Microsoft Office System
Customer Solution Case Study
IT Services Firm Switches to Microsoft
Collaboration, Streamlines IT, Cuts Costs
Overview
Country or Region: Australia
Industry: Professional services
Customer Profile
Dimension Data helps customers plan,
build, and support their IT infrastructures
and has expertise in networking, security,
operating systems, and contact center
technologies.
Business Situation
Lotus Notes/Domino messaging software
in the company’s Australian offices did not
integrate well with other offices, and it did
not support the company’s advancedcommunications development strategy.
Solution
Dimension Data standardized on the
Microsoft® server product portfolio and
migrated its Australian offices to Microsoft
collaboration software, including Microsoft
Exchange Server 2003.
Benefits
 Simplifies IT, reduces costs
 Provides a reliable, more secure
environment
 Promotes effective collaboration
 Supports versatile mobile
communications
 Aligns regional IT operations with
corporate strategy
“Our previous infrastructure was driven by the way
Notes operates, which required many servers
distributed across Australia.… From consolidation
alone, we estimate savings of U.S.$80,000 yearly.”
Anthony Stevens, Director of Systems and Processes, Australian Division of Dimension Data
Based in Johannesburg, South Africa, Dimension Data offers IT
services and customized solutions that help businesses support
their IT infrastructure. In early 2005, the company wanted to better
integrate the IT systems of its Australian offices with the systems of
the rest of the company. Dimension Data chose to standardize the
offices on the Microsoft® server product portfolio, including
replacing IBM Domino Server and Lotus Notes with Microsoft
Exchange Server 2003. Dimension Data also deployed Windows®
SharePoint® Products and Technologies, Microsoft Live
Communications Server, and Microsoft Office Communicator to
promote employee collaboration and to align IT systems with the
company’s strategy of promoting advanced communication
technologies. The new IT infrastructure is easier to manage,
requires fewer server computers, and saves U.S.$140,000 a year in
overhead costs.
Situation
Founded in 1983 and headquartered in
Johannesburg, South Africa, Dimension Data
provides consulting, integration, and
managed IT services and creates customized
solutions that help businesses plan, build,
and support their IT infrastructures. The
company has expertise in networking,
security, operating systems, and technologies
for storage and contact centers. With U.S.$3
billion in annual revenue and more than
8,600 employees in more than 30 countries,
Dimension Data clients include some of the
world’s leading enterprises, educational
institutions, and public sector agencies.
In early 2005, Dimension Data identified a
need to upgrade the IT infrastructure of its
Australian offices so that they could more
efficiently exchange data with the rest of the
company. Like most of its key partners and
customers, Dimension Data had standardized
on Microsoft® core infrastructure,
communication, and collaboration software;
however, the Australian offices, which were
acquired from another firm in 2000, were
running IBM Domino Server and Lotus Notes
version 5.
“Notes had become embedded in the
Australian offices over a 15-year period,”
explains Anthony Stevens, Director of
Systems and Processes for the Australian
Division of Dimension Data. “However,
Dimension Data has a strategy to adopt
worldwide standards, and the Notes
environment in Australia was an inhibitor to
global collaboration, scheduling, calendaring,
and sharing of information with employees in
other regions.”
“We needed to more closely align with our
major partners,” adds Brian Walshe, National
Microsoft Practice Manager at Dimension
Data. “Also, the vast majority of Dimension
Data employees are current or previous users
of Microsoft software. Additionally, we had
seen great collaborative benefits internally
from the adoption of other Microsoft
technologies. And Dimension Data has a very
strong voice in advising customers on where
collaboration and presence technologies are
going; we have a strategy of taking advantage
of advancements in communications, and
Microsoft has very compelling software in this
area. Finally, we wanted a more consistent,
homogenous IT environment, with all the
efficiencies in administration, hardware, and
resources that it offers.”
Dimension Data already had expertise
deploying and developing Microsoft-based
solutions for its customers. It also had a welldefined strategy for global standardization
and a well-defined vision of communication
and collaboration, making its choice for new
IT software a simple one.
Solution
In mid 2005, Dimension Data decided to
migrate its Australian offices more fully to the
Microsoft server product portfolio, including
tightly integrated infrastructure components:
The Windows Server® 2003 operating
system
 Active Directory® service, a component of
Windows Server 2003 that provides a
central location for managing and securing
user accounts, computers, and
applications
 Microsoft Systems Management Server
(SMS) 2003, an enterprise-class software
distribution and asset management
solution that provides inventory analysis,
operating system and application
deployment, software usage tracking, and
reporting
 Microsoft Operations Manager 2005, an
event and performance management tool
for Windows Server environments that
provides comprehensive event
management, proactive monitoring and
alerting, and reporting and trend analysis

“We actually haven’t
had any downtime since
implementing the new
solution. Reliability
doesn’t get any better
than that.”
Dimension Data also selected specific
Microsoft components to support its
comprehensive communication and
collaboration strategy:

Anthony Stevens, Director of Systems and
Processes, Australian Division of Dimension
Data
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Microsoft Exchange Server 2003
communication and collaboration server,
which enables companies to send and
receive e-mail and other messaging; and
the Microsoft Office Outlook® 2003
messaging and collaboration client to
access these services from individual
computers
Windows® SharePoint® Services,
technology in Windows Server 2003 that
provides Web hosting and document
storage functions and can function as a
development platform for creating
collaboration applications
Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server
2003, an enterprise collaboration solution
that aggregates SharePoint sites,
documents, and applications into a single,
easy-to-use portal and complements
Windows SharePoint Services by adding
functions for navigation, searching,
integration, and personalization
Microsoft Office Live Communications
Server 2003, an enterprise-grade, real-time
communications solution that provides
instant messaging and presence
awareness (detecting whether a user is
available for immediate communication)
Microsoft Office Communicator 2005, the
recommended client for Live
Communications Server that supports a
variety of real-time communications, from
instant messaging to video and voice; it
integrates with Microsoft Office System
programs and with enterprise telephony
infrastructure
Microsoft Office Project Server 2003, an
enterprise project-management solution
that provides portfolio and resource
management capabilities
Microsoft Office Outlook Web Access, an
integrated component of Exchange Server
2003 that accesses e-mail, schedules, and
other information stored on Exchange
Server using only a Web browser and an
Internet or intranet connection
 Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003
for employee desktops
In September 2005, Dimension Data created
a migration plan for the new solution. The
schedule called for a pilot phase in October,
followed by a city-by-city rollout of Exchange
Server that would be completed by the end of
2005. Getting Exchange Server up and
running was the critical first step in the
process. The other solution components,
including wide-scale deployment of
SharePoint Products and Technologies and
Live Communications Server, would begin in
mid 2006 and continue for several months.
In October 2005, the company implemented
a pilot project for migrating its Brisbane office
to Exchange Server. Specifically, this project
would test the new solution’s bandwidth
demands; verify compatibility among
corporate Web-based workflow applications,
Exchange Server, and Office Outlook; and test
basic usability among nontechnical
employees.
First, Dimension Data migrated the office to
Active Directory so that the office could fully
participate in a global address list (GAL). The
GAL stores the name, title, supervisor,
department, and contact information of each
employee as well as membership and
hierarchical information about groups and
resources.
Next, Dimension Data moved employees’
mailboxes in its Brisbane office from Notes to
Exchange Server. For this phase, the
company used the Microsoft Data Migrator
2006 for Lotus Domino. In addition to
directory, mailbox, and calendar data, the
company moved some key Notes
applications. “We investigated the best way
to migrate corporate applications from Notes,
and we realized that we didn’t have to take
an all-at-once approach,” says Walshe. “First,
we migrated the less complex ones to Web
Services and SharePoint applications. The
rest will be run on Domino, or will coexist on
Domino and Exchange Server, and moved as
the opportunity presents itself.”
For this phase of the project, the company
also used free Microsoft migration tools—the
Microsoft Application Analyzer 2006 for Lotus
Domino, and Windows SharePoint Services
Application Templates—to analyze its
Notes/Domino application environment and
to move important application data to the
Microsoft collaboration platform.
The transition at the Brisbane office required
only a few days, and with the success of the
pilot project, Dimension Data migrated its
other Australian offices, one at a time:
Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Adelaide, and
Perth. By December 2005, the Exchange
Server rollout was complete throughout
Australia.
“Deploying the Exchange Server component
was surprisingly simple,” says Walshe. “It only
took about six weeks to move six offices. This
was the first and biggest step in a three- or
four-step process of implementing the whole
collaboration solution.”
In mid 2006, Dimension Data began the
second step, deploying Live Communications
Server and Office Communicator to enable
presence features and instant messaging.
These components have been integrated with
the company’s IP telephony environment,
providing click–to-call, presence awareness,
and third-party call control features from
employee computers. The company also
began deploying SMS to permit rapid and
remote distribution of software and to track
how the software is being used. And the
company began deploying Microsoft
Operations Manager to monitor critical
infrastructure components and to use the
monitored data to improve system
performance.
Benefits
Even with only the first phase of the new
solution fully deployed, Dimension Data is
already experiencing the benefits of a simpler
IT infrastructure. The upgraded systems are
easier to manage, offer high reliability and
improved security, promote effective
employee collaboration, and better integrate
the Australian offices with the rest of the
global company. All offices are now
standardized on integrated Microsoft
software—the same software on which
Dimension Data builds solutions for its own
clients—and the new environment aligns all
offices with the company’s strategy of
promoting advanced communications.
Simplifies and Consolidates IT, Reduces
Costs
Dimension Data coordinated the
implementation of its Microsoft-based
solution with a broader plan to consolidate
multiple Australian IT offices into one data
center. As a result, the company has
substantially reduced the number of required
server computers, the complexity of server
maintenance, and the effort required for IT
administration. “Windows Server generally
and Exchange Server in particular have a
major strength in server consolidation,” says
Walshe. “The Exchange Server cluster is very
efficient. And the way it uses network-access
server storage is completely next-generation
for us.”
“Our previous infrastructure was driven by the
way Notes operates, which required many
servers distributed across Australia,” adds
Stevens. Since each server has to be backed
up, kept in an air-conditioned environment,
provided with a suitable power supply,
serviced, monitored, given software updates,
“One manager told me
that if she had known
that simply changing the
e-mail system would
improve efficiency and
morale so much, she
would have pushed for it
years earlier.”
Brian Walshe, National Microsoft Practice
Manager, Dimension Data
and protected for disaster recovery, many
benefits cascade from the consolidation that
Exchange Server provides. From
consolidation alone, we estimate savings of
$80,000 yearly.”
“By consequence, our administrative and
support overheads have also decreased quite
significantly,” says Stevens. “Every month, we
recover 180 labor hours that would have
otherwise been unavailable.” Dimension Data
estimates that it now saves $140,000 a year
in overhead costs.
Provides a Reliable, More Secure
Environment
The new Microsoft-based systems are not
only simpler to maintain but they are also
more reliable and provide better security.
“We actually haven’t had any downtime since
implementing the new solution,” says
Stevens. “Reliability doesn’t get any better
than that. And we have a new security model
built around the Microsoft infrastructure, with
more levels of security and greater control in
managing them. The policies and permissions
that Active Directory supports are very
flexible, so we now have a policy-driven
approach to granting people’s access to
different parts of the IT environment. For
example, we can prevent people sending email to the entire organization if they don’t
have proper authorization.”
Promotes Effective Collaboration
Dimension Data believes in providing
employees with the tools they need to share
their expertise within and across corporate
boundaries, and the company is pleased with
the collaboration benefits that the Microsoft
solution has begun to provide. “There’s a
seamless linkage between the Microsoft
Office System programs and Exchange
Server,” says Walshe. “This makes it very
easy for employees to reach the people they
need, using tools that are familiar and
intuitive. Electronic collaboration is becoming
simple and reliable, and with Outlook Remote
Access, it’s also becoming readily available to
employees in the field. People are very happy
with the new solution. One manager told me
that if she had known that simply changing
the e-mail system would improve efficiency
and morale so much, she would have pushed
for it years earlier.”
Supports Versatile Mobile
Communications
As an IT services provider, Dimension Data
has representatives visiting clients all over
the world, and supporting those workers with
robust mobile communications is a key
strategy for corporate success. This includes
taking advantage of the built-in support for
Windows Mobile® in Exchange Server.
“Virtually all our engineering, sales, and even
management staff are mobile,” says Walshe.
“Although we currently have many nonWindows e-mail devices, we have stopped
buying them. Instead, we are now buying
feature-rich devices running Windows Mobile
software. We want to give people access not
only to e-mail text but also to attachments.
Soon, our internal business applications will
run on the new devices, and eventually the
devices will support access to our SharePoint
portals. These future solutions will make a big
difference in productivity, and our
development work on them is made possible
by our migration to Microsoft collaboration
software.”
Aligns Regional IT Operations with a
Corporate Strategy
The development work that Dimension Data
is doing for its own mobile devices is an
example of its companywide commitment to
advanced communications, particularly
converged communications. Walshe explains:
“Today, notebook computers and phones are
not designed to work together in any
meaningful way. What we’re doing at
Dimension Data is developing solutions using
Live Communication Server that will merge
those two devices. These solutions exploit
rich presence, which is a combination of
presence on the PC—online, offline, away,
busy—and presence on the telephone—on the
phone, away from one’s desk, in a
conference, and so on. We’re also developing
solutions that take advantage of features in
Office Communicator. And we’re looking at
ways to extend collaboration not only among
employees within a company but among
companies, too.”
Walshe’s description is in part a reference to
Live Communications Server federation. With
this technology, presence information and
instant messaging can be extended to
partners, suppliers, and customers, providing
more efficient collaboration and a channel for
bringing geographically dispersed people
together. As a result, two or more
organizations can communicate and
collaborate in real time, in an encrypted,
authenticated, and managed environment.
Dimension Data has a strategy to promote
and develop converged communications
solutions for its customers, and this work
relies fundamentally on Microsoft technology,
so it makes sense for the Australian offices to
adopt this technology among its own
employees. “We are very, very strong
believers in converged communications,”
concludes Walshe enthusiastically. “We
certainly see Microsoft as the major player in
the converged communications space. And if
we are going to capitalize on Microsoft
technology, we have to use it ourselves.”
For More Information
Microsoft Office System
For more information about Microsoft
products and services, call the Microsoft
Sales Information Center at (800) 4269400. In Canada, call the Microsoft
Canada Information Centre at (877) 5682495. Customers who are deaf or hard-ofhearing can reach Microsoft text telephone
(TTY/TDD) services at (800) 892-5234 in
the United States or (905) 568-9641 in
Canada. Outside the 50 United States and
Canada, please contact your local
Microsoft subsidiary. To access information
using the World Wide Web, go to:
www.microsoft.com
The Microsoft Office System is the business
world’s chosen environment for information
work, providing the programs, servers, and
services that help you succeed by
transforming information into impact.
For more information about the Microsoft
Office system, go to:
www.microsoft.com/office
For more information about Dimension
Data products and services, call (61) (2)
8249 5000 (Australia) or visit the Web site
at:
www.dimensiondata.com
Software and Services
Microsoft Office
− Microsoft Office Professional Edition
2003
− Microsoft Office Communicator 2005
− Microsoft Office Project Server 2003
− Microsoft Office Live Communications
Server 2003
− Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal
Server 2003
 Microsoft Server Product Portfolio
− Windows Server 2003 Enterprise
Edition

This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT
MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS
SUMMARY.
Document published January 2007
− Microsoft Exchange Server 2003
Enterprise Edition
− Microsoft Operations Manager 2005
− Microsoft Systems Management Server
2003
 Technologies
− Active Directory
− Windows SharePoint Services
Hardware
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IBM xSeries server computers