Dimension Data has done more in terms of investing in its growth strategy, in the two years since it was bought out by Japan-based NTT, than what may have been possible if it were still listed, says CEO Brett Dawson.
DiData was delisted at the end of 2010, after the R24.2 billion buyout by Japan-based Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation became final. Dawson says NTT has invested "heavily" in DiData and the company has been able to make a few acquisitions off the back of the investment.
NTT invested about R1.5 billion in Dimension Data after buying it out, notes Dawson. He says this has gone into funding growth, and NTT is backing DiData's "aggressive" investment plan. The bid was announced mid-2010.
Dawson says the company has been investing to grow into key new areas, such as cloud. The R1.5 billion has mostly gone into acquisitions such as cloud computing and managed communications services, he adds.
DiData is seeking to expand its geographic presence and is evaluating five or six countries that may be attractive. The company is currently present in about 51 countries and has 15 000 permanent and 5 000 contract staff.
Dawson says it also aims to expand in Latin America, Europe and become "bigger in Japan". He adds the goal is to double the business within the next five years, and NTT is pushing for aggressive expansion outside of Japan.
DiData is focusing on adding new "dimensions" and expanding into areas such as enterprise mobility. Dawson says its moves into cloud are starting to pay off as growth has been "explosive" over the past two years and revenue is becoming real.
Dawson cites the IDC and says cloud is expected to grow at 50% a year over the next few years. DiData is positioned to benefit from this, as it is "at the right place at the right time".
Markets have been tough for the past two years, says Dawson. He adds that DiData has outpaced its peers with top line growth of high single digits each year for the past two years, and benefited from good gains in Europe, which is under economic pressure.
Dawson says DiData is still net cash positive, which is how the business has always been run. It seeks to continue to operate on this basis, although it helps having a shareholder to aid its growth.
Share