Businessmodel of Dimension Data

Customer Segments

Dimension Data provides a range of IT solutions to companies across multiple industries and geographic regions. Its products are targeted in particular at clients within the following sectors:

• Financial Services, including the provision of regulatory compliance and security, electronic trading and visual channel banking solutions to banking and financial institutions;
• Manufacturing, including the provision of integrated intellectual property network, technical design and security, and industrial ethernet and wireless solutions to original equipment manufacturers, semiconductor companies and other industrial manufacturers;
• Media and Communications, including the provision of enterprise network, security, and revenue network solutions to media houses, publishing companies and broadcasters.
• Public Sector, including the provision of virtualisation, contact centre and cloud computing services to public bodies and government agencies; and
• Multinational Corporates, including the provision of IT infrastructure, networking and data security services to large multinational conglomerates. Among the Company’s customers are well-known companies such as Adobe, Mattel, SAP, Thomson Reuters, MediServe and Appian.

Dimension Data serves customers across the Americas, Asia, Australia, Europe, and the Middle East and Africa.

Value Propositions

Dimension Data provides value to its customers in the following ways:

• The quality of its products and services, including a broad range of IT solutions and products that cover the needs of customers across multiple business sectors;
• The reach of its marketing and sales channels, with the Company serving clients across the Americas, Asia, Australia, Europe, and the Middle East and Africa;
• Its industry expertise, including specialist integration, data centre, IT security and storage personnel; and
• Its function as a subsidiary of a well-known and well-reputed communications group, having operated as a subsidiary of NTT. ### Channels

Dimension Data operates a website at www.dimensiondata.com, where customers are able to view and find information on the Company’s services and solutions and business operations. The Company, however, does not operate an online sales channel.

The majority of Dimension Data’s sales are made by its in-house direct sales teams, which are organised on a regional basis. The Company has a presence in all of its operating regions, including offices in the US, Brazil, Australia, the UK, South Africa, and China.

Dimension Data’s sales operations are supported by a network of resellers and independent sales agents that help to extend the Company’s marketing reach.

Customer Relationships

While Dimension Data operates a website, its products are not available to customers on a self-service basis. The Company’s sales instead are made through its direct sales teams, with customers consulting directly with Company representatives in order to ensure that their individual needs are met. Dimension Data aims to establish long-standing relationships with its customers, with many clients providing recurring business to the Company.

Dimension provides technical support and assistance to clients as part of its full suite of services. It also provides customers with personalised advice and support through an online chat service and telephone assistance, as well as through a portfolio of online learning resources such as user guides and tutorials.

Additionally, customers are able to interact directly with the Company through its social media accounts, including with Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Key Activities

Dimension Data provides a range of IT solutions and services to companies across multiple business sectors and jurisdictions. It primarily offers IT-as-a-service solutions, such as cloud advisory services, cloud and managed contact centre services, cloud infrastructure solutions, and enterprise mobility-as-a-service products.

The company additionally provides systems integration services, including consulting and professional services, managed services, managed services for data centres, and support services; procurement and logistics services; and information technology outsourcing services. Dimension Data serves industries, such as financial services, manufacturing, media and communications, multinational business, and public sector.

Key Partners

Dimension Data collaborates with a range of customers throughout the development and distribution of its products and services. Its various partnerships are categorised as follows:

• Strategic Alliance Partners, with which it shares tools and technology and collaborates on joint-venture projects;
• Technology Partners, which provide assistance in the development, integration and implementation of the Company’s IT solutions;
• OneCloud Partners, assisting service providers, educational institutions, government agencies and trading communities bring cloud platform services to market; and
• Preferred Partners, through which the Company provides professional and managed services for multi-vendor solutions. Among Dimension Data’s partners are Cisco, HP, IBM, Intel Security, Microsoft, and Oracle.

Key Resources

Dimension Data’s key resources are its technology and IT solutions, its IT infrastructure, its partnerships, its sales and distribution channels, and its personnel – notably its sales and support staff. Searches of records published by the US Patent and Trademark Office identified no patent applications filed in the name of Dimension Data.

Cost Structure

Dimension Data incurs costs in relation to the development of its IT solutions, the maintenance of its IT infrastructure, the management of its partnerships, the operation of its sales and distribution channels and the retention of its personnel. The Company’s most significant costs relate to its general operation and administration.

Dimension Data employs a workforce of around 31,000 worldwide, accruing costs in the form of salaries and benefits, and operates a network of offices across 58 countries, representing costs in the form of rent and utilities.

Revenue Streams

Dimension Data generates revenue through the sale of IT services and solutions, including systems integration, internet solutions, planning, building, support and management services. The Company breaks its revenue down into three streams:

• Products, including revenue generated by the one-off sale of non-proprietary products;
• Managed Services, including revenue generated by the provision of recurring IT services; and
• Professional Services, including revenue generated by the provision of project-based services. Dimension Data is no longer a publicly-listed company and, as such, is not obliged to publish its financial performance figures. Reports, however, suggest that the Company recorded $7.5 billion in 2014, and was on track to generate $8 billion in annual revenue in 2015.