It’s official. Datacraft is rebranding as Dimension Data on May 10. With the name change, the Datacraft brand will cease to exist – after a vibrant history of 37 years!

Of course I do feel sad to see the Datacraft brand go. After all, I have been leading Datacraft’s brand building and management efforts since 1995.  But then at the same time, I am just as equally excited to spearhead the brand transition exercise and in undertaking the Dimension Data brand refresh project.  

From Red to Green. From Asia to Global. The Brand has transcended to a new dimension. 

From Red to Green

Dimension Data is no stranger to us. Our relationship dated back to Nov 1997 when Dimension Data acquired a majority shareholding in Datacraft. However, we kept our Datacraft brand then because of our strong brand premium in Asia Pacific and our established reputation among the global investor community due to our public listing.

In 2008, our relationship took another turn when Dimension Data acquired the remaining 44.9% of Datacraft in 2008 and privatised the company. The move was well received by clients, partners and employees. As a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dimension Data, Datacraft was reckoned to be an even stronger force by our clients and competitors alike.

Again, we did not change our brand then, as the world was in the midst of financial crisis and investing in the rebranding exercise was not sensible.  However, as a private company, it only made business sense to be fully integrated as one single global brand and entity. Thus in 2008, we undertook steps to prepare ourselves for the brand transition.

We gave away green apple deskdrops to all employees.

From Red to Green

So far, the response from both internal and external stakeholders towards this brand transition been very positive. Over the years, we have been working closely and on a day-to-day basis with the Dimension Data group to leverage international business opportunities and serve many global clients.  In fact, our global and MNC clients are very familiar with the Dimension Data brand as well. A single brand would also make it easier for our clients to better understand our organisational structure and our relation to the NTT Group, which acquired Dimension Data in 2010.

The name change is only the beginning of our brand transition. 

Going forward, we will continue to invest more effort and resources to build the Dimension Data brand in the Asia Pacific through fostering lasting relationships with our clients, professionalism, innovative solutions and excellent service delivery.

From Asia to Global

So how would our brand change impact our clients and partners?

Our rebranding to Dimension Data will not negatively impact the way we currently do business with clients and partners. In fact, the change in our brand demonstrates the improvements we are making to ensure global consistency in our business operations.  Dimension Data’s systems integration business now operates under one brand across 49 countries, simplifying support for our clients and accelerating our ability to serve them in a more consistent way. This also means they can better leverage our global pool of resources, expertise and client references.

Refresh with Dimension Data!

Our brand change is also in line with our global business strategy to provide more services-centric solutions consistently across multiple technologies and geographies. The Group is currently expanding its service delivery infrastructure and capabilities to create a more consistent and seamless client experience.

Find out more at:

{ 0 comments }

Earth Hour makes no cents…
The Earth Hour (EH) event is by far, one of the largest and most effective climate change campaigns I have ever seen (having been in a previous career spanning over 2 decades in event concepts & execution); at a flick of a switch, the entire Globe darkens : no effort, no investment, no logistical nightmares – just a very powerful message sent requiring no power at all, beat that.

‘…because change is hard.’
Earth Hour is not about decreasing energy consumption; it will be silly to think that that one hour can save the world. It is about sending a message, about communication, proactive and positive change, education…having said that, I also do believe that if one cannot be a part of the solution then let’s not contribute to the problem because today’s wastage is tomorrow’s shortage. The EH campaign may eventually allow not just one but many more, to see the many thousands of ways that one can influence change.

Taking a real stance to go Green
It is logical to take a stance about the environment, but taking responsibility for the climate change problems requires much more than just Earth Hour . Taking responsibility, on the other hand, doesn’t have to involve living in candlelight without electricity or running water.

We are working on it day-by-day…in the past 3 years, Datacraft Asia offices switched off a day before EH and left our offices in darkness during lunch time. This campaign received much attention especially so because EH is virtually unknown in Asia when we first started in 2008. We distributed candles to all staff, sent out eDMs and switched off the Friday just before EH. We deployed all existing resources to ‘scream & shout’ GREEN without incurring costs including IP Phone imaging. The results were satisfying and it drove us to want to engage in more exciting & refreshing activities the years that followed.

Datacraft Asia : ‘Green is the new Red
26th March 2011, 8:30pm, mark this date – As Datacraft Asia’s annual green tradition, we will be doubling the blackout period coupled with more staff engagement activities and awareness campaigning via social networks throughout the company and beyond.

Taking this initiative one step further, we are running a campaign on Datacraft’s Facebook page.

Click to make this your Facebook profile pictureYou can help support our Earth Hour initiative on Facebook by using this image as your profile picture during this period! Go spread the word to your colleagues and friends, and urge them to join us as Datacraft supports Earth Hour for the fourth consecutive year.

 

{ 0 comments }

Managing the “Digital Universe”

by Lisa Goh February 23, 2011 Data Centre Solutions

IDC coined the phrase “Digital Universe” to describe the explosion of data that needs to be captured, categorised, searched, stored, retrieved and ultimately, destroyed.  The world may have ve been in a recession, but the amount of data exploded by 62% to 800,000 petabytes (800 million gigabytes). By 2020, the volume of data will be [...]

Continue reading…

How well do enterprises understand IT security and cloud forensics?

by Eric Svetcov February 11, 2011 Datacraft News

As a continuation to my previous blog entry: An Introduction to Cloud Forensics, this entry explains how well enteprises understand IT security and cloud forensics. What is the level of understanding among Asian enterprises when it comes to IT security and cloud forensics? That’s tough to answer.  We have not performed a survey to identify the [...]

Continue reading…

An Introduction to Cloud Forensics

by Eric Svetcov January 17, 2011 Datacraft News

Cloud forensics is a relatively new area, since it hasn’t been around that long.  Some think the term came into common usage around 2006, while others have it dated sometime in the 1990s – either way it hasn’t been too long ago. It had only became necessary once the adoption of cloud computing solutions began [...]

Continue reading…

Spotlight on rich media and video applications

by Nagi Kasinadhuni January 7, 2011 Contact Centre

Technology companies are always on the lookout for the next big thing. They either try to create a market based on a technological innovation such as the iPod and iPad from Apple, or scramble to build an offering to meet a trend. E.g. taking consumer experience of IM (instant messaging) usage to the Enterprise The [...]

Continue reading…

Learning from sheep: a four-step technology plan for developing economies

by Nick Boag December 29, 2010 Public Sector

Being a simple bloke from down under, hailing from a place where there’s more sheep and cows than people, I guess it’s a bit easy for people to assume that I could not possibly have anything of value to add to a conversation about the convergence of technology in cities (in developing economies) via a sustainable and profitable [...]

Continue reading…

Is the network ready for perfect video application?

by Nagi Kasinadhuni December 16, 2010 Converged Communications

It is now a given that collaboration technologies are a key building block in an organization’s IT infrastructure. Organizations are using collaboration to improve productivity and efficiency. Collaboration technologies include telephony, messaging, conferencing, visual communications, knowledge management and social media. Visual technologies are now a critical part of collaboration for any organization. When one hears [...]

Continue reading…

Video Blog: Social Media, Video and Cloud Computing

by Bill Padfield December 10, 2010 Datacraft News
Continue reading…

WebEx: A tool for learning and development?

by Theresa Tan December 2, 2010 Datacraft News

In today’s fast-paced world, businesses must be able to adapt to the never ending developments and innovations presented to us by progress. And companies today must also be able to improve their efficiency in a way that it is cost-effective as well. Great communication is one of the most basic elements for a successful business [...]

Continue reading…

CSR in Datacraft…where are we now?

by Catherine Tan November 26, 2010 Datacraft News

In Datacraft Asia, we are taking baby steps and with each step, we achieve a little bit more.  When we took part in Earth Hour 3 years ago, our company was probably one of the few and there was no press mention about this event around town.  Datacraft has switched off for the 3rd consecutive [...]

Continue reading…

Rising above the clouds: Cloud Computing and IT Outsourcing (Part III)

by Philip Ng November 10, 2010 Datacraft News

Having gone through several points and angles that revolve around the current state and future of cloud computing, outsourcing and multi-sourcing, it is now time to draw conclusions from the things that I have discussed in parts one and two.  No one can do it alone This three-part post is considered a success if it has [...]

Continue reading…

Rising above the clouds: Cloud Computing and IT Outsourcing (Part II)

by Philip Ng November 2, 2010 Datacraft News

Hot off the heels of the first part of my series on cloud computing and IT outsourcing comes the second installment of my 3-part series that focuses mainly on IT outsourcing.  Outsourcing, Multi-sourcing, then what?  In the past, outsourcing was equated to facilities management. To illustrate, Eastman Kodak was (arguably) the first company to outsource [...]

Continue reading…

Corporate Social Responsibility; an investment or a responsibility?

by Catherine Tan October 22, 2010 Datacraft News

Did you know that trains in Disneyland now run on biodiesel made with cooking oil from the resorts’ hotels and restaurants and they have a program primarily focusing on brightening the lives of under privileged children through global outreach programs, local community initiatives and the Disney VoluntEARS program? Can you imagine that it was 60 [...]

Continue reading…