Dimension Data partners with F5 in aligning client business strategy with IT infrastructure

Dimension Data has entered into an agreement with leading network optimisation vendor F5. With Dimension Data now being awarded Unity Gold Partner status, the leading systems integrator can now provide F5's highly regarded solutions to its clients, ensuring they derive maximum benefit from their network infrastructure.

According to Michael Abendanon, General Manager, Dimension Data Network Integration Middle East and Africa, F5's way of doing business offers great synergies with Dimension Data's methodologies and the way it wants to engage with clients.

“F5's offerings provide strategic points of control throughout the IT infrastructure, which will in turn empower us to assist our clients to scale and adapt their business effectively. Through F5's offerings we can provide the means to align important yet traditionally inflexible IT infrastructures with changing business demands.”

The shared objective is to drive business forward on a solid yet agile IT foundation, while proven technologies and processes continue to ensure that applications stay secure, fast and available. “Together we can deliver fast predictable solutions accelerating many types of applications, including SAP, Oracle and many of the Microsoft Applications,” affirms Abendanon.

The F5 solution offering is comprehensive, encompassing business enablement issues such as acceleration, availability, cloud computing, security, storage and virtualisation. Initially, Dimension Data's primary focus will be on the provision of F5's acceleration solutions, which have been successfully deployed across a number of applications. Irrespective of size, configuration or location, these solutions help networks and applications work faster, use fewer resources, and perform more cost-effectively. “With improved replication between data centres, we'll be able to assist businesses meet stringent disaster recovery objectives without them having to invest in additional bandwidth,” says Abendanon.

F5 is currently the only vendor in this space that provides an open architectural framework, and its technologies come highly recommended by Microsoft and SAP, who continually develop joint innovation and integration with F5.“Dimension Data maintains extremely close relationships with these vendors and are fully capable of providing complete end-to-end solutions that will optimise the use of Microsoft and SAP application stacks for our clients, adding even more value to their business,” says Abendanon.

Dimension Data's relationship with F5 itself is well-established. “We are one of only two Unity Gold Partners in South Africa, and are looking forward to leveraging our industry-leading networking expertise on our future installations. In addition, we will be providing all the necessary ongoing support and maintenance required for continued optimisation,” says Abendanon. “This partnership represents a natural progression of our relationship and most importantly will add just the right kind a value we are seeking to provide to our client base.”