About
Subscribe

DiData buys Silicon Valley's OpSource

Nicola Mawson
By Nicola Mawson, Contributing journalist
Johannesburg, 01 Jul 2011

Dimension Data, a subsidiary of telecoms giant NTT, has bought Silicon Valley-based OpSource for an undisclosed amount, to accelerate is cloud computing services.

DiData was bought out by Japan-based Nippon Telegraph and Telecom for R24 billion last year, and was then delisted from the Johannesburg and London exchanges. At the time, it said the deal would accelerate its growth, which includes a push into cloud-based services.

The relationship between NTT and OpSource began in November 2008, when the companies entered into a strategic alliance and NTT subsequently invested a small amount into OpSource.

Now, DiData has bought out OpSource, which has 150 staff and operations in Virginia, United Kingdom, Ireland and India, to add to its offerings. OpSource provides cloud technology to companies offering software-as-a-service.

Vital move

DiData CEO Brett Dawson says the move to cloud computing is still in its early days when it comes to companies making the shift, although consumers are taking advantage of the growing trend.

One area in which providers such as telcos are battling is processes, and making sure the right services and computing power are delivered to end-users, and billing accordingly, says Dawson.

“Over the past few years, Dimension Data has been building cloud-related skills and capabilities in the areas of virtualisation, centre and storage, managed services and hosting, and IT outsourcing - all critical to enabling cloud architectures for our clients.”

Adding this piece of the puzzle to DiData's offering mix allows it to accelerate the move to the cloud. “Without this move, it would be very, very tough.

“OpSource brings a rich set of services, a sound cloud architecture, and extensive experience in cloud services that will meet immediate client needs - in addition to a cloud infrastructure which supports development and growth in this space.”

DiData believes OpSource provides it with an “accelerated time-to-market as their infrastructure and services are well-established and tested,” Dawson adds.

The company has also created a centralised Cloud Solutions Business Unit, which will report directly to Dawson and incorporate OpSource.

Share