In less than one year of operation, In The Cloud Services, a specialist cloud provider, has become one of Mimecast's leading channel partners. In The Cloud Services has taken Mimecast into 10 African countries and secured 2 280 seats on the e-mail management service with an additional 6 000 seats currently in a pilot phase.
In The Cloud Services is the brainchild of Cathy Stodel, who started the entirely cloud-focused provider with fulfilment partner, Symbiotech, and technology vendor, Mimecast.
The reason for selecting Mimecast was its market and technology maturity as well as the broad opportunity base that an e-mail management services offer. “I am always looking for additional good solutions to add to the technology stack and integration so that my company can offer a comprehensive range of cloud services in the future,” says Stodel.
Paul Stafford, business development manager at Mimecast South Africa, puts 'In The Cloud Services' success down to the combination of experience and focus. “Cathy has more than a decade's worth of experience in the IT industry and this, combined with her keen focus on cloud services, means her business can and will deliver on the commitments it makes to clients. The client list, which includes the likes of Engen affiliates in Africa, Old Mutual Investment Group Property Investments, Cape Union Mart, Spescom and the Democratic Alliance, is testament to Cathy and her team's ability to deliver.”
After 10 years as a corporate account manager at a leading South African ISP, Stodel chose to move away from connectivity and into the cloud. “I don't need to tell anyone in IT that cloud computing is a global trend. The reason that I chose to start In The Cloud Services now is that the general resistance to cloud, which has characterised South African businesses' attitude to the technology, is starting to crumble - especially in the e-mail space. This was the right year to start a completely cloud-focused services provider,” says Stodel.
“E-mail is the most logical first step when offering cloud services. It's a tried and tested software as a service solution that deals with all the pain of fragile and cumbersome e-mail infrastructure,” says Stodel. “The fears around security and lost infrastructure investment are addressed by Mimecast. It offers a choice of a pure cloud solution or a hybrid model that enhances existing on-premise infrastructure rather than immediately taking the entire mail infrastructure into the cloud.”
“As a completely cloud-focused provider, In The Cloud Services is the first Mimecast partner of its kind in South Africa. Its success and growth in the first year of operation demonstrates that it's more than possible to build a sustainable, profitable and growing business on the annuity revenue that cloud computing offers,” concludes Stafford.
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In The Cloud Services
In The Cloud Services has been established to serve the enterprise need for e-mail, e-mail management and Internet connectivity solutions. Partnerships with UEM specialist, Mimecast, leading messaging consultancy and integrator, Symbiotech, as well as leading Internet service providers enable In the Cloud Services to provide the best solution fit for its clients. Significant clients include: Ogilvy, Old Mutual, Remax, Spescom and Cape Union Mart.
Mimecast
Mimecast (www.mimecast.com) delivers SaaS-based enterprise e-mail management, including archiving, discovery, continuity, security and policy. By unifying disparate and fragmented e-mail environments into one holistic solution that is always available from the cloud, Mimecast minimises risk and reduces cost and complexity, while providing total end-to-end control of e-mail. Founded in the United Kingdom in 2003, Mimecast serves approximately 3 000 customers worldwide and has offices in Europe, North America, Africa, the Middle East and the Channel Islands.
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