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Dimension Data got to be a $5 billion VAR by providing complex IT infrastructure solutions on a global scale. But with the advent of cloud computing, the solution provider needed to make some radical changes internally to help position the company for the future.
It's not easy to turn the proverbial battleship, especially when it's a $5 billion battleship that touches all points of the globe. For Dimension Data, becoming a true cloud services provider to customers required a little bit of help, which it got when it acquired OpSource in late June, and lot of hard work, as seen in its a massive internal training initiative. Here's a detailed look at how they did it.
Dimension Data, ranked No. 11 on this year's VAR 500, had tinkered with building its own cloud initiative, but it became apparent early on that the company's best bet was to buy the expertise to get it up and running more quickly, Brown said. The big move, of course, was acquiring OpSource, the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company founded in 2002 that specializes in cloud and managed hosting services.
Since then, a lot of backroom work has had to take place to help integrate not only the solutions, but also the culture and people of OpSource and to bring Dimension Data's own employees up to speed.
"A lot of work has been done over the last five months since we acquired [OpSource]. In our theatre alone, we've done a lot of education for customers," said Brown. "We started a 'Cloud 101,' we called it. We trained our entire team on what's different between public and private. Then we had training on OpSource, their solutions. We had a follow-up session on our go-to-market model, how to engage OpSource to build solutions for our clients. And the last training, going on now, is a structured approach. We want to preserve as much of the innovation as we can and apply some discipline and rigor."
Becoming a cloud provider has also meant adapting to cultural changes taking place in the market. Cloud companies -- and their employees -- aren't exactly the suit-and-tie crowd. Brown joked about preparing for a telepresence meeting in New York with his boss in Johannesburg, South Africa, when the OpsSource executives joined him wearing jeans and t-shirts.
"The guys hadn't shaved in a couple days. Culturally, that's different for us," Brown said. While he's not about to don something out of Ed Hardy or Abercrombie, Brown understands that Dimension Data has to look the part in order to be successful in the cloud.
"I've been in the technology indsutry since 1977. I've seen about everything, and we've adopted and adapted culture through the years," Brown said. "Folks coming out of college have a different perspective on their careers, their employers. They have different expectations on their work." Dimension Data has made significant changes to its recruiting techniques and Brown is well versed on studies that show college graduates expect to change jobs 2.3 times in their first seven years in the workforce.
Next: Transformation Breeds Success
