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Working with you to move your businesses forward through ICTFinancial services client success stories

Australian Financial Services Provider’s Technology in Safe Hands 4

Data Centre and Security Overhaul Helps Lakshmi Vilas Bank Cater for More Customers 6

Customised Multi-year Support Contract Puts Money Back into Insurer’s Pocket 8

Outsourcing Paves the Way to Reduced Cost, Lower Risk – and a Sharpened Competitive Edge 10

Financial Services Organisation Harnesses Security and Collaboration Benefits of Enterprise-wide Governance, Risk and Compliance Platform

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Growthpoint Lays the Foundation to Extend it’s Market Lead 14

HIFX Boosts Business Agility and Saves Costs by Harnessing the Power of Convergence 16

ING DIRECT Accelerates Innovation with ‘Bank in a Box’ 18

Centralisation and Standardisation of Network Operations Pave the Way to Expansion and Profitability for Banking Giant

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Smith & Williamson Reduces Costs and Increases Benefits with Licensing Agreement 22

Southeast Financial Credit Union Optimises Customer Interactions 24

Structured and Coherently Executed Relocation and Technology Refresh for Leading Bank 26

State Bank of India Goes Beyond Geography 28

80% More Uptime for TOWER 30

Wealth Creation Organisation Speeds Up its Time to Market 32

Global Pricing and Consistent Services Simplify US Insurer’s ICT Environment 34

Global Insurance Organisation Streamlines International Expansion 36

Investment Bank Strengthens Global Presence through Partnership and Standardisation 38

Large Market-leading Bank Leads by Innovation Platform 40

Contents

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Australian financial services provider’s technology in safe hands01

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Client:

Australian Financial Services Provider

Industry: financial services

Country: Australia

Outsourcing network management activities means that a greater depth of skills and experience is applied to the environment.

In recent years, the financial services provider has required expert assistance to navigate a variety of technology challenges. These have included upgrades to ageing network infrastructure and pressure to comply with increasingly rigorous regulatory requirements. Recently, the organisation faced an internal staffing crisis, when three of its network management staff resigned in the space of four months, leaving only the team manager. This prompted the company to consider the merits of outsourcing its network management to a specialist service provider, as opposed to continuing to provide this service in-house. The client recognised that this option would provide stability and would be far more sustainable than an internally resourced solution.

Building on a solid foundationDimension Data has provided the organisation with a range of technology, professional services and managed services over an eight-year period. During this time we’ve established an excellent relationship through a proven track record and thought leadership in planning, building and supporting the client’s network infrastructure. When the organisation took the decision to outsource the full management of its network to a service provider, we were the obvious choice.

At the time of our original engagement, the business was burdened with ageing legacy network infrastructure. We leveraged our expertise in network technologies to develop a strong business case for a network upgrade. Impressed with the recommendations put forward, the organisation engaged us to undertake an infrastructure refresh. This included the design of the new network and the deployment, over a period of several years, of the associated infrastructure. Through our Managed Service for Networking, we took full responsibility for supporting and managing the network. The organisation benefits from Uptime Support Services across all its Cisco routing and switching devices, firewalls and Blue Coat proxy servers, as well as monitoring services for a select group of devices covered under the Uptime contract.

Collaborating for successThe managed network service comprises a blended team of personnel from both organisations. We provide two Network Engineers and a Service Delivery Manager, reporting to the client’s Network Team Manager. Our service management role involves assisting in the operational management and governance of the client’s network services.

More recently, the client turned to us to undertake the design and deployment of a secure storage solution which will enable it to comply with stringent regulatory requirements prescribed by Australia’s Financial Services governing authority, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority.

A natural progressionThe storage solution is being designed in line with the organisation’s specific needs and will allow it to comply with strict data storage and retrieval standards. As Dimension Data had proven itself in other areas, and designed and built a robust network, extending the relationship to include the network management functions was a natural progression.

Scope of technology expertiseOne of the key reasons behind the client’s decision to outsource the full management of its network to us is the fact that we take away the effort and cost involved in hiring and retaining scarce technology experts. Outsourcing network management activities to us means that a greater depth of skills and experience is applied to the environment. The contract gives the client access to a larger pool of technically skilled resources.

The contract gives the client access to a larger pool of technically skilled resources.

Our client is a leading wholesale provider of transactional banking, liquidity management and capital management products to specialist financial service retailers.

Client: Lakshmi Vilas Bank


Country: India

Expertise in addressing the unique needs of financial services industry clients was key to the success of this project.

In fast-developing markets, successful organisations are often under pressure to cope with speedy expansion and a growing customer base. Banks are no exception. In India, Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) acquired nine other banks in the 1960s, which was the start of a rapid extension of its branch network. The bank’s footprint extended beyond its home state, Tamil Nadu, as it opened more branches in adjacent areas. This expansion intensified the need for an optimised IT infrastructure that would allow the bank to maintain the high standard of service its customers had come to expect.

A stronger banking backboneLVB realised that its existing infrastructure would soon be unable to cope with the increased data traffic it anticipated. ‘Moreover,’ adds LVB’s Managing Director VS Reddy, ‘the Reserve Bank of India’s guidelines called for end-to-end data security for all financial transactions. We needed to ensure that our IT network backbone had the capacity to cope with the increased demand. We were looking for a fault-tolerant, resilient and highly available infrastructure which encompassed switching, routing and security for all our branches.’

Towards elegance and simplicity LVB turned to Dimension Data to upgrade both its data centre and IT security infrastructure. Taking over from the bank’s incumbent service provider of 15 years, we proposed a centralised database that would incorporate smart client applications in a Windows technology framework. The aim was to create secure, reliable transactional and interoperable applications.

As reliability and scalability presented a potential challenge, we suggested an MPLS-based network for all core connectivity, using ISDN as a fallback. Specialised data compression techniques would allow for speedier access to the central database, providing staff with access to real-time information. Elegant and straightforward functionality would ensure that the new solution was easy to use and required minimal support, even at the bank’s most remote locations.

Data Centre and security overhaul helps Lakshmi Vilas Bank cater for more customers

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Centralised service deliveryDimension Data adopted a consultative approach to first identify gaps in LVB’s existing network and security system. Then the team redesigned the infrastructure, using a modular solution that would plug all the gaps, and save costs. We designed and deployed the data centre upgrade and provided ongoing post-implementation support to ensure sustained levels of operational performance.

The solution included a Managed Secure Infrastructure Service for LVB’s firewalls. The Service enables the analysis of firewall devices across all networks, and reporting that provides LVB’s network administrators with essential, real-time security intelligence. This helps them to decipher hacker or virus behaviour, combat security threats and meet compliance requirements. The Service is delivered by our Security Operations Centre, which monitors and manages security infrastructures for multinational organisations, around the clock.

All the necessary know-howDimension Data’s expertise in addressing the unique needs of organisations in the financial services industry was key to the success of this project. Working closely with Cisco and other vendors, the team put together a solution that enhanced LVB’s business efficiency, operations, and service to its customers, while paving the way for future expansion throughout all its operations.

After the implementation, we leveraged our network of vendor partners to deliver a comprehensive managed security service to LVB. Globally available expertise coupled with local delivery capability ensured the smooth implementation and effective management of the solution, which in turn allows the bank to focus on its core business.

In addition, thanks to the services provided by the Security Operations Centre, the bank is able to take a proactive approach to enhancing security and handling threats.

Thanks to the services provided by the Security Operations Centre, the bank is able to take a proactive approach to enhancing security and handling threats.

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The worldwide financial crisis meant many large organisations had to find ways of lowering expenses in order to weather the storm. A large US insurance provider was no exception. One area that presented a significant cost-cutting opportunity was the procurement of its IT support and maintenance services, which were critical for business continuity but came at a high cost when procured on an annual basis. Adding to the insurer’s management woes was the inefficient and unresponsive contract administration it received from its service provider at the time.

Dimension Data’s relationship with the insurer began in 2009 with a single-year support and maintenance contract, renewed annually. Thanks to its subsequent acquisition by the NTT Group, and the lower cost of capital benefits this brought about, Dimension Data was able to offer the insurer a more attractive discount structure, financed in-house, included in a multi-year Uptime Support and Maintenance Services contract signed in 2011. This three-year agreement covers the client’s Cisco installed base of around 15,000 devices. The contract offered a number of unique commercial and contractual features customised to the insurer’s specific requirements.

Customised multi-year support contract puts money back into insurer’s pocket

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No leasing, annual payments… and large discountsLeasing support and maintenance services wasn’t an option for the insurer, as it was dissatisfied with the poor contract management it experienced in a leasing agreement it had previously arranged with another supplier.

The insurer also specified that it couldn’t enter into an agreement that required upfront payment for the entire three-year period, as it wasn’t able to fund such a large expense out of its restricted budget. The contract therefore stipulated yearly payments instead.

The reduced rates offered by a multi-year services agreement had to be attractive enough to justify the signing of a longer-term contract, and to bring about the significant cost savings the insurer had envisioned.

No lock-inA key concern was that one of the insurer’s major data centres was reaching end-of-life and would need to be replaced within a year of the contract’s initiation. Since the three-year contract covered only Cisco equipment and hardware from another vendor would fall outside of the contractual terms, it implied that the insurer would be locked in to purchasing Cisco hardware to replace the obsolete equipment.

The agreement was therefore structured to offer two contractual vehicles: a one-year component with an individual discount stipulation for the data centre in question, and a three-year component with its own discount structure for the rest of the insurer’s installed base.

The fine printThe insurer further insisted that specific conditions be included in two areas of the contract: business downturn specifications and a cancellation-for-convenience clause. The agreement stipulated that, should business needs change over the period of the contract, the insurer may remove equipment from the contract up to the value of 10% of its annual payment and would then receive credit for it. The agreement also allows the client to cancel at any time it sees fit, with the proviso that it settles the remaining contractual value.

Today, the insurer is able to realise significant cost savings on maintenance and support thanks to the attractive discounts offered by a multi-year contract with Dimension Data. At the same time, it can rest assured that equipment reaching end-of-life may be replaced with new equipment from a vendor of its choice, without losing any of the contract value.

Ease of doing businessOur ability to offer attractive discounts thanks to our low cost of capital, willingness to negotiate on all the terms of the contract, and flexibility of commercial models ensured that the insurer chose Dimension Data as its long-term maintenance and support partner. Ultimately, our success is founded on our commitment to making it easy for clients to do business with us.

Today, the insurer is able to realise significant cost savings on maintenance and support thanks to the attractive discounts offered by a multi-year contract.

Client: a large national insurance provider


Country: US

The support contract offered a number of unique commercial and contractual features customised to the client’s specific requirements.

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Outsourcing paves the way to reduced

cost, lower risk – and a sharpened

competitive edge

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Client: an international financial services

group and a FTSE 100 listed company


Country: South Africa

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This South Africa–based financial services group has a mature understanding of how technology can accelerate business performance. Several years ago, it recognised that restructuring its existing outsourcing arrangement would enable it to extract further value from its technology assets and resources. Looking beyond routine performance, it wanted a partner that was vendor-agnostic, highly skilled and well versed in leading technologies. Specifically, it needed a provider that could identify opportunities to achieve cost savings and realise greater business agility. The ability to manage and negotiate with other third-party providers to extract the best pricing, product offerings and service levels, was also a key requirement.

New frontiersWhen the group’s outsourcing contract with its incumbent provider came to an end, it issued a public tender for the business. Dimension Data presented a comprehensive solution, drawing on its skilled technical resources, intellectual property, experience and proven relationship management skills. During contract negotiations, the client requested that we assume the role of prime contractor, which would involve managing the performance of third-party service providers. With the

support of our partners, we manage the communications tower of the client’s South African operation’s IT estate. Together, we provide data services (including the wide area network, branch and campus local area network, connectivity and Internet access), voice services, multimedia collaboration and management services.

Managing outcomesAs the prime contractor, Dimension Data negotiates with third parties and manages several vendors and partners on the account, managing work flows, relationships and outcomes, and taking ultimate responsibility for the performance of these vendors. This streamlines the group’s control over its estate, as it now has a single accountable party to engage with.

This outsourced service offers a powerful mix of benefits for the group including cost reduction, adherence to best practice and the highest operating standards. Detailed reporting provides the client with greater levels of visibility and control.

One of the most compelling advantages that the client has derived is an ability to significantly lower the voice and data communications management and transport costs of its subsidiary companies. This is critical in a competitive financial services marketplace. As world economies contract, the ability to operate at a tighter margin becomes vital in maintaining business profitability. More predictable costs are another key element of the value proposition offered by our outsourcing model. The group is now in a stronger position to plan and budget for its ICT needs.

Reactive and responsive ICTToday the group’s IT function is more responsive and able to react quickly to changing business needs. In banking and financial services, the ability to follow global markets, service clients 24/7 and maintain network uptime and security are cornerstones of long-term success. Reputation and market share are heavily dependent on the reliability and consistency of the service provider.

Dimension Data is able to adapt its services to the needs of the group’s various internal entities. We can offer a range of different service levels and technology sets and can scale resources up or down swiftly. These service variants are customisable by entity, business unit or site.

Agent and guardianAs prime contractor, our remit includes overseeing operations, managing vendors and third-party contractors, and delivering the disciplined provision of services. While the group still retains ultimate control over its IT estate, we act as its agent and guardian. This simplifies and streamlines the complex operating environment and reduces its management and administrative burden. We also negotiate with third parties to extract the best possible pricing on service and hardware elements, as well as offer the group the economies of scale and efficiencies of a large-scale integrator.

As the prime contractor, we negotiate with third parties and manage several vendors and partners on the account, managing workflows, relationships and outcomes.

Leading financial services player harnesses technology to accelerate business performance, increase competitiveness and deliver measurable returns.

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Financial Services organisation harnesses security and collaboration benefits of enterprise-wide Governance, Risk and Compliance platform

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Client: Europe-based subsidiary of a global financial services organisation


Country: Belgium

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The client is a Europe-based subsidiary of a global financial services organisation. One of the organisation’s centres of excellence for information security and risk management (ISRM) is based in Belgium. It’s tasked with supporting IT and business in information security management for the local subsidiary, as well as with operating the organisation’s global security operations centre.

Risk on the riseIn a highly complex and dynamic IT environment, the client faced many challenges when trying to effectively measure its overall security posture, monitor security levels and manage remediation tasks over time. A ‘best of breed’ policy for technology selection had resulted in a complex environment with disparate reporting mechanisms. Multiple dashboards, interfaces, procedures and workflow processes made it challenging to engage and collaborate with other business units in an effective manner. In addition, without a clear view of the actual number of, and specific details related to, security issues and incidents, there was no way to accurately record and track successes, identify areas for improvement, or prioritise future investments. Given the lack of visibility of the internal and external threat landscape or ability to truly assess the potential impact of a breach, the client determined that the risk to the business was simply too high.

To be truly effective, the ISRM department needs to be able to collaborate with other internal stakeholders including business departments, IT operations and application development. Because there was neither a platform nor standardised processes to support effective collaboration between departments, it was virtually impossible to assign individual accountability for the detection and remediation of security vulnerabilities. Under pressure of an audit and driven by their own analysis, the ISRM department decided to address this challenge.

A scalable, open platformDimension Data provided a solution to these dilemmas by offering a scalable, open platform that provides effective workflow automation between all stakeholders. The customised platform supports the entire vulnerability and threat management process, from detecting vulnerabilities, assigning specific responsibility and accountability, impact analysis, further escalation or solution deployment and finally, confirmation with a vulnerability scan that the threat or vulnerability has been treated and/or mitigated.

Our multi-technology expertise enables us to integrate the solutions into the client’s existing infrastructure and facilitate user-testing and go-live, all on schedule and with minimal disruption. While the platform technology is primarily RSA Archer, many of the applications requiring integration are and will be custom-built. To meet this client’s support requirements and expectations, Dimension Data provides a bespoke offering that includes multi-vendor maintenance aggregation, a consultant on call, on-site consulting service components and site-based services.

Efficient, collaborative, enterprise-wide securityThe new platform has enabled the client to build an efficient, collaborative, enterprise-wide governance, risk and compliance programme that can adapt to future requirements. With workflow automation between all stakeholders and teams, there’s now full control, visibility and accountability across the security vulnerability life cycle, from detection through to resolution. What’s more, with such an easy-to-use, effective solution, all stakeholders are invested in collaborating to keep the environment free from vulnerabilities and remain compliant.

This not only improves the security posture of the organisation, but also ensures that resources aren’t wasted on duplicated efforts or fruitless attempts to assign accountability. The platform is also scalable and sustainable; moving forward, the client can integrate other technologies and/or custom-build additional solutions that promote collaboration and simplify processes – thus maximising the value of the initial investment.

With workflow automation between all stakeholders and teams, there’s now full control, visibility and accountability across the security vulnerability life cycle, from detection through to resolution.

The new platform has enabled the client to build an efficient, collaborative, enterprise-wide governance, risk and compliance programme that can adapt to future requirements.

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Growthpoint lays the foundation to extend its market lead06

Client: Growthpoint


Country: South Africa

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Growthpoint operates a sophisticated property management, development and investment business and relies on its information network to connect people, support decision-making, collaboration and information sharing, and enable it to execute its business strategy. Growthpoint sought to gain greater insight into its network to understand the range, scope and status of its infrastructure, tighten compliance, reduce risk, and plan for future network investments in an intelligent and informed manner.

Information is powerGrowthpoint elected to partner with Dimension Data to address its technology challenges. We recommended an assessment service to enable Growthpoint to gain a thorough understanding of the maturity and status of its current network assets.

Dimension Data’s Technology Lifecycle Management (TLM) Assessment is a network and security service that discovers, catalogues and provides suggestions for remedial action on Cisco hardware and software. This appraisal helps organisations keep track of devices on their network estate, ensure that assets are kept up to date and that their Cisco network components comply with configuration, security and patch management best practices.

We first conduct a gap analysis, including identification of hardware life cycle and maintenance coverage as well as a vulnerability assessment against known operating system vulnerabilities and a comparison of configurations against well-known security best practice checklists. Next, we apply our expertise in networking, security and IT infrastructure to make specific and prioritised recommendations on the client’s environment. A detailed report provides recommendations on a range of key performance areas including conducting hardware upgrades, device operating system upgrades and patches, as well as security and best practice configuration recommendations.

Relevant and useableAlec Davis, Chief Information Officer at Growthpoint, says ‘The TLM Assessment is unique in the completeness of information that is provided. The wealth of information delivered by the report enabled me to plan my budgets − every fact in the report was relevant and usable.’ The operational benefits generated by the TLM Assessment are impressive. For example, by identifying uncovered equipment, Growthpoint has been able to protect these devices from potential failure by enforcing preventative maintenance.

It’s not uncommon for organisations to have an incomplete view of all equipment in their IT environments as their estates grow and become increasingly complex − the TLM Assessment can give such organisations control over these assets by providing a current and comprehensive overview of the network.

Optimising investmentsThe Assessment has paved the way for Growthpoint to undertake a structured and coherently-managed technology refresh. By proactively updating its infrastructure, Growthpoint can take advantage of the latest functionality built into core network devices (e.g. VoIP and firewall) and so truly optimise the investment it has made in its infrastructure.

The technology refresh has also delivered significant cost and operational expense gains. Updated equipment ensures optimal manufacturer support. Integrated devices that are correctly configured reduce the number of standalone appliances that require support and manufacturer maintenance contracts, and contribute to the smooth and seamless operation of the network. Downtime has dropped off sharply, as the risk of devices failing has been reduced. And finally, fewer devices means there is far less for the internal technical team to understand and control within the IT environment. On a practical level, the generation of a detailed asset list in the TLM Assessment enables Growthpoint to prioritise and compare the relevance of patches and upgrades in the context of its IT strategy and risk profile.

Davis concludes, ‘The TLM Assessment is the best network report I have ever received.’

“ The Technology Lifecycle Management Assessment is the best network report I have ever received.”Alec Davis, CIO, Growthpoint

The TLM Assessment is unique in the completeness of information that is provided. The wealth of information delivered by the report enabled me to plan my budgets – every fact in the report was relevant and usableAlec Davis, CIO, Growthpoint

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HIFX boosts business agility and saves costs by harnessing the power of convergence

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07HIFX PLC is a specialist financial services company, providing a range of foreign exchange and cash deposit services to both corporate and private clients. Although HIFX’s existing PBX-based telephone systems had served the company well for several years, the organisation felt that the advantages converged IP communications offered in terms of both cost savings and greater business agility could not be ignored. Benefits such as hot-desking, videoconferencing and secure mobile working would allow HIFX to retain the flexibility it needed as it continued to grow. However, in order to guarantee delivery to its customers against its strict service level agreements (SLAs), HIFX needed to be confident that any new network would be robust. Given the value and business-critical importance of the transactions it manages, network security was also a key concern.

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Simplify through convergenceGlenn Jones, Director of IT at HIFX, explains: ‘We assessed a number of systems integrators and selected Dimension Data because it could offer us a complete solution from start to finish. The team engaged with our requirements early on; it understood perfectly all the issues generally associated with such a migration, and was able to demonstrate considerable industry knowledge.

‘ What we immediately noticed upon the implementation of an IP converged solution in our new Windsor offices was that the more convergence there is, the greater the simplicity and flexibility of the overall system. For this reason, we decided to roll out IP convergence internationally, and Dimension Data’s status as a global leader in systems integration meant that it was able to continue to support us across all our locations,’ Glenn, Director of IT at HIFX

Business as usual We recommended a solution that enabled the hot-desking and other productive IPT applications to combine with HIFX’s existing telephony directory monitor. This would allow HIFX to continue to leverage value from its legacy systems and avoid disruption to business, a critical factor in the migration. Over a single weekend, and working in close collaboration, the Dimension Data and HIFX technical teams upgraded to an IP telephony system capable of supporting 250 users, with no disruption to the operations of the business experienced at any point.

Security… and a single point of contactTight industry and corporate governance regulation meant that the ability to record conversations was another important element of the new set-up. To enable this, we installed a full-time, Avaya-compliant Witness Systems Interactive Voice Recorder with Avaya Intuity voicemail. Finally, we assumed control of systems support and management under its Uptime Maintenance and Insite Monitoring Services, which guarantee four-hour call-out to any site experiencing difficulty and include support for any latency, jitter and packet loss support issues. We are also responsible for ensuring that HIFX’s service providers meet their SLAs satisfactorily, creating a single-supplier model that means HIFX has to make only one phone call if any problems are experienced.

The project has delivered a range of benefits, including:

• direct cost savings: due to a reduction in support overheads and inter-site and voice traffic costs

• improved productivity: due to efficiency gains enabled by the greater simplicity and flexibility of the new network infrastructure

• increased network reliability: security is built-in, ensuring the integrity of all HIFX’s information

• improved performance: the improved efficiency and reliability of the new network allows HIFX to keep the SLAs it promises to its own customers

Client: HIFX


Country: UK

“ The team understood perfectly all the issues generally associated with such a migration, and was able to demonstrate considerable industry knowledge.”Glenn Jones, Director of IT, HIFX

‘ We decided to roll out IP convergence internationally, and Dimension Data’s status as a global leader in systems integration meant that it was able to continue to support us across all locations.’ Glenn Jones, Director of IT,HIFX

18 08ING DIRECT Accelerates Innovation with ‘Bank in a Box’

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Everything we do is faster – our capability now supports our appetite for transformation and change and delivering faster for our customers.Ben Issa, Head of IT Strategy, ING DIRECT Australia

Client: ING DIRECT


Country: Australia

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ING DIRECT is the world’s leading direct savings bank and is wholly owned by the global ING Group. With a large project backlog, the development and test infrastructure at ING DIRECT Australia could not meet the bank’s appetite for innovation. The bank’s in-house team of 49 developers and 18 testers needed a faster way to create copies of the bank’s environment so they could accelerate time to market for new products and services. ING DIRECT wanted to fully automate end-to-end provisioning, making staff more productive and focusing on the things that matter.

Out-of-the-box bankingThe ING DIRECT team had a vision: to provide a copy of the bank’s environment to anyone, at any time, for any purpose. This copy would include the full set of the bank’s applications, services, configurations and 5.5 terabytes of data. ‘What we were looking for was a “bank in a box”, an instant environment that reproduced our own in all its complexity,’ says Andrew Henderson, CIO, ING DIRECT Australia. ‘We recognised that getting this right would be an important part of transforming IT into a strategic enabler.’ ING DIRECT engaged with Dimension Data to assist it with turning these ambitions into achievements.

Developed collaboratively with ING DIRECT and vendors Cisco, NetApp and Microsoft, the Dimension Data solution features data centre infrastructure built on Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS), Cisco Nexus switching and NetApp storage with Microsoft® Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V virtualisation technology. The infrastructure is fully integrated with the tool suite used by developers and testers at ING DIRECT, allowing them to provision environments easily as part of their workflow. Behind the scenes, Microsoft® System Center orchestrates the provisioning processes for them.

It’s a unique combination of technologies, resulting in a highly automated and elastic infrastructure that enables the rapid provisioning of 5.5 terabytes of data.

Months to minutesDimension Data proposed testing the solution in a real-world environment to establish a business case. The pilot was successful. ‘When we showcased it to our executive team they were amazed to see how this technology came together to reduce a process that used to take months down to minutes,’ enthuses Henderson. ‘They saw straight away that it would dramatically reduce development times so we can get new products and services to market faster.’ING DIRECT subsequently commissioned us to deliver the entire solution.

The solution has enabled ING DIRECT to reduce the time to provision test environments from three months to ten minutes. This means that the bank can get new products to market in a fraction of the time it used to take, giving it a significant advantage over its competitors. ‘The solution enables us to streamline processes that previously took eight people three months, with a very simple self-service model,’ says Henderson. ‘Our staff can now provision copies of the bank in minutes, not weeks, so we can test new ideas very rapidly. It’s given us a competitive edge.’

Supporting ING DIRECT’s appetite for innovation‘We’re using this solution in so many scenarios and we’re seeing new use cases all the time,’ adds Ben Issa, Head of IT Strategy, ING DIRECT Australia. ‘For example, we can give a customer service representative access to all our customer-facing applications for training purposes. Or give a developer a full version of the bank’s environment at induction. And when we have customer or operational issues, it’s much easier to study and solve them. In fact, everything we do is faster – our capability now supports our appetite for transformation and change and delivering faster for our customers.’

Now that the solution is operating in Australia, ING DIRECT is preparing to deploy it globally.

‘ Our staff can now provision a copy of the bank’s environment in minutes, not months, so we can test new ideas rapidly. It’s given us a competitive edge.’Andrew Henderson, CIO, ING DIRECT Australia

Centralisation and standardisation of network operations pave the way to expansion and profitability for banking giant

09Client: a leading global bank


Country: all regions

“ Dimension Data is helping to manage not only the risk and costs in my technology organisation, but is also key in helping change the organisational structure and culture globally.”CIO

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A leading global bank recognised that achieving worldwide standardisation and cost predictability with respect to its rapidly expanding technology environment was fundamental to its ability to ensure continued business growth. It also needed to focus on continual improvements in order to reduce complexity and improve back-office efficiencies through streamlined processes and better use of resources. Additionally, the bank sought to mitigate potential regulatory risks brought about by regional inconsistencies in technology services and support.

Against this backdrop, the bank embarked on a programme to consolidate its existing global network services vendor base by centralising global procurement, deployment, support and operations services with a limited number of strategic global IT services partners.

Global orchestration, local deliveryWorking collaboratively with Dimension Data, the bank took the decision to establish a global programme to ensure the effective coordination and timely delivery of the transition, and to ensure a focus on continual improvement, delivered to the best levels of service at both a local and global level. We refer to this approach as our GOLD standard (global orchestration, local delivery), which delivers the leverage that globalisation provides while ensuring that local relationships remain intact. Our contract with the bank is based on a consistent global pricing structure and service levels. The contract term was three years.

A key element of our remit was establishing closer levels of collaboration between the bank, Dimension Data and other key vendor partners, through the bank’s vendor management programme. The client also requested that we ensured that our delivery processes and support systems were continuously modified, enhanced and supplemented over the term of the agreement, keeping pace with not only industry best practices but also new business requirements, operating models, and changes to technology standards.

The refresh programme focused initially on an agreed architecture encompassing six key vendors (Cisco, F5, Extreme Networks, Juniper, Riverbed, and Check Point) in the US and UK, followed by Europe and Asia.

Step and repeatWe also collaborated with the bank to develop standardised work packages around highly repeatable ad hoc project service requests to ensure consistency and more detailed service level reporting on the progress of the roll-out programme.

Today, the programme is delivered globally. All procurement, deployment and maintenance components have been fully transitioned to and are currently operated by us. New geographies are taken on, on an ongoing basis, as existing vendor contracts expire.

Regional inconsistencies in technology services and support have been largely eliminated. In addition to mitigating complexity, this has ensured that all regional-specific regulatory requirements are currently being addressed. Transparency is delivered via regular reporting and access to relevant, real-time information at the click of a button, via online systems.

On targetRestructuring and streamlining the procurement, delivery and support of its global network services has ensured that the bank has consistently met its targeted cost reductions. In addition, by conducting regular assessments we are equally delivering to the bank’s expectations for continuous refinement, improvement and technology optimisation. A recent quote from the bank’s CIO provides testimony to the depth and quality of the partnership in place today: ‘Dimension Data is helping to manage not only the risk and costs in my technology organisation but is also key in helping change the organisational structure and culture globally.’

Restructuring and streamlining the procurement, delivery and support of its global network services has ensured that the bank has consistently met its targeted cost reductions.

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Smith & Williamson reduces costs and increases benefits with licensing agreement

10Smith & Williamson, founded in 1881, is the ninth-largest firm of accountants in the UK. As a long-term Microsoft customer, it subscribed to a Microsoft Enterprise Agreement for Volume Licensing and used this to acquire much of the software on which its IT infrastructure is based. When the licensing agreement was nearing expiration, Richard Taylor-Holland, Associate Director at Smith & Williamson, looked at how the company had upgraded its technology over the last few years.

Riding the next wave of technologyWe needed to ask ourselves: “Do we need to renew? What value will we get out of it? What value will it add to Smith & Williamson?” he says. During a routine meeting with the company’s Microsoft Account Manager, Taylor-Holland mentioned that the licensing agreement was coming up for renewal, and he wanted to ensure that Smith & Williamson was getting full benefit from it. Microsoft recommended that he consult Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and large account reseller, Dimension Data.

Client: Smith & Williamson


Country: UK

By combining Microsoft technologies with its own consulting and integration skills, Dimension Data offers a full range of IT solutions.

Taylor-Holland met with us to discuss the licensing agreement. ‘Microsoft was releasing new versions of its technologies, so we were trying to understand how we could get onto the next wave of technology. We needed a strategic approach,’ he says. Dimension Data has access to new products from Microsoft, as well as early adopter programmes and technical support. By combining Microsoft technologies with its own consulting and integration skills, it offers a full range of IT solutions.

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‘ We received the valuable strategic support we needed from Dimension Data at no additional cost. It came as part of our licensing agreement.’ Richard Taylor-Holland, Associate Director, Smith & Williamson

The long and the shortWe conducted a review to find ways to help Smith & Williamson manage its IT environment more efficiently. Based on the Microsoft Optimisation Model, we highlighted strengths and weaknesses against industry best practice, then categorised those areas by importance so Smith & Williamson knew which needed to be addressed in the short, medium, and long term. The service we provided was included in the Microsoft Enterprise Agreement for Volume Licensing.

‘We received the valuable strategic support we needed at no additional cost. It came as part of our licensing agreement,’ says Taylor-Holland.

By subscribing to the Microsoft Enterprise Agreement for Volume Licensing, Smith & Williamson has access to improved software support and training, in addition to saving at least GBP 1 million in licensing costs alone over the next three years.

• Upgrades to Microsoft® Office 2003 Editions save GBP 50,000. ‘Fulfilling our immediate needs and upgrading Office 2003 Editions at our Bristol office alone would have cost GBP 50, 000,’ says Taylor-Holland. With Software Assurance, which is part of Microsoft Enterprise Agreement for Volume Licensing, all upgrades to existing software come free of charge.

• Additional company-wide upgrades save GBP 1 million. During the next three years, Smith & Williamson will be upgrading to Microsoft Office 2010, Microsoft® Windows 7, and Microsoft® Exchange Server 2010 across all locations. ‘If our licensing contract lapsed, we estimate that the upgrade would cost at least GBP 978,000. That was a good enough reason to renew,’ says Taylor-Holland.

• Existing software is supported. Much of the financial services third-party software at Smith & Williamson runs on Microsoft® Windows XP. By including the Windows operating system in the Enterprise Agreement, Smith & Williamson can run previous versions of the software regardless of how many times the operating system is upgraded.

• Training improves skills and morale. In addition to helping employees do their jobs better, the training included in the licensing agreement improves staff satisfaction.

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Southeast financial credit union optimises customer interactions

11

Client: Southeast credit union


Country: North America

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This Southeast credit union is a large, full service institution dedicated to the financial success of its members, and a civic partner in its communities. It had originally purchased third party servers to run its Cisco voice applications. As a result, it had to contact two different organisations to help with server and application support.

Simplifying supportThe credit union wanted a uniform support model for both hardware and software support. This required upgrading its servers to Cisco as well as upgrading its current Cisco software that was approaching end-of-life. In addition, the credit union outsourced its overflow and after-hours calls to an outsourced call centre. That model became increasingly cost prohibitive, and, as a result, the credit union wanted to handle the increase in call volumes itself. This would mean hiring additional staff and appropriately structuring its contact centre technology to align with its internal business units. As a result, the credit union required an analysis and assessment to determine the most appropriate roadmap to take to meet its needs.

Dimension Data had previously deployed Cisco Unified Contact Centre (UCCX) as a customer interaction tool for the credit union, and had also implemented 500 IPT phones throughout all branch offices and the headquarters. This solution gave the credit union a centralised call control platform and provides a path toward future disaster recovery options for its phone system. At the credit union’s request, we upgraded the organisation’s existing unified communications, Unity, and contact centre systems to provide uniform support, and incorporated the latest features and fixes for the software.

Remove complexity and cost; improve customer interactionsWhile the credit union was in the process of upgrading its UCCX hardware and software to utilise new features and to reduce business costs, it asked Dimension Data to conduct a Contact Centre Assessment. We reviewed the credit union’s technology environment and analysed available options. The Assessment also included an audit configuration against the Cisco roadmap to verify whether the correct components and configurations were being utilised. We helped the credit union understand how UCCX could be utilised to map business rules for inbound and outbound calls and to maximise the customer interaction with members. The client also received a 12-18 month roadmap that detailed what improvements could be made, the complexity and cost associated with the improvements, and the overall impact to the business and members. The roadmap also provided a prioritised set of initiatives, which addressed development needs across the whole spectrum of disciplines required for efficient and effective contact centre operations. The credit union had the option of implementing our recommendations as stand-alone improvements or in conjunction with one another.

The best of both worldsAs a result of receiving a uniform support model through the upgrades, the credit union is able to utilise our Uptime powered by Cisco Services for the support of its IPT, UCCX environment, UCS and Unity systems. Dimension Data and Cisco have forged a Global Services Alliance − a working framework that allows both global companies to integrate their respective strengths in network support and develop jointly-delivered service offerings on both a practical and strategic level. The first of these joint offerings is a collaborative support service for IT infrastructure, Uptime powered by Cisco Services. This enhanced end-to-end service helps deliver optimum network performance 24/7. It does this by providing a single operating and delivery model which allows the credit union to take advantage of the best of both worlds: our unique strengths in service delivery management, restoration service level agreements, contract management, and Cisco’s technology expertise and assistance if required.

The credit union can take advantage of the best of both worlds: our unique strengths in service delivery management, restoration service level agreements, and contract management, and Cisco’s technology expertise and assistance if required.

We provided a 12–18 month roadmap that detailed what improvements could be made, the complexity and cost associated with the improvements and the overall impact to the business and members.

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Structured and coherently executed

relocation and technology refresh for

leading bank

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Client: a global bank with South African roots


Country: UK

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Our client is a global bank with African roots. It is one of South Africa’s largest banks, distinguished by its extensive operations in Africa. The bank’s London branch acts as its global centre for investment banking activities and has experienced rapid growth in terms of headcount and space requirements in recent years.

On the moveThe bank had taken the decision to relocate its national headquarters to a new building in the city of London’s Gresham Street. The move to the greenfield site presented an ideal opportunity for the bank to review and refresh its technology infrastructure in its entirety. To this end, it issued a request for proposal (RFP) to a number of service providers, inviting them to propose the optimal path to success for this ambitious initiative. Included in the scope of the RFP was a refresh of the network, voice infrastructure, dealer voice infrastructure, voice recording technologies as well as planning and deployment services for security and contact centre infrastructure.

Impressed by Dimension Data’s response to the voice and data component of the RFP, the bank shortlisted us to oversee these elements of the refresh. IPC was the leading contender to deliver the voice dealer board infrastructure – a critical aspect of all investment banks’ technology estates. For nearly four decades, IPC has created trading communication systems that deliver innovative trading technologies and connectivity solutions to financial market participants.

A compelling propositionDimension Data and IPC recognised that together they had a convincing and complementary value proposition and subsequently collaborated to present a joint proposal for the refresh project. The bank recognised the value inherent in this multiparty approach: our integration skills and ability to speak authoritatively across multiple technology domains, coupled with IPC’s intellectual property and domain expertise in advanced voice dealer board infrastructure, represented a compelling proposition.

Dealer boards are fundamental to the operations of investment banking concerns. IPC’s proprietary dealer board products are business-critical tools that are used by traders, from small hedge funds to large global investment banks worldwide, in all major financial centres. Before the bank’s relocation to its new offices, it had been running a time division multiplexing platform for both its voice and dealer board infrastructure. Working collaboratively, Dimension Data and IPC crafted and deployed the dealer platform using SIP connectivity. The solution was integrated into the back office Cisco IP telephony infrastructure. Additionally, we deployed a Microsoft® Active Directory solution, which delivered a single sign-on capability.

Ready for businessUltimately, together with IPC, we were able to deliver a customised multi-technology solution in a structured and cohesive fashion, by leveraging honed systems integration skills and advanced applications expertise. The result? A responsive, business-ready system for the bank. Other key differentiators which translated into business benefits for the bank were the strength and depth of resources within our organisation and IPC. In addition, our ability to provide a dedicated Programme Manager to orchestrate the activities of the various work streams added immense value and gave the bank confidence that its IT estate was in a ‘safe pair of hands’ at every stage of the deployment journey.

The ability to provide a dedicated Programme Manager to orchestrate the activities of the various work streams gave the bank confidence that its IT estate was in a ‘safe pair of hands’ at every stage of the deployment journey.

Dimension Data’s integration skills and ability to speak authoritatively across multiple technology domains, coupled with IPC’s intellectual property and domain expertise in advanced voice dealer board infrastructure, represented a compelling proposition.

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State Bank of India goes beyond

geography

13Client: State Bank of India


Country: India

State Bank of India (SBI) is India’s largest and the world’s fifth largest bank, with more than 90 million customers, 15,000 branches and 7,000 ATMs in India and 40 other countries. Executing an enterprise wide IT strategy to integrate one’s service channels is no mean feat for any organisation. When your operations are scattered across myriad geographies and time zones, it’s even more tricky. SBI recognised that success required enlisting the expertise of a partner to design, build and manage a converged network capable of carrying all its present and future traffic. The integrator would also be responsible for bandwidth, all networking equipment, software, and management as well as a 24/7 helpdesk, service level agreements (SLAs), and the management of scheduled and unscheduled network outages.

A future-ready networkOver a period of eight years, starting in 2002, Dimension Data worked with the Cisco Internet Business Solutions Unit to build and deploy an integrated IP network that today powers all the bank’s business processes in some of the world’s most high-tech cities as well as in India’s most remote rural areas. Applications powered by the network range from core banking, treasury operations and trade finance to inter-branch voice communication and unified messaging. The project, which has met all budget and timeline requirements, was executed in five phases. Phase I covered 1,400 branches in 49 cities. Phase II covered 3,400 branches in more than 300 cities. Phase III involved networking the remaining 6,100 branches. Phase IV covered an additional 2,800 branches, and Phase V, which touches 2,000 branches, is currently in progress. The new network has been designed to give SBI a seamless flow of transactions, streamline data gathering and dissemination, and support an integrated view of products across all channels.

Three-tiered approachThe system is based on a three-tier, self-healing corporate WAN, which has a centralised data centre in Mumbai and a backup in Chennai. The three tiers comprise a core linking the country’s four main cities, a distribution network linking local head offices and zonal offices back to the core metro cities, and an access network for the end branches. SBI’s converged system is based on IP telephony, with some 15,500 IP phones being deployed and a closed user group voice solution providing 24/7 availability for voice. This has enabled standardisation of voice equipment across the organisation and drastic cutting of the costs of inter-branch voice communications.

The system allows advanced integrated applications, such as billing and accounting, XML-based services, voicemail, unified messaging, conferencing and collaboration solutions, and directory support, to be rolled out as services on the network when the bank requires them.

Management of the bank’s IP telephony system is monitored through our Global Service Centre in Bangalore. Bank executives are provided with a dashboard that enables them to see at any time whether any part of the system is down and what sort of fault is the cause.

OrchestrationSeamless connectivity is assured through the use of leased lines and bandwidth is provided by three telecommunications service providers, orchestrated by Dimension Data. We also provide unbroken service through our Uptime Maintenance Service, which incorporates detailed SLAs, including penalties for network downtime. Service level management responsibilities include partnering with the telecommunications service providers, and other third-party vendors to ensure that all SLA requirements are fully aligned and delivered upon. We also act as a single point of billing from the telecommunications service providers, on the bank’s behalf.

In addition, through our managed services, we take ownership and accountability for all processes and service outcomes.

In total, we have over 700 engineers across the region working on behalf of SBI, covering 150 cities.

The integrated IP network powers all the bank’s business processes in some of the world’s most high-tech cities as well as in India’s most remote rural areas.

In total, Dimension Data has over 700 engineers across the region working on behalf of SBI, covering 150 cities.

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80% More Uptime for TOWER14

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TOWER commenced business in New Zealand in 1869 as a government department selling life insurance policies and pensions. It has grown and transformed over the past 144 years and its business today is mainly focused on selected niches in the risk insurance and wealth management markets.

No time for downtimeNetwork downtime translates into lost revenue and frustrated customers and end users. For these reasons, TOWER sought to take a proactive approach to network support. It took the decision to leverage Dimension Data’s sophisticated remote performance monitoring service to reduce downtime.

Our full suite of infrastructure managed services spans ITIL-compliant service desk, incident, problem, change, capacity and availability management, asset and PC/notebook management, and procurement and life cycle management. We offer unprecedented flexibility in delivering infrastructure managed services, blending with clients’ teams as a full outsourced service depending on business needs. We set up New Zealand’s first BMC ITSM 7 service desk for incident, problem and change management, and BMC’s Performance Manager for availability and capacity management. All are available for use by internal teams via Dimension Data’s software-as-a-service platform.

The power to predictOptimised for virtual network environments, the new monitoring service gives the power to predict potential problems and take preventative action. We can see when TOWER needs more power or disk storage, and takes proactive measures.

We implemented a performance management solution at TOWER following a major infrastructure upgrade that saw the virtualisation of 95% of TOWER’s servers. This means we now receive proactive alerts on matters ranging from TOWER’s hard drive capacity to CPU usage. ‘We’re able to predict what might go wrong, and take pre-emptive action,’ says Service Desk Operations Manager Chong Looi. The number of infrastructure ‘cases’ – incidents dealt with by Dimension Data – has almost halved at TOWER; a result of preventative maintenance.

‘If a server does go down, we have its complete history and can troubleshoot very quickly, making it fast and easy to fix,’ Chong Looi says. ‘The speed with which we can diagnose and fix problems means we deliver a more effective and efficient service. This combination of preventative maintenance and speedy resolution is potent in terms of the customer experience it delivers.’

On the alertThe performance management solution removes the cost and complexity traditionally associated with monitoring services. This is not another set of infrastructure tools which only serve to overwhelm users with a flood of alerts. Clients receive an alert before an issue causes a service disruption, but are not bombarded with unnecessary or trivial alerts that need to be sifted through to determine their relevance.

Clients pay on a monthly per CPU basis for the solution. As well as comprehensive monitoring of virtual networks, the service also offers physical server and application monitoring, and end-to-end monitoring of business application performance (from a user’s point of view).

‘Dimension Data’s proactive monitoring service has helped deliver an 80% reduction in downtime incidents,’ says TOWER CIO Tony Dixon. ‘We can now better predict what might go wrong – and take action. If there is an incident, virtualised servers and redundancy make it easy to just restart that function somewhere else.’

Client: TOWER


Country: New Zealand

“ The proactive monitoring service has helped deliver an 80% reduction in downtime incidents; we can predict what might go wrong – and take action to prevent it from happening.”Tony Dixon, CIO, TOWER

‘ The speed with which we can diagnose and fix problems means we deliver a more effective and efficient service. This combination of preventative maintenance and speedy resolution is potent in terms of the customer experience it delivers.’ TOWER Service Desk Operations Manager Chong Looi.

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Wealth creation organisation speeds up its time to market

15Client:

leading wealth creation bank


Country: Australia and New Zealand

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The client is one of the ‘big four banks’ wealth creation arm. Operating in Australia and New Zealand, it offers financial planning and wealth management services, super-annuation, insurance, investment management and private banking facilities.

Wealth management, like most financial services, is heavily dependent on information gathered from clients regarding their plans, expectations and overall objectives. This makes business intelligence – in this case the capturing of high-quality information from all interactions – a business-critical function. The client’s focus on quality has evolved to become more strategic. Rather than simply being a tool for reducing service-related complaints, business intelligence has come to be seen as an effective means to drive customer satisfaction and enable value-add customer service, providing consistent services tailored to align both customer and business needs.

The client had been using Verint’s Impact 360 solution, version 9.2. This was providing the key functionalities necessary to capture information from the contact centre and made user management easy. However, it did not allow for custom creation of evaluation forms and reports on the fly, requiring the client to use more static templates. Verint 9.2 also supportedonly a finite number of definable tags on each form, which restricted the ability to gather information, either in response to new market conditions or as a means of evaluating current products and offers.

An optimised solutionThe client considered both versions 9.3 and 10 of Verint’s Impact 360 solution. After carefully comparing the features and costs of both, it decided to go with Dimension Data’s recommendation and adopt version 10. The solution comprised both the Verint technology (including a new, consolidated Web portal and dashboard, for faster, more detailed access to information) and a series of managed services to ensure the solution was fully optimised – and would stay that way. This included new servers (with a maintenance agreement), SNMP managed from our Global Service Centre with for 24/7 support, quarterly health checks; remote access; and patch management.

Dimension Data and Verint worked closely together to roll out the new platform. It was installed over the course of a weekend and introduced to users over the next few weeks.

Business intelligenceA key benefit of the solution is significant alignment of the client’s training and customer experience teams with business intelligence. The consolidated portal enables new stakeholders to easily configure a view to bring forward business intelligence data that is meaningful and relevant to their business unit(s). This includes, for example, how marketing reacts to campaigns and how quality supervisors and team leaders react to demands to pinpoint new up and cross-sell techniques. This is primarily manifested through the ability to create customised forms and reports. Coupled with this is the ability to use unlimited flags within the forms. This provides a powerful data-gathering and training tool. The consolidated Web portal allows the resulting analytics to be tailored within a unique view for each business unit and/or level of management.

A new chapterVerint’s powerful analytics tools can be used to create trend reports that examine call types, knowledge gaps and compliance problems. These reports can be automatically generated and sent to the relevant recipients, rather than having to be manually created each time they’re needed. This makes the important processes of product refinement and development considerably easier, not to mention product promotion within the business and (more importantly) at the contact centre front line. This speeds up the organisation’s overall time to market and improves its business agility. The delivered solution brings business intelligence into the mainstream of the client’s operations, creating efficiencies and opportunities that simply would not have existed before.

The delivered solution brings business intelligence into the mainstream of the client’s operations, creating efficiencies and opportunities that simply would not have existed before.

A key benefit of the solution is significant alignment of the client’s training and customer experience teams with business intelligence.

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Global Pricing and consistent services simplify US insurer’s ICT environment

16The solution automates, tracks and provides visibility throughout the entire procurement process and is based on a simplified and consistent price and discount structure within all regions.

Client: US insurer


Country: worldwide

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As an international insurer, this financial services organisation serves customers in more than 130 countries around the globe. While the largest portion of the organisation’s business is still conducted in the US, its international networking environment was becoming overly complex in terms of procuring networking technology and related services.

Complexity mountsThis complexity resulted from inconsistent pricing and discount structures across various regions, which made it challenging to manage IT procurement on a global basis. It also led to delays and cost inefficiencies, as the organisation had no centralised, automated procurement processes, nor could it leverage the economies of scale inherent in purchasing from a single global source. In terms of services, the insurer’s incumbent provider was unable to provide a consistent level of network maintenance and support across the insurer’s entire international footprint.

Dimension Data won a bid in 2008 to deliver networking procurement, support and maintenance services to the insurer in all international regions, separately, outside of the US. Soon after, a second contract was awarded to provide these services within the US. The step that has most recently concluded in the relationship was to integrate all regional contracts and evolve towards becoming a truly global account with a single master service agreement that covers the insurer’s entire international footprint. This has resulted in our being awarded a global three-year contract to provide multi-vendor Uptime Support Services across seven to eight vendors in Europe and Asia.

Cost and process efficienciesA key component of the more globalised networking procurement solution provided to the insurer is Dimension Data Direct, a fully automated e-procurement system from which it derives significant value in terms of cost and process efficiencies. Direct is seamlessly integrated with the organisation’s Ariba back-end system, with Dimension Data acting as custodian of, and support partner for, the entire e-solution. The solution automates, tracks and provides visibility throughout the entire procurement process – from price checking, quoting, and purchasing, to shipping and invoicing – and is based on a simplified and consistent price and discount structure within all regions.

This flexible transactional model means that the insurer is able to monitor and manage IT procurement globally while local payment and delivery avoid the complexities and tax implications of cross-border business. More recently, the insurer involved us in a major data centre consolidation exercise, budgeted at over half-a-billion USD, by which the insurer aims to collapse its existing 29 regional data centres into six global hubs. We were contracted to deploy and integrate the networking infrastructure for all data centres, based mostly on the procurement and implementation of Cisco technology.

In terms of network maintenance and support services, the client benefits from our Global Service Centres, which offer in-region support in local languages and within local time zones.

Accelerating globalisationWherever necessary, new equipment is installed and integrated in more remote regions or countries, thanks to our Preferred Partner Programme, which offers the insurer the opportunity to utilise the services of a fully vetted and experienced system integrator.

Dimension Data has assisted the insurer to reach its key globalisation goals of reducing complexity and achieving consistency across its networking procurement, integration, support and maintenance environment. Today, the insurer has access to an internationally structured pricing and discount model within all of its regions, and procures its networking technologies through a single supplier via a streamlined and automated e-procurement solution.

This has reduced costs through the inherent economies of scale, and brought about greater efficiency thanks to automation and the solution’s integration with the organisation’s own reporting systems.

Today, the insurer has access to an internationally structured pricing and discount model within all of its regions, and procures its networking technologies through a single supplier via a streamlined and automated e-procurement solution.

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Global insurance organisation streamlines international expansion17

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With headquarters in Western Europe, this financial services group has been operating for over 25 years and is one of the top insurance providers in the world. In 1992 a new investment management subsidiary was created within the group, which experienced rapid growth and expansion into several international markets. This created a pressing need for the speedy deployment, maintenance and support of robust and secure local area networks (LANs), which could support the subsidiary’s expansion.

Consistency and always-on availability, together with seamless integration with the group’s existing corporate network were of utmost importance. Despite the global footprint of the group’s incumbent IT integrator, the group required a more agile and responsive level of service. Leveraging the economies of scale and pricing advantages achieved through its significant investment in Cisco technology called for a review of its preferred integrator. Dimension Data emerged as the natural choice of partner.

Speedy turnaround timesThe group has benefited from a number of aspects that form part of our international business offering. In addition to being a far more agile and flexible organisation than the group’s incumbent IT partner, our global footprint was increasingly widespread and well established, and offered a consistently responsive level of service in all the international markets in which the organisation was present. This translated into a speedy and very competitive turnaround time in a number of areas – from providing quotes on specific LAN roll-out projects, to the procurement and delivery of networking hardware, to implementation and support. The required time lines were demanding; for example, in one particular territory, the group needed a full IP telephony roll-out to commence within three weeks, which left considerable challenges in quoting, planning and preparing for the execution of the project. Despite these challenges, we were able to deliver successfully, on time and within scope.

Flexible transactionsOur flexible transactional model proved to be another key differentiator, allowing the group to benefit from procuring maintenance and support services centrally from Dimension Data Europe, but with the ability to purchase from a local branch for all country-specific projects and roll-outs. This flexibility not only suited the group’s budgeting structures and policies, but also enabled the structuring of its procurement strategy in the most optimal way to avoid unnecessary taxes and duties.

As far as technology and vendor expertise are concerned, the group drew advantage from our long-standing relationship with Cisco. This meant that the global rollout and migration to a business-wide IP telephony system in particular – including the implementation and adoption of new telephony hardware – could be executed smoothly and seamlessly, as most of the group’s existing corporate network already included this vendor’s routing and switching hardware. Other technology brands with which we could offer in-depth expertise included HP in the data centre space, and Check Point for network security. Overall, this level of multi-vendor expertise allowed the group a single point of contact from both a technical and project management perspective, no matter into which new markets it needed to expand.

A solid foundation for growthToday, through our comprehensive international presence and our well-structured approach to service delivery throughout all markets, the group receives a level of assistance that’s not only technically sound, but also responsive enough to support and strengthen its own rapid growth and development. In addition, the group leverages significant cost savings through our strong vendor relationship with Cisco. The international partnership with this group is going from strength to strength as partnership and engagement with us becomes more comprehensive.

Client: global insurance organisation


Country: worldwide

The client can procure maintenance and support services centrally, but has the ability to purchase from local branches for all country-specific projects and roll-outs.

Dimension Data’s multi-vendor expertise allowed the group a single point of contact from both a technical and project management perspective, no matter into which new markets it needed to expand.

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Investment bank strengthens Global Presence through partnership and standardisation

18

Client: large Asian investment bank


Country: worldwide

The bank today enjoys an unparalleled level of standardisation, simplification, efficiency and cost reduction across its global networking environment.

Investment bank strengthens Global Presence through partnership and standardisation

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For any organisation with a strategic aim to strengthen its international presence and grow it’s footprint into new territories, key problems include global standardisation and entering markets in which it has limited presence. Having already established offices in a wide array of geographies, a large Asian investment bank was being challenged by the large number of new acquisitions and the need to scale the organisation and global capability to meet this growing demand.

Covering all the basesDimension Data’s relationship with the bank spans more than a decade in Asia, where the organisation is headquartered. However, both organisations’ international presence grew synergistically over the last few years, to such an extent that the bank entered our Global Account Programme in 2009 with the signing of a master service agreement (MSA) that governs global service levels and commercial models. Since the adoption of the MSA in Australia, Asia, the Americas, the UK and Germany, the bank has drawn advantages from a number of aspects that form part of our global and international business offering:

• Global Account Programme: As one of our strategic global accounts, the bank was assigned its own Global Account Director to create a single point of contact worldwide, as well as to ensure the highest level of individualised service and executive sponsorship. The programme further gave the organisation the opportunity to leverage Dimension Data’s extensive international expertise and logistics capabilities to bring about stronger coordination between all its regions, and to draw benefit from our global partnerships with vendors and the associated pricing and technology advantages this brings. In essence, we operate as an extension of the bank’s own IT teams, without degradation of service levels. This ensures that the bank can augment its staff with qualified experts whenever necessary, and that we can deliver with a high rate of success on individual fixed-price projects, thanks to the clarity and visibility of shared objectives.

• Flexible transactional model: Catering for the local-to-local delivery of IT equipment and services in all countries in which both the bank and Dimension Data have a direct presence, this transactional model enables the bank to orchestrate and report IT processes globally, but with none of the costs and tax complications of cross-border transactions. The local delivery model also helped to rationalise the organisation’s previously diverse list of suppliers in each country, and drove down costs thanks to the inevitable standardisation of processes, pricing, and terms and conditions.

• Dimension Data Direct: Fully integrated with the bank’s Ariba back-end software, Direct offers an end-to-end e-procurement solution that streamlines, standardises and automates price-checking, ordering, purchasing, shipping and invoicing of all IT equipment. The system is currently fully implemented and integrated in the US and Australia, and plans are afoot to roll this out to all other regions.

The bank today enjoys an unparalleled level of standardisation, simplification, efficiency and cost reduction across its global networking environment, thanks to partnering with a single international solutions and services provider that can match its international reach. Down the line, this will allow the organisation to centrally orchestrate the roll-out of new technologies – each with its own set of benefits – such as voice and video infrastructure. The bank also draws benefit from a fully integrated e-procurement system, which streamlines and standardises the purchasing and shipping of all IT technologies to regions into which its footprint extends.

The bank draws benefit from a fully integrated e-procurement system, which streamlines and standardises the purchasing and shipping of all IT technologies to regions into which its footprint extends.

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Large market-leading bank leads by innovation platform19

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Remaining a step ahead of the competition in the demanding financial services market is a constant challenge for this market-leading Asian bank. As a result, the bank forged a particularly close and collaborative relationship with Dimension Data over many years to help it reap the benefits of technology-driven cost savings and efficiency improvements in many areas.

Most recently, the organisation’s existing, outdated contact centre architecture was becoming too site-dependent and localised to support the bank’s call centre agents’ growing need for choice in terms of their preferred and required work locations. The bank contracted us to conceptualise a completely new strategy and redesign the contact centre from the ground up. This resulted in a major contract to build and deploy a virtual contact centre infrastructure and migrate its 36 business units to the new platform over six months, starting in 2010.

An eye for innovationAs evidence of the maturity of the partnership, the bank views us as a close collaborator in terms of its ongoing drive to innovate and remain competitive. The bank’s executive leadership has a mandate to deliver innovation through experimental work that’s aimed at conceptualising, building, testing and piloting new technologies and processes that could create business value in any of its areas of operation.

In order to drive this process, the bank works closely with external providers that understand the bank’s environment best, and identified Dimension Data as a key partner in this area owing to our deep knowledge built up over a long history of collaboration. On a monthly basis, new and innovative concepts and technologies are presented, discussed and, on the grounds of potential business value, a decision is made on whether to further test and eventually promote the new innovation into the organisation through piloting and further deployment. An example of such an innovation is so-called ‘soft phone’ technology, potentially to be rolled out to all of the bank’s employees, allowing them to make phone calls via their laptops from anywhere, using the corporate IP network.

Collaboration and mutual trust As an innovation project, part of the challenge to be solved is identifying, testing and evaluating the best ‘soft phone’ supporting software on the market and making recommendations at executive level as to which would function best in the bank’s environment. This level of collaborative innovation and mutual trust is, however, only possible owing to our deep knowledge of the client’s complete infrastructure and business requirements, plus extensive implementation experience in delivering on large projects, built up over decades of working closely together.

Over many years, the bank has leveraged a range of cost end efficiency advantages from the technology solutions and services provided by Dimension Data, ensuring that it stays relevant in a highly competitive financial services environment.

Today, the bank’s new contact centre infrastructure allows agents the option of logging on to the corporate network from anywhere where there’s connectivity, and fulfilling all of their usual duties – including responding to telephonic queries from customers and having secure access to data centres where information is stored – as though they’re in the contact centre space itself. Call centre agents are therefore more productive and responsive to customer needs.

Sharpened competitive edgeThe organisation’s executive drive towards innovation is now also supported by an IT partner that not only understands its environment from end to end, but also has the same appetite for finding new and better ways in which technology can sharpen competitive edge.

Client: market-leading bank


Country: worldwide

The bank views us as a close collaborator in terms of its ongoing drive to innovate and remain competitive.

This level of collaborative innovation and mutual trust is, however, only possible owing to our deep knowledge of the bank’s complete infrastructure and business requirements, plus extensive implementation experience in delivering large projects, built up over decades of working closely together.

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Middle East & Africa

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

Asia

China · Hong Kong India · Indonesia · Japan

Korea · Malaysia New Zealand · Philippines

Singapore · Taiwan Thailand · Vietnam

Australia

Australian Capital Territory New South Wales · Queensland

South Australia · Victoria Western Australia

Europe

Belgium · Czech Republic France · Germany

Italy · Luxembourg Netherlands · Spain

Switzerland · United Kingdom

Americas

Brazil · Canada · Chile Mexico · United States

For contact details in your region please visit www.dimensiondata.com/globalpresence

Middle East & Africa

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