrastructure required by the fast growing communications industry.

He says that Plessey is well positioned to fulfill this role due it being able to:

• provide a comprehensive, solution themselves, thereby providing a broad, modular range of telecommunications solutions that keep pace with and can be very precisely mapped to the new opportunities opening up to customers;  and
• call, where relevant, on the global consulting and solutions design experience and capability of their parent company, Dimension Data, and also on the carrier, connectivity, and communications specialisations within Internet Solutions

The result of this unique positioning is that Plessey and Dimension Data are being commissioned to, respectively, project-manage the laying of fibre and provide the equipment to light up the fibre.

Article from ITWeb

Convergence Partners Chairman, Andile Ngcaba, was named as TechCentral’s newsmaker of 2011 for his significant impact on South Africa’s technology sector over the past 12 months, topping an impressive list consisting of Pieter Uys, Mamodupi Mohlala, Karel Pienaar, Robert Gumede, Roy Padayachie, Lars Reichelt, Michael Jordaan, Pinky Moholi and Mteto Nyati.

According to TechCentral: “Through his Convergence Partners investment vehicle, Ngcaba launched a US$250m satellite with Intelsat (after a false start) and signed a multibillion-rand deal to build a national fibre network with Cell C and Dimension Data’s Internet Solutions.

“Ngcaba has taken to the business world like a proverbial duck to water. Executive chairman of Dimension Data Middle East and Africa, in which he also holds a sizeable investment through Convergence Partners, Ngcaba is certainly prepared to put his money where his mouth is.”

“Despite his involvement in the launch of the Intelsat New Dawn satellite and FibreCo’s plans to deploy a R5bn national fibre network consisting of up to 14 000km of fibre infrastructure, Ngcaba has stayed largely out of the media spotlight in 2011. But we’ve been tracking his activities closely and we think he’s worthy of the accolade of newsmaker of the year.”

Read more here: http://www.techcentral.co.za/sa-newsmakers-of-the-year-the-top-five/28200/

Convergence Partners investee, Dimension Data, which was delisted about a year ago, after being bought out by Japan-based NTT in a R24.2 billion deal, reported double-digit top line growth for the year to September.

The company says revenue grew 14.8%, to $5.79 billion, from $4.74 billion for the 2010 financial year. It also reported double-digit operating profit growth of 10.8%.

Dimension Data’s system’s integration business, which makes up 78% of total revenue, grew 12.8% year-on-year, to $4.5 billion, and operating profit was 7% higher, at $202.7 million.

By region, Europe, Asia and Australia delivered good growth, while Middle East and Africa was steady, says Dimension Data. In the Americas, Canada, Mexico and Chile recorded “excellent growth”, but operating profit in the US was flat, it adds.

Internet Solutions grew revenue 6.9%; Plessey lifted revenue 22.9%; and Express Data’s revenue expanded by 24.3%. Merchants and Learning Solutions delivered “strong contributions”, the company says.

Internet Solutions grew operating profit 9.1% at an operating margin of 12.6%. However, operating profit in Express Data declined 5.6% for the year due to product margin pressures.

Dimension Data says Plessey’s operating profit improved “substantially” off a low base in the 2010 financial year.

CEO Brett Dawson says “this year’s double-digit growth is an outstanding performance”, considering the current volatile global economy and tough trading conditions.

In the next 12 months, the group will focus on building its cloud solutions and services portfolio, and global cloud infrastructure and platform.

“The group’s acquisition of OpSource in July, and the formation of our cloud business unit were critical steps in accelerating our cloud computing strategy,” says Dawson. He adds the company is on track to go to market with its cloud value proposition.

Press Release

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Convergence Partners in partnership with Dimension Data presented certificates and prizes to the top performing students of the Dimension Data Saturday School Programme, on Friday, 2 December 2011 in recognition of their outstanding academic achievements for the year.  The Dimension Data Saturday School Programme is a two-year initiative that benefits 100 grade 11 and 12 pupils from disadvantaged public high schools in Gauteng each year. The programme provides learners with weekly supplemental tutoring from 8am to 3:30pm on Saturdays in addition to holiday camps over Easter and the June vacations.

Learners in the programme attend classes in mathematics, physical science, life sciences, English, computer studies and soft skills. The grade 12 learners are also placed on a one-year mentorship programme, which assists them in preparing for their tertiary studies.

The company has pledged to provide technology access and skills training to 40 000 learners by 2015, according to Zandile Mbele, transformation executive at Dimension Data Middle East and Africa. Mbele says Dimension Data has helped 27 500 learners through its e-learning programmes, across 51 schools, using 3 000 educators.

In 2011, the awards included prizes for the best projects related to the New Dawn Satellite. This initiative received entries by students from all nine provinces was adjudicated by the University of Pretoria and the winners in each category.  The categories included: best model of a rocket and satellite; best essay on the benefits of satellites; and best drawings depicting a satellite or rocket.  The prize-winners each received HP laptops courtesy of Convergence Partners.

Press Release

Article from ITWeb

When the competing fleet of 11-strong crews of professional sailors dock in Cape Town harbour after up to 22 days on the open sea, Convergence Partners’ investee companies, Dimension Data, Internet Solutions and Comsol, have exclusivity in providing connectivity for the race fleet while it is docked in the Mother City port for repairs and re-stocking. The Cape Town leg of the race will take place in early December.

The Volvo Ocean Race has been held for 38 years, 11 of these under the Volvo banner. It’s an iconic event, starting in the Spanish port of Alicante in October 2011, and finishing in Galway, Ireland in 2012. On the way, the race visits Cape Town (South Africa), Abu Dhabi (UAE), Sanya (China), Auckland (New Zealand), Itajai (Brazil), Miami (USA), Lisbon (Portugal) and Lorient (France). The race is contested by 11-strong crews of professional sailors, who will endure temperatures ranging from -15 to +40 degrees Celsius over the course of the race. The teams compete in state-of-the-art Volvo Open 70s, the fastest racing yacht in the world.

John van der Vyver, Financial Director of Dimension Data Western Cape says, “The push for even minor advantages means the sailing teams are at the forefront of technological advances in the industry. Again, this has echoes in our own business, where it’s vital that we are ahead of the pack to offer our clients the gains that the latest technology offers. We understand competitiveness and the drive to get the edge.”

Van der Vyver goes on to explain that Dimension Data, Internet Solutions and Comsol have been appointed joint sponsors with exclusivity in the category of Information Technology. “This means we will jointly enable their connectivity while in port in Cape Town. Some of the technology we’ll be providing to support the IT requirements of the crews and associated personnel includes two Polycom units, a dedicated technical resource to provide hands-on assistance to the crews with laptops and connectivity so they can touch base with family and loved ones at home, all onsite LAN cabling to establish a secure and reliable onsite command centre, and all bandwidth requirements to support Internet use and traffic.”

Information technology (IT) services provider Dimension Data, a Convergence Partners investee, has been awarded the contract to supply all IT services for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change seventeenth Conference of the Parties (COP 17) event.

The contract entails the supply of network, audio, visual, wireless and Internet connectivity across the Durban venue.

Network company Cisco will provide the technology for the network, audio, visual and wireless solutions and Internet service provider Neotel will provide Internet connectivity and bandwidth for telepresence and videoconferencing.

“Dimension Data is the service integrator across the partners and will provide consulting and design services for the actual cabling and data centre infrastructure at the venue,” says Dimension Data regional executive director Jay Reddy.

The company’s sustainability strategy is based on three focus areas, namely commitments and efforts to improve its own sustainability, its employee engagement and the services and solutions that help clients deliver on their sustainability strategies.

“Our focus on sustainable solutions helps us win contracts such as COP 17,” enthuses Dimension Data sustainability director Colin Curtis.

He states that climate change is of great concern to Dimension Data and the company believes COP 17 is an important event that will deliver definitive actions for governments, businesses and individuals to reduce their impact on the environment.

Since 2007, the company has reduced its carbon footprint by 43% and has reduced the travel related emissions for each of its employees by 59%. Reddy says the company is mindful of continuing its focus to meet the aims of COP 17.

Dimension Data is also a member of environmental body Green Grid, which is a consortium of organisations, businesses, policymakers, technology providers and utility companies that aim to collaborate to improve resource efficiency of data centre and business computing ecosystems.

The company participates in work groups and the development of technical specifications that improve the efficiency and reduce the environmental impact of business computing.

Article from Engineering News

Convergence Partners successfully participated as a sponsor and exhibitor at the 14^th annual AfricaCom Conference, held in Cape Town on 9 and 10 November 2011.  AfricaCom is the largest communications conference and exhibition on the Continent, gathering together more than 5,000 telecoms decision-makers. This is the second year that Convergence Partners has exhibited at the conference.

Exhibiting on the Convergence Partners’ stand was Comsol, FibreCo, Plessey and SEACOM with each of the companies presenting their offerings in the communications infrastructure space.

Andile Ngcaba, Chairman of Convergence Partners, presented a keynote address titled: “The political economy – where fibre optic meets spectrum” which focused on the need for innovative and visionary regulation of the radio spectrum.

The Convergence Partners’ group was also represented by Craig Wilson, CEO of Convergence Wireless Networks, as a panelist at the WiMAX South Africa conference held alongside AfricaCom.  Arif Hussain, CEO of FibreCo presented at the Master Class as well as on a panel discussions in the Capacity and Networks stream on fibre capacity in Africa.

Although, the Convergence Partners stand focused on showcasing our infrastructure portfolio assets a number of other companies participated in the conference including, Gemalto, Intelsat New Dawn and Dimension Data.

A highlight of the conference was SEACOM in partnership with Main ONE winning the award for most innovative infrastructure project of 2011 at the AfricaCom Awards.

Dimension Data, a Convergence Partners investee, received the 2011 South African Excellence in Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) Strategy Award from Frost & Sullivan.

Dimension Data, according to a recent Frost & Sullivan analysis conducted on the IT services market, have met a number of measurement performance criteria, pertinent to achieving a certain level of excellence, when compared to that of key competitors within the IT industry.

Brent Flint, services executive: Dimension Data Middle East & Africa, describes the award as a significant confirmation that Dimension Data is well positioned to provide its clients with services that help them at each step in their journey toward cloud architectures.

“For the last few years, we have been building cloud-related skills and capabilities in areas such as virtualisation, data centre and storage, managed services and hosting, and IT outsourcing – critical to enabling cloud architectures for our clients. Our experience with complex, multi-national systems integration projects coupled with its managed services expertise are critical to making cloud a reality for clients.”

The company’s acquisitions and investments in cloud assets such as Australian-based, Blue Fire, Internet Solutions, as well as the OneCloud initiative between their Asian subsidiary and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) was succeeded by the OpSource deal.

“The acquisition of OpSource in June 2011 marks the culmination of Dimension Data’s strategy to ensure the company accelerates the provision of its cloud offerings, and remains at the forefront of global networking and communications technology,” says Frost & Sullivan’s ICT industry analyst Ishe Zingoni. “Whereas Dimension Data is an end-to-end IT solutions provider in the South African market, the acquisition brings with it special expertise around cloud and managed hosting solutions that enable businesses to grow and scale operations, while controlling costs.”

Over the past few years, the company has been developing cloud-related skills and capabilities in the areas of virtualisation, data centre and storage, managed services and hosting, and IT outsourcing – all critical to enabling cloud architectures for clients. At the same time, Dimension Data has been educating its clients on the service possibilities of implementing cloud computing and virtualisation. Such initiatives have laid the groundwork for Dimension Data’s cloud strategy.

“The acquisition of OpSource contributes a rich set of services, a sound cloud architecture, and extensive experience in cloud services that will meet immediate client needs,” remarks Zingoni. “This is in addition to a cloud infrastructure with a proprietary integrated orchestration system that supports growth, development and globally consistent operations.”

OpSource also brings an attractive client base in the Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) and Service Providers (SPs) to complement Dimension Data’s strong enterprise footprint.

Dimension Data has realised that, in order to develop its cloud-based architecture, it is essential to understand the integration of IT systems across disparate multi-technology, multi-geography IT environments. Its acquisition of OpSource represents a key element in achieving this goal.

“OpSource is better positioned to exploit its cloud architecture and orchestration capabilities, maximising on the global cloud opportunity as part of a globally diversified group, rather than on its own,” explains Zingoni. “Geographical expansion is, therefore, one of the key operational synergies that will be facilitated by this deal.”

To aid in seamless post-merger integration, Dimension Data has created a centralised stand-alone division – Dimension Data Cloud Solutions Business Unit, which falls directly under the scope of the CEO. This business model aims to eliminate duplication of costs, as well as to provide for a consistent global client experience.

“As a business entity, OpSource will operate as part of this unit, nevertheless retaining its name and brand identity,” says Zingoni. “The advantage of this strategy is to preserve brand recognition and customer loyalty in highly competitive markets.”

The Excellence in M&A Strategy Award is presented to the company that has excelled in the following criteria: synergies of acquisitions, expansion of customer base, enabling geographic expansion and strategy for post-merger integration.

Article from IT Online