Dimension Data has redefined its strategy for the first time in about a decade and has defined five units, from the previous six, through which it aims to grow as it also seeks to buy more companies.
The group, which was bought out by Japan's NTT a few years ago, aims to double revenue to $12 billion within about the next four years. Derek Wilcocks, DiData's Middle East and Africa CEO, says the five units DiData is focusing on will aid its future growth.
The recent move has also seen it buy the bulk of NextiraOne for an undisclosed amount. NextiraOne is a European multinational company that designs, installs, maintains, and supports business solutions and communications services for more than 43 000 private and public sector clients throughout Europe.
Dimension Data is in an acquisitive mood and wants to buy companies to increase its scale, says Wilcocks. He says the group is targeting growth in the US, Asia and Europe, and NextiraOne was a big step forward in that strategy.
The group has bought NextiraOne's businesses, acquiring 1 850 permanent employees, in Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain and the UK. It is also set to buy NextiraOne's operations in France and Italy in mid-2015, if certain performance conditions are met.
Acquisitions are key for DiData to boost revenue and the group has the backing of parent company NTT, says Wilcocks. He adds the firm has been accelerating its investments into its own platforms since the buyout.
Shaper focus
Wilcocks says the group is now focusing on networking, data centres, converged communications, security and end-user computing, its smallest unit at the moment. He says the group is seeing a shift to software-defined networks, integration between networks and data centres, communication moving into the cloud, and managed security taking off globally.
Dimension Data has also been investing heavily in end-user computing as companies battle to manage the bring your own device era.
Wilcocks says the company has appointed five global heads to lead each unit and has standardised its offerings in the 58 countries in which it operates. Dimension Data also has Africa-specific offerings, he notes.
The group is rebuilding its application business and has put together a number of assets to create a unit with more than 400 people and capability in SAP, Oracle and other niche areas, says Wilcocks.
Although the unit is still in early days, Wilcocks says it has seen good uptake. He adds the company has taken its basic infrastructure capability and merged it with Plessey, which provides the group with economies of scale and allows it to offer an end-to-end networking solution.
Wilcocks says the unit sees opportunity for infrastructure development in Africa.
DiData has also put its call centre company Merchants, which has around 4 000 seats in SA, together with other contact centre technology in one team, says Wilcocks. He says the group is seeing uptake for aspects such as back-office solutions, call recording and data integration.
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