Dimension Data New Zealand, part of the global IT solutions and services provider, today announced it has partnered with Desktone, Inc., the pioneer of Desktops as a Service (DaaS), to offer cost-effective, full-featured virtual desktops as a cloud service. Dimension Data will leverage the Desktone virtual desktop Platform to help New Zealand companies and government agencies to better support corporate and remote workers, the rapid adoption of mobile computing and other enterprise initiatives in a way that’s scalable and reduces operational costs and complexity.

Dimension Data is a specialist ICT services and solutions provider working with clients in 51 countries to plan, build, support and manage their ICT infrastructures. They have been recognized by Gartner, Inc. in the Leaders quadrant of the Magic Quadrant for Cloud Infrastructure-as-a-Service¹.

IT departments are facing increased demands: their employees are more mobile and often work remotely, they are facing significant time and budget pressures and they are constantly asked to improve end user productivity. On-site virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) offers a partial solution to these challenges, but many organizations are deterred by the high capital expenditures and complex infrastructure requirements. Dimension Data are turning instead to desktops delivered as a cloud service to reduce capital expenditure while allowing workers to take their desktop experience anywhere on any device. This allows corporate and government departments to flex their infrastructure to align with demand and changes in business.

“Organizations are increasingly embracing cloud computing for its flexibility, efficiency and ease of use,” said Leigh Jackson, Technology Manager for Dimension Data New Zealand. “At Dimension Data we’ve been aggressively building our portfolio of cloud services with solutions like Desktone's multi-tenant virtual desktop platform that help customers improve performance and lower IT costs.”

By leveraging a local cloud, Dimension Data can allow organizations to easily provision, deploy and scale desktops on demand without the expense and complexity of building and maintaining on-premise infrastructure. End users can access all of the programs and applications they need on any device from any location, and desktop quantities can be easily scaled up and down to meet changing business needs.

“DaaS is outpacing onsite enterprise VDI as the simple and affordable solution to market demands for device independence and controllable IT costs,” said Peter McKay, CEO, Desktone. “With cloud-hosted virtual desktops, Dimension Data can deliver complete virtual desktops in a truly scalable cloud environment that’s easy to manage, without worrying about hardware or software costs.”

For more information, please visit: http://www.dimensiondata.com/Microsites/DesktopVirtualisation.

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.

In Asia Pacific, we operate in over 60 offices across 13 countries. We help clients plan, build, support, manage, improve and innovate their ICT infrastructures. It combines an expertise in networking, security, data centre solutions, Microsoft solutions and converged communications and contact centre technologies, with advanced skills in consulting, integration, training and managed services. www.dimensiondata.com

About Desktone

Desktone provides the only unified platform for delivering desktops and applications as a cloud service, enabling the deployment of Windows desktops and applications from the cloud to any end user device. Desktone enables IT service providers to rapidly provision desktops and applications to users connected on any device, anywhere, without the upfront costs and complexity of traditional desktop virtualization – transforming desktops from a CAPEX to OPEX item. Leading service providers, such as Dell, Fujitsu, NEC Corporation of America, Time Warner Cable and Dimension Data, have selected Desktone’s Platform to offer desktops and apps as a cloud service. Founded in 2007, Desktone is funded by Highland Capital and Softbank and is headquartered in Boston, MA. For more information, visit www.desktone.com.

¹ Gartner “Magic Quadrant for Cloud Infrastructure-as-a-Service” by Lydia Leong, Douglas Toombs, Bob Gill, Gregor Petri, Tiny Haynes, 18 October 2012