Dimension Data Launches Global Cisco Spark and Cisco Spark Hybrid Services

Dimension Data and Cisco today announced the launch of Cisco Spark and Spark Hybrid Services globally. With expertise across five continents in 58 countries, Dimension Data will leverage its global footprint and expertise to offer Spark and its hybrid services to help improve user experiences, adoption and business return.

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"Being able to quickly integrate, deploy and adopt video, messaging and web conferencing changes the game for connected enterprises," says Joe Manuele, Dimension Data's Group Executive - Customer Experience and Collaboration (Photo: Business Wire)

Cisco Spark delivers cloud-based business communications that enables customers to message, meet and call anyone, whether it be on their mobile device, desktop or meeting room end-points. Cisco Spark Hybrid Services is the next generation of the Spark Service that that connects clients’ existing on-premises collaboration capabilities to Cisco Spark in the Dimension Data Collaboration Cloud services bringing together the best of both worlds.

According to research published in 2016 Connected Enterprise Report enterprises will not move their entire collaboration estate to the cloud all at once. Cisco Spark Hybrid Services are ideal for organisations wanting the move to cloud to be a journey that involves leveraging Dimension Data’s service footprint. This means clients will be able to transform their collaboration experience on their terms, rather than be forced into the cloud migration immediately.

Ian Heard, Dimension Data’s Group Senior Vice President: Collaboration said, “Dimension Data is excited with the extension of our Global Cisco Collaboration relationship supplementing recent announcements around Cisco WebEx Cloud Connected Audio and Cisco Hosted Collaboration Solutions (HCS) to deliver a seamless global collaboration experience for our clients, underpinned by Dimension Data’s global services and cloud footprint.

“Cisco Spark Hybrid Services changes the game in enterprise collaboration, enabling our clients to supplement their existing on-premise or cloud voice investments with feature-rich messaging and meeting capabilities, delivered via the Dimension Data and Cisco Spark, into a single user experience in mobile, desktop or meeting room environments. Dimension Data will leverage its global professional, managed and application development services to integrate the Cisco Spark Hybrid platform seamlessly into our client’s workspaces of tomorrow strategy, delivering unified user experience, accelerated productivity and competitive advantage.”

The 2016 Connected Enterprise Report also revealed that the user is the key consideration in collaboration, with 66% of the 900 of those organisations surveyed saying that user mobility, ease of use applications, and flexibility of consumption ranked number one when formulating their collaboration strategy.

Joe Manuele, Dimension Data’s Group Executive – Customer Experience and Collaboration said: “Cisco’s Spark Hybrid Service is the key to unlocking real adoption of collaboration tools within the enterprise while leveraging existing investments and assets. It’s the springboard for CIOs to introduce new features at a rapid pace into their organisations, maximise their investments, and increase production without exposing themselves to business risk.

“Our clients tell us that cloud-based collaboration is about much more than saving money by moving telephony alone to the cloud; being able to quickly integrate, deploy and adopt video, messaging and web conferencing changes the game for connected enterprises. Cisco’s Spark Hybrid Services, running on Dimension Data’s Managed Cloud Platform accelerates our clients’ ambitions,” says Manuele.

“We are extremely excited about the opportunity this presents with our mutual customers,” said Rowan Trollope, senior vice president and general manager of Cisco’s Collaboration, Data Analytics and IoT groups. “Executing on our goal of a seamless collaboration experience that spans all modes of communication has been our strategy from the beginning. With Cisco Spark Hybrid services, we can now deliver this experience whether you are an on premises customer with Cisco Unified Communications Manager or a cloud customer with Cisco (HCS) Hosted Collaboration Solutions.”

Cisco Spark Message and Meeting, and Cisco Spark Hybrid Services are already available globally. Cisco Spark Calling will be rolled out in the US and Australia in the second half of 2016, followed by Asia, Europe, and Middle East & Africa into 2017.

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About Dimension Data
Founded in 1983, Dimension Data plc is an ICT services and solutions provider that uses its technology expertise, global service delivery capability, and entrepreneurial spirit to accelerate the business ambitions of its clients. Dimension Data is a member of the NTT Group. www.dimensiondata.com.

About Cisco
Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) is the worldwide leader in IT that helps companies seize the opportunities of tomorrow by proving that amazing things can happen when you connect the previously unconnected. For ongoing news, please go to http://thenetwork.cisco.com.

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