Dimension Data Continues Cloud Push, Adds Cloud Private Network Connection Service

As part of the company's continued emphasis on the cloud, Dimension Data Monday rolled out a new Compute-as-a-Service Private Network Connection (CPNC) to bolster its portfolio for enterprise-class public, private and managed hosting cloud offerings.

The new Dimension Data solution allows for a dedicated network connection to be established between a client's network and the company's Managed Cloud Platform (MCP) without the need for a public Internet connection. The solution has two offerings, a direct connect for a dedicated, physical port at the MCP location and a private connect for a virtual port from a partner's MPLS (Multi-Protocol Label Switching) provider.

Dimension Data has always worked to make the cloud its big differentiator, according to Treb Ryan, chief strategy officer for Dimension Data's Cloud Business Unit. This new cloud offering takes that offering to the next level, he said, by giving the company and its partners the ability to manage the underlying cloud networks the same way they previously managed storage and servers.

[Related: Dimension Data Adds Cisco Support, Readies Direct Connection Service ]

The three main target segments for the CPNC solution are software-as-a-service companies, service provider partners, and large enterprise clients. In particular, the solution appeals to large enterprise clients, Ryan said, because it allows for easy international expansion, integration with existing network infrastructure and an open ended ability to connect to a variety of infrastructure providers.

The important part of that for enterprise clients looking to move in the cloud, Ryan said, is that they don't have to completely redo the network solution in place to take advantage of the cloud. Instead, they can keep parts of their existing network infrastructure and just extend the current architecture into the cloud using the new CPNC solution, Ryan said. The enterprise network can be cross connected in a variety of ways, allowing for private cloud, hybrid models or completely on-premise networks. The network fabric can then be extended to any other office locations and connected to different clouds, Ryan said.

"[Dimension Data will] continue to put our emphasis on making cloud you can use in the way you want it, but in a way...that you can use in your existing environment without changing anything," Ryan said. "If we're going to do this for the enterprise, we can't do it by getting rid of things they like. We have to try to replicate the environment."

The new solution shows that the enterprise is the largest and most quickly expanding vertical for the Dimension Data cloud, Ryan said. While SaaS and service providers continue to be important verticals, the biggest growth is coming from enterprise adoption, he said.

The move is part of Dimension Data's goal of doubling its already $5.8 billion global revenue over the next five years under new CEO Mark Slaga. In an interview with CRN, Slaga said that the company is investing heavily in the cloud and "doubling down" on its efforts to grow its cloud business, particularly in the data center and complex managed services.

"It's where we see the future," Slaga said in the interview at XChange 2014 in Los Angeles, Calif.

Diving into the cloud was the first step towards achieving the goal of doubling the company's global revenues, Ryan said. Cloud revenues for the company have already doubled on their own, growing at a rate much faster than the company as a whole, Ryan said.

"As a general rule, you will see more and more from Dimension Data," Ryan said.