Dimension Data Achieves Cisco Cloud Certification

By David Delony January 18, 2013

Dimension Data, a South African ICT services and solutions provider, has announced it has received Cisco Cloud Provider Certification with a Cisco Powered Cloud Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) designation.

Certification from the database giant recognizes Dimension Data's operation of data centers offering IaaS services in a multi-tenant configuration.

A multi-tenant configuration refers to multiple cloud computing clusters sharing the same infrastructure, much like tenants do in an office building.

Dimension Data offers what it calls Compute-as-a-Service (CaaS), a cloud-based IaaS that facilitates self-service public and private cloud-based storage and networking.

Users can set up Cisco-based virtual LANs, firewalls, multicast and Network Address Translation (NAT). They can access infrastructure in San Jose, Calif., Ashburn, Va., Amsterdam, Sydney and Johannesburg.

Dimension Data delivers its services on a Managed Cloud Platform (MCP), which included the cloud infrastructure itself and the company’s automated billing, orchestration and provisioning tools. Private MCPs can also be deployed in client data centers.

The firm has also been recognized elsewhere in the industry. Gartner put the company in the Leaders Quadrant of its Magic Quadrant metric in 2011.

“Our placement in the Leaders Quadrant is an important milestone for Dimension Data as we believe it illustrates that the market - and most importantly our clients – recognize the significant progress we've made on our journey towards becoming a world-leading services-led organization,” said Dimension Data CEO, Brett Dawson.

Gartner cited the company’s “ability to execute” and “completeness of vision” as reasons for placing the company in the quadrant.

“Globally, more and more of our in-country and multi-country clients are calling for a consistent and comprehensive support offering across multi-technologies, multi-vendors and multi-geographies,” Dawson said. “This is a key priority for the Group both now and into the future. Dimension Data is committed to investing in, and enhancing its infrastructure and service capabilities to deliver unsurpassed global solutions to our clients wherever they do business in the world."

Edited by Braden Becker