Dimension Data Teams with EMC to Form Catalyst Alliance

Dimension Data has partnered with EMC to form the Catalyst Alliance, a new organization that aims to help drive greater interest in the hybrid cloud for midmarket companies.

The joint effort will see both companies working to develop, market and sell solutions aimed specifically at helping medium-sized businesses to use and understand how hybrid cloud storage and services can help them grow their businesses, according to the announcement. EMC’s David Trigg said the offerings will include large-enterprise-class offerings packaged and priced for mid-sized companies.

“Mid-size customers are looking for enterprise-class services to help them compete, without breaking the bank,” said Trigg, EMC’s vice president and general manager of Global Service Providers, in a blog post. “Together, EMC and Dimension Data can better solve their [customers’] challenges through a combination of Dimension Data’s operational and industry-specific expertise, underpinned by world-class EMC technologies.”

The solutions will encompass private cloud for on and off-premise use as well as public and hybrid cloud, all of which will feature consumption-based pricing models. Dimension Data will also provide managed services to help customers simplify access and configuration of their cloud solutions.

“The Catalyst Alliance will help clients realize the benefits of hybrid cloud that will be used to serve core business applications anywhere in the world,” said Steve Nola, Dimension Data’s group executive for IT-as-a-Service, in a statement. “By combining EMC’s technology leadership with Dimension Data’s extensive services portfolio and global reach, clients are able to accelerate their growth, creating value for their customers and financial returns for their shareholders.”

While specific details on the exact solutions are a tad fuzzy, EMC and Dimension Data clearly want to make hybrid cloud more of a main focus for mid-sized businesses rather than have it continue to be an afterthought. Both companies stand to benefit significantly from a collaboration of this size, especially if they are able to effectively win the hearts and minds of the thousands of midrange enterprises struggling with the switch to a hybrid cloud-based infrastructure.