Go-live in Asia last month is the culmination of three years planning

Dimension Data, the $4.5 billion specialist IT services and solutions provider, says it’s on track to further enhance its Global Services Operating Architecture (GSOA). The Group has announced that its Asia-Pacific operations went live last month, and the rollout to the rest of the Group’s European, Middle East and Africa, Australia, and US regions will be completed by year-end.

The GSOA is Dimension Data’s Service Management system – the mechanism that automates efficient and consistent worldwide service delivery and enables the company to meet its stringent Service Level Agreements with its clients.
The GSOA initiative follows hot on the heels of Dimension Data’s recently-completed group-wide migration to a next generation SaaS ITSM platform for the delivery of its own internal IT services.

The solution, which took five months to roll out in four geographies, includes five virtual Service Desks which operate on the same global system and can be adapted to accommodate different regional specific workflow, presentation and integration needs.

Ettienne Reinecke, Dimension Data’s Group CTO says, “The investment supports Dimension Data’s ongoing commitment to provide clients with a world-class service experience. In addition, we want to retain our reputation as a world-leader in Managed Services provision. The go-live in Asia last month is the culmination of three years planning, and represents a milestone for Dimension Data.”
The enhanced platform also operates off Software as a Service (SaaS) technology. These next generation models provide a lightweight, yet very comprehensive approach to IT service and asset management, and have the potential to save time and cost, as well as address frustrations associated with traditional service delivery models.

“It’s no secret that SaaS is one of the most impactful trends in the IT software space,” says Reinecke, who points out that more recently, this trend has been extended into the IT Service Management (ITSM) domain. “This approach alleviates many of the traditional installation issues such as large upfront license fees, lengthy implementation times, and difficult access by the mobile force.”

According to Reinecke, the company recognised that leveraging this technology would enable the Group to better meet its clients’ needs in terms of information visibility and adaptability, while at the same time improve its own internal operational efficiency.

The enhanced platform offers clients a modern Services Portal, with real-time service dashboards, self-service and enhanced integration capabilities. Multinational clients benefit from consistent service delivery, managed through the new portal and implemented through the adoption of global ITIL V3 processes. Flexibility is one of the cornerstones of the new ITSM functionality – Dimension Data will be able to localise and customise its workflow across various geographies, thus enabling it to respond to clients’ changing requirements and technology changes with increased agility.

“Given the success of our recent internal implementation of SaaS ITSM technology, we are confident that the impact of our new Service Delivery platform on our clients’ operations will be profoundly positive,” concludes Reinecke.