Transcript for Mark Zerbe Discusses Dimension Data’s Role in UC

Blair Pleasant: Hi this is Blair Pleasant of UCStrategies. I am here with Mark Zerbe who is Senior Vice President of North Americas for Dimension Data, and we are in Boston for the Dimension Data Analyst Conference, called Perspectives 2011. So Mark, Dimension Data works with both Microsoft and Cisco. How do you see your role working between the two of them?

Mark Zerbe: Well, we kind of take a couple of roles. One, we help consult our clients to get a better understanding how they can rationalize their Cisco investment around IP telephony and maybe their Microsoft investment around OCS or other desktop applications. So it’s just helping them get a sense for the roadmap and how to make two these two investments work more effectively together. And of course, if the desire is to make that happen and it usually is because they want to get the bang out of their investment – how do we actually integrate those applications together and the actual bringing together, whether they are trying to use a CUCIMOC or a more individual type of trunking together of the two solutions. We help on the consulting end and we will help integrate those solutions together.

Blair Pleasant: What are some of your customers’ biggest challenges when it comes to unified communications and collaboration and how are you helping customers overcome those challenges?

Mark Zerbe: Well, you kind of touched on it in your first question and that is, how do they get a return on investment out of their existing investment? I find that many UC clients are left a little wanting from their initial investment around IPT and they don’t get that boost from an application. They are looking for something and it may be as simple as IM and presence, but it usually takes a little bit more than that, whether it’s some video, some other collaboration suites, some kind of content management, but they are looking for one significant business application that is going to bring that return on investment that made it worth it to shift from an TDM voice environment to an IPT environment.

Blair Pleasant: So then what is Dimension Data’s role in helping them find that?

Mark Zerbe: Well again, from a consulting standpoint, we look at their current business environment, we identify some opportunities and some areas to invest there, or to help integrate those applications once they find them, and certainly on an ongoing basis helping to support and maintain that environment.

Blair Pleasant: Great, well thank you very much, Mark.

Mark Zerbe: Thanks.