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

Dimension Data announced it has won the 2011 Microsoft Systems Management Partner of the Year Award.

The company was honored among a global field of top Microsoft partners for demonstrating excellence in innovation and implementation of customer solutions based on Microsoft technology.

“This is the second time in three years that the Group has been awarded Systems Management Partner of the Year. We are seeing significant growth and interest in systems management solutions as clients look to support virtualisation on their journey to cloud computing, with particular emphasis on automation to increase efficiency and improve agility.”

“The award is testament to the investment we’re making in order to help our clients on this journey,” says Peter Menadue, Dimension Data’s Group General Manager for Microsoft Solutions.

The Awards were presented in multiple categories, with winners chosen from a set of more than 3 000 global entrant. Dimension Data was recognized for providing outstanding solutions and services in Microsoft Systems Management Partner of the Year.

The Systems Management Partner of the Year Award honors a partner who has delivered solutions to manage physical and virtual infrastructures across datacenters, client computers, and devices.

This award recognizes Dimension Data for enabling customers to reduce costs, improve application availability and enhance service delivery. The successful solution needs to utilize Microsoft’s suite of systems management products, technologies and solution accelerators. This partner has dramatically transformed a customer’s IT infrastructure, resulting in operational efficiencies, reduced IT labor or hardware costs, or automation of management tasks.

“Microsoft is pleased to distinguish Dimension Data as Systems Management Partner of the Year,” says Bob Kelly, Corporate Vice President for Infrastructure and Server Marketing at Microsoft.

“Dimension Data’s system management solutions have enabled users to manage both physical and virtual infrastructures while reducing hardware and IT labor costs. By effectively utilizing Microsoft’s suite of systems management products and technologies, Dimension Data allows customers to simultaneously improve multiple infrastructures for data centers, client computers, and devices,” says Kelly.

The Microsoft Partner Awards recognize Microsoft partners that have developed and delivered exceptional Microsoft-based solutions over the past year.

Dimension Data Press Release

Article from ItNews Africa

Local Microsoft development powerhouse, 3fifteen, a Britehouse Company has announced a new partnership with Vodacom Business, which will see its customers able to – on a per seat basis – rent access to Microsoft’s enterprise software solutions for a cost-effective, predictable monthly fee.

Vodacom will be responsible for managing the multi-tenant back-end systems required to host instances of Microsoft Exchange, Dynamics CRM, SharePoint and Office Communications Server in its own data centre, while 3fifteen will focus on configuring, customising and building the functionality its customers require from their software solutions.

“Software as a service is growing in popularity,” says Andrew McPhail, Business Development Manager for Microsoft Dynamics CRM at 3fifteen. He adds: “Customers choosing this path for the running of their IT systems are finding that the flexibility it allows them in increasing or decreasing the number of seats their company makes use of as and when required, as well as some abdication of responsibility when it comes to ensuring the uptime, reliability and performance of their systems are concerned, to be of real benefit.

“It allows them to focus on the running of their business instead of the running of their IT systems – something that’s always been of massive importance to smaller, specialist companies and becoming increasingly important to medium-sized companies looking to reduce their IT spend.”

McPhail says even though the new partnership with Vodacom is a significant move, it will change very little when it comes to how 3fifteen executes.

“We still go through as detailed a process when it comes to assisting our customers in detailing their business requirements and architecting a solution. The only difference is, the work is carried out on a system that is hosted in Vodacom’s data centre and not on our customers’ premises,” he says.

“What this partnership does allow us to do,” he continues, “is afford our customers a more flexible, cost-effective overall solution that’s centred on operational expenditure as opposed to capital expenditure.

“This in turn means their appetite is likely to be stronger for the solutions we propose and they’re more likely to gain increased value, faster,” he adds.

McPhail says 3fifteen believes this new partnership presents a glimpse into how IT systems will be rolled out and managed in the future, and provides both itself and its customers with a solid stepping stone into the cloud computing era.

“We’re intrigued to see how the market responds over the coming months,” he concludes.

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Britehouse subsidiary 3Fifteen, has, for a second year running, achieved sixth place in the Small Company Category (50 – 300 employees) in the annual Deloitte ‘Best Company to Work For Survey’. Britehouse Specialist SAP Division, a leading South Africa SAP consultancy firm employing close to 300 people improved its ranking significantly from the previous year and was also included in the top ten companies.

View the full Statement

Johannesburg, South Africa, Thursday, 12 July 2007 - In a move to grow its business on the African continent in the public and private sectors, Dimension Data plc today announced it has been granted Competition Commission approval to sell a stake in its Britehouse Group (Britehouse) to a BEE and investment company consortium.

The consortium comprises Convergence Partners Investments (Pty) Ltd, Safika Holdings (Pty) Ltd, and VenFin Limited.

In October last year, Dimension Data in South Africa announced it had consolidated its Microsoft Applications, SAP Application Development Practices and Paracon Holdings Ltd investment into a new entity, the Britehouse Group, and intended to sell a 30% stake in that business to Convergence Partners and Safika. VenFin was subsequently included as a financier in the transaction, bringing the total purchase stake by the consortium to 60%.

View the full Statement

Dimension Data Holdings PLC has today announced the formation of a new company – Britehouse Group.

In line with the ongoing convergence in the software applications space, Dimension Data in South Africa has consolidated its Microsoft Applications and SAP Application Development Practices into Britehouse Group (Britehouse), a new, black-empowered entity.

In line with the ongoing convergence in the software applications space, Dimension Data in South Africa has consolidated its Microsoft Applications and SAP Application Development Practices into Britehouse Group (Britehouse), a new, black-empowered entity.

A Black Economic Empowerment Consortium consisting of Convergence Partners Investments (Proprietary) Limited (a company headed by Andile Ngcaba) and Safika Holdings (Proprietary) Limited (an empowerment investment holding company) will purchase an effective 30% stake in Britehouse. The remaining shareholding of Britehouse will be held by a wholly owned subsidiary of Dimension Data Holdings PLC (Dimension Data PLC).

Britehouse which comprises a 57,6% stake in 3fifteen and 75% stake in Pebbletree Consulting – has a large concentration of SAP and Microsoft specialist skills. 3fifteen and Pebbletree Consulting were identified and incubated by Dimension Data’s venture capital business, Protocol Venture Capital (Pty) Ltd. The consolidation of these companies into a separate operating entity provides efficiencies, critical mass and autonomy.

3fifteen, a Microsoft Gold Partner, provides specialist Microsoft services including consulting, software application development and deployment. Earlier this year, the company was named as Microsoft’s 2006 Customer Experience Partner of the Year.

Pebbletree Consulting, a SAP Africa Service Partner and an SAP Africa SME Business Partner, provides strategic business consulting services in respect of SAP software, empowering organisations to optimise business performance using SAP as a platform.

Both 3fifteen and Pebbletree will retain their current management structures, operating independence and identities.

Dimension Data South Africa Pty Ltd’s investment in Paracon Holdings Limited has also been transferred to Britehouse. Paracon, a specialist IT contracting company, will provide the new entity with a flexible skills base to ensure an optimal structure.

Dimension Data’s core business is the provision and maintenance of the ICT infrastructure that supports the delivery of software applications to all parts of the enterprise. 3fifteen and Pebbletree excel in the area of software applications, which are network reliant, and thus a natural fit with Dimension Data’s ICT infrastructure expertise.

The consolidated carrying value of Britehouse is R98.9 million. The transaction is subject to various approval including regulatory approvals.

About Dimension Data

Dimension Data plc (LSE:DDT), a specialist IT services and solution provider, helps clients plan, build, support and manage their IT infrastructures. Dimension Data applies its expertise in networking, security, operating environments, storage and contact centre technologies and its unique skills in consulting, integration and managed services to create customised client solutions.