Dimension Data Positions For Cisco Intercloud, Canadian Cloud Growth With Managed Cloud Platform Launch

Dimension Data launched a Managed Cloud Platform Wednesday in a move that is expected to help the solution provider with its global cloud expansion as well as ready it for its Intercloud push.

The Managed Cloud Platform (MCP) will be located in Toronto, Canada and is part of a rapidly growing global network of data centers for the solution provider, No. 13 on CRN's SP500 list. This MCP is the company's first in Canada.

The solution is particularly important for the Canadian market for many reasons, Greg Walker, Dimension Data Canada business development manager, cloud, said. The MCP news, Walker said, offers the opportunity for Canadian businesses to keep their data in the country when moving to the cloud. Having access to data sovereignty is crucial for certain industries, but other customers simply like having the option and might feel more comfortable storing their data in the country, he said. Dimension Data expects to see more clients willing to make the move to the cloud with the MCP news, Walker said.

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"I think that will start to break a lot of the dam there. There's a lot of pent up demand," Walker said.

The MCP news is especially important at a global level as Dimension Data looks to position itself for Cisco's Intercloud launch, Walker said. Cisco in May named Dimension Data its first global Intercloud partner, building on a 23-year relationship between the two companies. Over the last 12 months, Dimension Data has launched seven data center cloud platforms, Walker said, with two more in the works in San Paulo, Brazil and New Zealand.

The Canadian market, in particular, is "one of the most important" regions for the Cisco launch, he said, as it is one of the vendor's top three markets globally.

"It’s a very important market for Cisco," Walker said.

The growth prospects could help Dimension Data, a $6 billion solution provider, capitalize on its goal of doubling the company's global business over the next five years. For North American regions, Walker said the company hopes to triple its business. While that growth was helped along significantly by the company's April acquisition of Nexus, which nearly doubled its US presence, Walker said investments such as the Managed Cloud Platform should help accelerate growth.

"We see the data center and security practices as really big areas where we can realize our greatest growth. Especially in Canada," Walker said. "We're looking to the cloud opportunity to be really the stepping stone to a lot of the global business," he said.

Walker said he sees the Canadian market really hitting its stride with the cloud after initially being slower to embrace the technology due to issues such as data sovereignty that made Canadian businesses more conservative in their adoption. However, he said the "cloud market is really taking off right now" in the country, which makes it good timing for the Dimension Data Managed Cloud Platform launch.

Going forward, Walker said to continue to keep an eye out for Dimension Data investments in additional data centers. While there are already two new sites in the works, he said Dimension Data will continue to announce new data centers as the solution provider expands its global reach.

PUBLISHED SEPT. 3, 2014