our greatest moments

Our business was founded by three entrepreneurs with a vision to do great things. We are realising their vision as Dimension Data notches up ever more fantastic achievements and proves itself to be a company which enables its people to do great things. Here are some of our people’s greatest moments in their careers with us so far:

Benny, Solution Architect

Greatest Moment:
"After a successful call centre installation at the Zurich Opernhaus, I got to see my boys fall under the spell of Mozart's Magic Flute.”

What a pleasure to be able to pass on my client's satisfaction to my own family. After a 2 month project, including two full weeks on site at the Opernhaus installing a new call centre for the opera ticket office, the client expressed his gratitude with tickets to a children's matinee session of Mozart's classic Magical Flute. My two boys were thrilled to see the colourful costumes, listen to the celebrated music and soak up the heritage of such a beautiful, historic building.

I was proud and pleased to be able to share the benefits of a job well done with the people I love.

Did you know?

Dimension Data built the NYPD’s Real Time Crime Center.

Gerard, Chief Technology Officer

Greatest Moment
“Remote connectivity in the Outback changed the vision of a generation - with a simple glimpse of Sydney.”

One of my “greatest moments” was working on Christmas Eve in +40 degree heat (indoors) in Willcannia to install the final VC site in a statewide deployment for NSW Health. Wilcannia is a remote outback town in Australia ‘somewhere towards the middle’. The mayor, the local constable and a handful of young aboriginal kids were watching as we turned on the “big tele”. The priceless moment came after we connected to a site in North Sydney and received live video images of the Sydney harbour across the VC. These kids had never been to Sydney, they had not seen the bridge, the harbour, the ferries ... so to suddenly have this live “on TV” was amazing. ...and when they were given the keypad to remotely control the camera and literally “look around” they were blown away.

Years later, we completed a similar project for a health and education network in far northern NSW, which brought a range of services, including video, into very remote communities such as the one at the town of Gwabegar – literally at the “end of the line” as this photo shows!

Ivy, HR Manager

Greatest Moment:
"All my hard work paid off when I won the Singapore Leading HR Practitioner Award."

All HR personnel look forward to the annual Singapore HR Awards ceremony, which honours those who champion great people management practices. Ivy's commitment to the needs of employees and the business as a whole set her apart from her fellow nominees.

Her Leading HR Practioner Award recognised the impactful human capital strategies Ivy has implemented at Datacraft. "For me, the award is proof that I'm a trusted partner to my business leaders - and that's what matters."

Sabrina, Sales Support

Greatest Moment:
"Whilst on a conference in Arizona, our team built a bike for a young girl, and made a wish come true."

I had only been with Dimension Data Americas for eight months when I was invited to attend our National Conference in Arizona. The conference was amazing. I had great time learning more about Dimension Data service offerings and enjoyed meeting my peers from across the US. BUT, for me, my defining moment was when we were told to gather in front of the hotel and found tables with unassembled bikes on them. We gathered into teams and proceeded to build bikes for under privileged children in the community. It felt good knowing that the company I worked for cared for the local community.

Just when I thought our activity was over, a bus full of children arrived at the hotel. A woman stepped off the bus and brought the children to our area. It was then, that we were able see the eyes of the children that we built the bikes for. I found myself overwhelmed with emotion as our team presented our bike to a beautiful little girl. This was a defining moment in my life for two reasons. Reason number one: I was able to play a small part in a little girl’s life with an awesome bike. Reason two: I realized that I worked for a company that I could be proud of. It is because of this single defining moment that I want to retire at Dimension Data!

Shakes, Corporate Social Investment Coordinator

Greatest Moment:
"Mentoring a disadvantaged school pupil who went on to pursue his dream of studying Actuarial Science."

Mentoring others to improve their performance is a way of life at Dimension Data. And this doesn't just apply to our colleagues. Every week at our South African office, we give previously disadvantaged students lessons in Maths, Science, Computer Science and Life Skills training at the Campus through our Saturday School programme.

"The Saturday School is an innovative way to help address South Africa's skills shortage," says Shakes. "It's a fantastic learning opportunity that truly harnesses the intellectual capital we have across the company."

Since 1995, we have helped hundreds of students pass Grade 12. "Great results take time and effort from some very committed volunteers. And their commitment has inspired the same in many of the students. Matriculants like Siphiwe - who was given the opportunity to study Actuarial Science at Wits - make it all worthwhile," says Shakes.

KC, Special Projects

Greatest Moment:
"Building the network infrastructure for five soccer stadia, bringing the 2010 World Cup to millions from Africa."

Dimension Data is helping to turn five 2010 World Cup stadia into multi-purpose, environmentally friendly and technologically advanced world-class venues: Orlando, Loftus Versfeld, Free State, Moses Mabhida and Greenpoint.

KC and his business development team partnered with various technology providers. "We're working hard to integrate the stadia's IT, security and Building Management Systems ahead of 2010," says KC.

"Sometimes collaborating with different players on a project can be tricky. But respect what your partners have to say and you can't lose. In fact, you can even learn from each other. As professionals, we all share the same goal: to ensure a safe and enjoyable World Cup for South Africa's guests - and that's a huge kick."

Kobus, Senior Programme Manager

Greatest Moment:
“The day we threw the switch on the Marion Island Research Base network… and it snowed.”

Critical to understanding local weather and global climate change, Marion Island lies 2,000km south-east of Port Elizabeth, South Africa. In a R200 million project to build a new research base, Public Works commissioned Dimension Data to install a low-maintenance network and building management solution to last the hi-tech science hub 30 years.

Braving rough seas and gale-force winds, Kobus and his Project South Sea team arrived at the volcanic island in October 2007. Working to a tight schedule, they completed the work before deteriorating weather condition could prevent their departure in November (they even had time to explore the island's snow-capped peaks).

"The project required a huge team effort," says Kobus. "We had to get along in close quarters for the entire time - so you need a sense of humour. We became a strong unit. We became friends. Of course we had reservations about the sea voyage and spending time away from our families, but we put the job first. In the end, that's what helped us pull it off."