Challenge:
JT recognised an opportunity to provide cloud computing services to its local customers, and also to the UK and European companies operating across the Channel Islands.
JT explored extending its managed services, hosting, and connectivity portfolio with a cloud services offering for existing customers in strategic markets such as finance, legal and e-Gaming enterprises and local small-to-medium businesses. However, with existing connectivity, Tier 3 data centre and secure hosting infrastructure in place, JT decided a faster and more cost effective and efficient route to market was through a partnership with an existing cloud services provider, rather than building its own cloud services.
‘JT’s skillset is in voice and networking, not the applications stack – so it made sense to partner for cloud services, rather than build it ourselves,’ says Justin Clark, Solutions Manager, JT.
Solution:
After evaluating a number of potential cloud partners, Dimension Data were the clear choice for JT.
The company recognised the value in our capabilities in terms of speed-to-market, a comprehensive enablement programme and on-going sales, technical, marketing and management support.
‘Dimension Data’s OneCloud partner proposition was compelling. No-one came close to Dimension Data’s partnership offer and enablement programme,’ said Clark. ‘Dimension Data also gave us a best-of-breed global cloud platform that we could utilise in delivering our own services and also offer our customers the choice to leverage Dimension Data’s data centre infrastructure around the world.’
JT was able to launch its first Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) offering in December 2013, just twelve weeks after signing up as a Dimension Data OneCloud Partner. JT’s Cloud service is the first Channel Island enterprise-class cloud offering, allowing companies of any size to place critical data services and applications into JT’s state-of-the-art data centres.
‘In addition to having the technical elements of the cloud platform ready for launch, we were also able to ensure that JT was strategically ready to go to market with its new cloud offering,’ said Adam Pozniak, Senior Vice President Channel, Dimension Data.
In December 2014, JT launched its second cloud offering, based on our Cloud Private Network Connection (CPNC), providing JT’s customers with access to its cloud services through a secure, private network connection.
‘With CPNC in place, we’re seeing an increasing number of customers moving their production and DR workloads across to JT’s cloud service,’ said Justin. ‘Utilising our Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) network, customers are experiencing even better performance than they were receiving on their own infrastructure.’
Result:
The initial sales enablement and pre-sales training that forms part of our OneCloud onboarding process has continued with JT and we continually engaged and working together at management, sales, marketing and technical levels.
‘Through the program, JT and Dimension Data work together as a virtual team on sales opportunities, which is delivering tangible results,’ said Justin.
In addition, JT’s cloud service reduces the risk to its customers’ businesses by removing the capital expenditure spikes from investment in infrastructure and replacing it with consistent, predictable operational expenditure.
‘Our customers trialled our cloud services with test and development workloads, but now we’re seeing an increasing appetite to move entire production workloads over to the cloud,’ said Justin.
‘It’s a sign of the trust our customers have both in the cloud platform itself and also in the strength of the partnership between Dimension Data and JT.’
Sharing the development and compliance costs with us, JT’s cloud platform has become the first of its kind to receive regulator approval from the Alderney Gambling Control Commission (AGCC). Gaining this approval means that global e-gaming companies registering with the AGCC can choose JT’s cloud platform, confident that it meets the stringent international security requirements as set down by the AGCC – giving JT considerable competitive advantage.
Justin also expects JT to bring on additional products and applications in the next 12 months as the demand for JT’s cloud services continues to grow and is currently considering cloud services for backup and unified communications.
