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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Article from Business Live

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

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

Gemalto, the world leader in digital security, has won the IT Security Sesames award for Just4YourEyes™. The winning innovation was distinguished at the 2011 CARTES & IDentification industry fair.

Just4YourEyes is a first-of-its-kind software solution which enhances secure access to emails from a variety of devices, including tablets, smartphones or laptops, using the cloud for securely sharing a common credential. The solution allows for any mobile device or a secure element (such as a UICC or secure memory card) in that device, to act as a single repository to store the PKI credentials required to encrypt or sign emails. Those credentials can be accessed remotely by the email client, native or web-based, via a secure cloud service, removing the need to store secret keys on multiple devices. Just4YourEyes is the first and only solution to enable nomadic access to email securely from multiple terminals leveraging a single credential source across cloud access. This unique model is a pioneering key milestone towards a truly secure cloud-based eco-system.

“This Sesames award recognizes Gemalto’s expertise in securing cloud computing for enterprise applications,” commented Tan Teck-Lee, Chief Innovation and Technology Officer. “Gemalto’s secure cloud services meet the increasing need to access corporate content on-the-go, while easing digital rights and identities management.”

Gemalto Press Release

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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

Dimension Data has achieved Microsoft Cloud Accelerate Partner status, held by less than 1% of Microsoft partners around the world. Combined with Dimension Data’s existing Microsoft Hyper-V Private Cloud partner status, it re-enforces the Group’s position around providing clients with architectures and roadmaps for adopting cloud computing, at a pace that suits the client.

Introduced in 2010, the Microsoft Cloud Accelerate Programme is designed to showcase and support the top partners committed to delivering the next generation of cloud services to their clients.

Dimension Data achieved the status by demonstrating excellence in service delivery and a proven track record of delivering cloud projects around the world. Cloud Accelerate Partners are able to further their capabilities via access to relevant online services, Microsoft promotion of cloud capabilities, and access to higher levels of pre-sales training and technical support.

Peter Menadue, Dimension Data’s Group General Manager, Microsoft Solutions, said: “Dimension Data has reached yet another milestone in our longstanding relationship with Microsoft. We recognise the value of working together when deploying solutions for our clients. Indeed, leveraging the Microsoft skills and support is often the backbone of our implementations.

Dimension Data is a Microsoft Gold Partner on five continents, and has more than 1 100 Microsoft certifications, including 450 Microsoft Certified System Engineers. In addition, Dimension Data participates, by invitation only, in a number of Microsoft’s Partner Advisory Councils. In 2006, Dimension Data and Microsoft extended this partnership by entering into a multi-year Global Alliance Agreement that sees ongoing investment by both companies in the pursuit of new market opportunities and improved value to their joint clients. As a direct result of the agreement, their clients experience improved support for their Microsoft environments and benefit from more innovative and robust solutions to their needs. Today, Dimension Data is one of only a few of Microsoft’s thousands of partners worldwide that can transfer the benefits of such an agreement to its clients.

Dimension Data Press Release

Article from ITWeb

Britehouse, a Convergence Partners investee, is still one of the best companies to work for, according to Deloitte’s annual survey 2011. The fact that all levels of staff are empowered to contribute to company strategy makes Britehouse SSD, Britehouse’s specialist SAP division and a leader in mobile business software applications, one of the best companies to work for.

Says Britehouse SSD CEO, Paolo Masselli: “In spite of an extremely disruptive year in which we acquired several companies and then merged nine into four, we still came fifth in the Small to Medium category in Deloitte’s 2011 Best Company to Work For survey – and second in the Business and Professional Services category.

“This was the first year in which we entered the Business and Professional Services category. We maintained our position in areas in which we’ve always had a good standing, and we jumped straight to the top echelons in consulting.

“All of which was possible only because our employees are expected to take responsibility for themselves in getting the job done. For some people, not being micro-managed is frightening. For Britehouse achievers, relying on their own initiative is the only way to live and work, and they revel in it. They also appreciate the fact that our management structure is pretty flat. So their input is valued, and can actually change the company’s strategy.”

In most organisations, retaining staff enthusiasm in the midst of turning over more than R400 million, while simultaneously repositioning to increase growth to half a billion rand in the next 12 to 18 months, would have been more than challenging. But Britehouse employees are committed to the company’s objective of increasing annuity income.

Until 2011, 80% of the company’s revenue was project-based. “The IT landscape is now shifting strongly towards software as a service and, eventually, to the cloud,” Masselli says. “In the process, the need for bespoke systems is dwindling, and the need for outsourced or hosted systems is increasing – and, along with that, the need for support of entire systems.

“Organisations are feeling the need to be able to take their systems for granted so as to focus on optimising their solutions. Some, in fact, just want the output of the solutions, and are looking for someone reliable and innovative to look after both the systems and the solutions that run on them.

“We’re particularly well positioned to do both, because some of our subsidiaries have always either hosted SAP solutions, or managed business processes. And, in most of our client interactions, we’ve had to supply a significant measure of innovation and optimisation support services. So, it’s been a matter of repackaging what we already had in a more integrated way, and filling in a few gaps here and there.

“We might be a bigger ship now, but it’s always going to be a tight one. Our operational philosophy doesn’t change. We’re still exclusively delivery-orientated because we want long-term relationships with our clients and we believe that giving them what they need in as short a timeframe as possible is the best way to encourage them to use us again.

“It’s an extremely disciplined work ethos that creates a great deal of pressure for our employees. But they never get bored. The credit for getting a job done on time and on budget always goes to our staff. And they thrive on it.”

Britehouse Press Release

Article from ITWeb

The Computer Society of South Africa (CSSA), in partnership with leading IT publishers, academic and research institutions, every year recognises outstanding talent, leadership, vision and commitment of individuals and organisations within the ICT industry. Convergence Partners is proud to note that Mayan Mathen, Dimension Data CTO, has been nominated for the CSSA Visionary CIO 2011 award.

The 2011 winners of the IT industry’s most prestigious awards will be announced at the CSSA President’s Awards event – a business breakfast organised in association with ITWeb on 10 November at the Hilton Sandton Hotel.

The four awards being presented are the IT Personality of the Year, the Visionary CIO of the Year, Distinguished Service in ICT and IT Leading Employer. This year’s finalists for the IT Personality award are Asher Bohbot, CEO of EOH, Darlene Menzies, managing owner of The Development House, Greg Reis, CEO of Business Systems Group, Mteto Nyati, MD of Microsoft and Sean O’Connell, CEO of Airborne.

The top five finalists for the Visionary CIO award are Andrew Brauer, CIO/CTO of Business Connexion, Bradley Coward, group CIO of Sappi, Mayan Mathen, CTO of Dimension Data MEA, Rubens da Silva, CIO of Johannesburg Water and Sandi Macfie, CIO of Southern Sun Hotels.

Article from BizCommunity

Dimension Data recently released its quarterly results, reflecting strong revenue growth of 4.7%, to $1.46 billion, in the quarter to June 2011.

So far, for the first nine months of the year, group revenue is up 13.4% in constant currency to $4.2 billion. Product sales improved by 13.1% and services grew 13.6% year-on-year. Dimension Data explains growth would have been higher in reported US currency due to the dollar’s relative weakness during the first nine months of the year. Overall, group operating profit for the nine months improved 14.2%, to $203.7 million.

Since the company was delisted from both the JSE and London Stock Exchange towards the end of last year, it is no longer required to publish financial information.

CEO Brett Dawson says the “group achieved an excellent nine months of trading compared to the results of the IT industry in general, and the business continues to show growth from a revenue and profitability point of view over the 2010 financial year”.

Dimension Data’s systems integration unit reported revenue 17.7% higher for the first nine months of the year, while operating profit grew 13.3% at an operating margin of 4.3%.

Internet Solutions’ revenue increased 6.9%, with operating profit up 3.3%, and Plessey grew “strongly at both the revenue and operating profit level off a very low base in the prior year,” says Dimension Data.

However, Dawson says revenue growth slowed in the third quarter after a strong first half. “Close attention to margins and the cost base has driven the improvement of operating profit up 14.7% in the quarter,” he adds.

In the three months to June, Dimension Data says its services unit grew 10.9%, while product sales were mostly flat, gaining 0.2%. Its gross margin improved 1.4 percentage points to 21.5%.

Gross profit gained 12%, and the company’s operating profit – 14.7% higher year-on-year, reached $74 million.

“We are investing aggressively in expanding the scope of our service offerings – both organically and through acquisitions,” Dawson adds.

During the quarter, Dimension Data bought OpSource to accelerate its cloud strategy. “Our focus on cloud services aligns to our longstanding strategy to become a services-led business,” says Dawson.

DD Press Release

Article in ITWeb