Dimension Data’s
professional services
How we deliver projects
Dimension Data’s professional services
Without a doubt, the current business
landscape is more unpredictable
and challenging than ever before.
To stay a step ahead of your
competitors, you need to constantly
consider a host of new solutions
that have the potential to harness
greater efficiencies and trim both
capital and operating expenditure.
Implementing new systems usually
entails an upgrade or refresh of your
IT infrastructure – projects that are
critical to maintaining your company’s
profitability and competitive edge.
Yet making an investment in the
right technology is only one of the
components of a successful project.
More often than not, ensuring that
the technology is deployed efficiently
and on time presents the major
stumbling block. With IT budgets
under the spotlight, it’s now more
important than ever that the highest
standards are applied to project
management in your organisation
– you simply can’t afford costly
missteps and project overruns.
Sadly, research indicates that up to
a third of IT projects miss the mark.
Let’s take a closer look at some
of the reasons why so many IT
projects fail...
Increasingly complex
technologies
Managing an IT project is a complex affair:
Information technology is especially risky
because it’s always evolving and growing
in complexity. IT projects often fail because
they include the usual project management
burdens, such as deadlines, budget
and resource constraints but they also
involve specific technology challenges,
from hardware, operating system,
network or database issues to
interoperability challenges.
Multi-geography
deployment challenges
As technology becomes more complex
and globalisation continues unabated,
increasingly there is an expectation for global
standardisation of technology. However,
co-ordinating multi-geography deployments
is no mean feat. Such projects can take
complexity and risk to new heights. The
challenges are many and include logistical,
cultural, commercial, co mmunication and
governance issues. In fact it’s estimated
that international deployments impose two
to three times the management load of
national ones!
Lack of a robust project
management methodology
IT projects often go off the rails if the
need for a robust project management
methodology has been overlooked.
A standard project management
methodology is a knowledge base
containing guidelines, standards,
procedures, tools and techniques for
achieving effective project management.
It tells each individual involved in a
project what to do, when and how to
do it, what documents to create, which
checklists to use and makes roles and
responsibilities clear. It also provides
a common language around project
management that eases communication
and helps ensure that everyone is ‘on
the same page’.
While many forward-thinking organisations
today recognise that using sound project
management techniques and processes
will give them a higher likelihood that their
project will be completed on time, within
budget, and to an acceptable level of
quality, most companies don’t have the inhouse capability to successfully accomplish
project objectives. Many realise that by
outsourcing project management functions
to a specialist service provider they can
achieve a higher project success rate at a
lower cost.
This is used as the basis to create a
vision and strategy for the desired
technology environment.
Once the detailed solution requirements
have been established and documented,
Dimension Data is expert at minimising
project risk. We will not only facilitate your
IT procurement (local, multinational or
global), but also integrate and deploy the
solution seamlessly into your environment.
Through Dimension Data Direct, our
vendor integrated eProcurement
solution, we are able to streamline the
IT procurement process. We guarantee
delivery timelines and predictable costs –
including accurate Duty and VAT estimates.
For all multi-country deliveries, we take
ownership of the import/ export process
to ensure optimal customs clearance and
delivery dates. Throughout the process,
you will have access to our online track and
trace system – you can monitor your orders
real-time 24 x 7 x 365.
The value of a sound
project management
methodology includes:
• Better expectation-setting through
up-front estimating, planning,
and project definition
• Faster execution through the reuse of
common processes and templates
• Fewer project problems encountered
when utilising proactive project
management processes
• Better organisational decision
making through more effective
project communication
Dimension Data’s approach:
• Less rework by building a higher quality
product the first time
At Dimension Data, through our
professional services, we support you in
the planning and building of new solutions
for your business. Drawing on our focus
and several decades experience, we’re
quickly able to recognise and understand
evolving technologies as they emerge and
assist you to convert the most appropriate
ones into solutions that deliver measurable
value to your business. Every year we assist
hundreds of clients across the globe in
moving forward with new investments and
deployments with confidence.
Once the equipment is successfully
procured, Dimension Data will create the
solution and unify it with your existing
business and IT processes. With the
overall solution scrutinised for technical
and functional integrity, attention is
focused on testing the design, training
and deployment. The deployment exercise
focuses on introducing the new solution
into your environment with minimal
disruption and maximum benefit to
your organisation – made possible by
proper planning.
How does it all work?
The ongoing management of new
solutions can be onerous – which is why
we are frequently engaged by our clients
at this point to take responsibility for
the support and management of new
technology environments. This frees up
their internal resources to grow their
businesses and focus on revenue
generating activities.
When you engage with Dimension Data
on a professional services project, we
commence with an extensive assessment
of your environment. Dimension Data
tools, benchmarks and blueprints are
applied to assess the current state of
your IT infrastructure.
Dimension Data’s professional services
Primer – our project
management methodology
Dimension Data’s position is that a robust
project management methodology is the
key to overcoming the potentially painful
and costly missteps associated with poorlymanaged projects. Our view is that successful
projects don’t just happen – rather, they
must be meticulously planned and controlled
in order to meet the objectives, on time,
within budget and to scope. We believe
that common processes, templates, and
a consistent set of expectations around
managing projects are key components of a
solid project management foundation and
are critical to mitigating risk and dealing
with contingencies.
To this end, we’ve developed an in-house
professional services engagement and
Sales engagement
Inception
delivery methodology known as Primer.
Primer has been developed around a
global framework to ensure consistency in
delivery and alignment with our services
framework globally, while still supporting
regional constraints, specific client needs
and technology variations. It combines
the fundamental concepts of project
management best practice methodologies
including ISO 9000, PRINCE2 and the
Project Management Book of Knowledge
with our own experience in project
management, gained over several decades
across various geographies and vertical
industries. Creating a comprehensive
best of breed project management and
engineering practice and toolset under one
global framework gives us the best of both
worlds and, we believe, sets us apart from
the rest of the industry. Primer comprises
Definition
Build
Multi-vendor technology expertise
Global reach
Dimension Data has extensive experience
in setting up and delivering multi-vendor
services in all geographies and across all
vertical industries. We believe that building
solutions for your unique environment,
using best of breed technologies, is the
optimum route to take. A breadth of
capability in leading vendor technology
is mandatory when designing, building,
implementing, deploying and supporting
world-class business solutions.
When it comes to deploying international
projects; it makes business sense to engage
with Dimension Data. With us, you’ll achieve
a higher project success rate at a lower cost.
Our strategic alliance partnerships allow
us to deliver global solutions that yield
high returns for our clients. Our partners
are industry leaders, dominant software
and hardware companies, and premier
communications vendors. This enables
us to have preferred access to the
latest technologies, advanced training
opportunities and co-marketing efforts,
giving our clients the benefits of our
quick-to-market, innovative solutions.
Dimension Data is certified to the highest
levels with many of the world’s leading
technology producers.
Dimension Data’s International Programme
Office (IPO) operates an international
team, tailored to the requirements of
each project, to address these challenges
and deliver projects to a consistently high
standard across the globe. The mantra
of the IPO is simple: seamlessly integrate
international projects from pre-sales to
implementation, all the while focusing on
risk control and client satisfaction.
In order to ensure consistent quality,
our Global Deployment Governance
principles – which include the application of
standard processes and methodologies as
appropriate for the local environment – are
stringently applied throughout the project
lifecycle, regardless of geography. Behind
the scenes, our global experts oversee
issues relating to local logistics, work
practices, taxes, tariffs, cost management as
well as foreign exchange risk management.
Today, our IPO operates across 54 Dimension Data Group countries and
draws on our technology partnerships with
Preferred Partners in more than 114 others.
Our Preferred Partner Programme gives us
vast geographical reach and enables us to
provide a single point of contact for our
clients’ global requirements. CS / DDCC-0766 / 03/14 © Copyright Dimension Data 2014
six lifecycle stages and ten control
gateways, with each stage incorporating
processes and procedures from various
streams within our business.
The six stages are:
• Sales engagement
• Inception
• Definition
• Build
• Deployment
• Transition
As part of our Primer project management
methodology, Dimension Data includes
managed services representatives
throughout the project engagement and
delivery process, in order to ensure a
seamless transition and service activation.
Deployment
Transition
We apply stringent evaluation criteria when
evaluating potential partners and only best-of-breed providers are selected.
Partners adopt our processes and methods
and deliver to our high standards of service and quality.
With Dimension Data, wherever you are in
the world – your project is in safe hands.
We would welcome the opportunity to
discuss how our professional services team
can add value to your business.
Our team of seasoned technical
professionals has the capabilities
and skills to implement and
support your project deliverables.
Our technology skills base includes:
• More than 2,100 professional
services experts
• 370 CCIEs – the most in the
world, after Cisco
• Over 10,522 technical
certifications across key
technology vendors including
Cisco, EMC, Microsoft, Avaya,
Oracle, Checkpoint, Riverbed,
Nice, HP, F5, Blue Coat and VMware
• Over 650 project management
professionals and
• 200 individuals certified to PMP/
PRINCE2 level
Dimension Data’s professional services
Middle East & Africa
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Algeria Angola
Botswana Congo Burundi
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Gabon Ghana Kenya
Malawi Mauritius Morocco
Mozambique Namibia Nigeria
Oman Rwanda Saudi Arabia
South Africa
Tanzania Uganda
United Arab Emirates Zambia
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Asia
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China Hong Kong
India Indonesia Japan
Korea Malaysia
New Zealand Philippines
Singapore Taiwan
Thailand Vietnam
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Australia
Europe
Australian Capital Territory
New South Wales Queensland
South Australia Victoria
Western Australia
Austria Belgium
Czech Republic France
Germany Hungary
Ireland Italy
Luxembourg Netherlands
Poland Portugal
Slovakia Spain Switzerland
Turkey United Kingdom
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For contact details in your region please visit www.dimensiondata.com/globalpresence
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Americas
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Brazil Canada Chile
Mexico United States
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