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[Johannesburg, SOUTH AFRICA] The latest accolade to come the way of Dimension Data emanates from the U.S. offices of Cisco, who have awarded the networking integration firm Gold Partner Certification on five continents. Didata is now set to obtain Global Support Partner status from the e-business networking company in recognition of both the Gold Partner Certification and the recent rollout of its Global Services Operating Architecture.

Already Cisco's largest resale partner outside the U.S., this accreditation is expected to further boost Didata's North American profile as the company positions itself for a Nasdaq listing in the near future.

According to Cisco MD for the Europe, Middle East and Africa regions, Paris Arey, Didata became eligible for Cisco Global Support Partner status as a result of the company having achieved Gold Partner Status in the U.S., Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and New Zealand. The company will join the Dutch firm Getronics and three other U.S. companies Hewlett Packard, NCR Corporation and Unisys Corporation on the list of Global Support Partners.

To qualify as a Global Support Partner, a company is required to train a minimum of 30 Cisco Certified Internetwork Experts and 60 Cisco Certified Network Professionals who will be required to provide 24-hour worldwide support.

According to Didata Network Services CE Bruce Watson, the provision of round-the-clock support is a necessary and logical step for a company that is required to provide services to e-business firms operating in different time zones around the world. "Businesses cannot be limited by their IT partner's geographic boundaries," he explains. "As companies move towards e-business, they require sophisticated enterprise management support and services across the globe. As a network and i-commerce integration and services company, it's critical to be able to offer this on every continent."

Accreditation of this form is difficult to obtain, as the narrow list of partners would suggest. Cisco conducts independent audits to assess whether the performance of its partners measures up to its initial expectations. Should Didata pass the test, this will provide an additional layer of credibility for the networking company which last week entered the London Stock Exchange's FTSE-100 and intend to list on the Nasdaq in the near future. Speaking last month, Didata Finance Director Malcolm Rutherford hinted that this listing would probably take place within the next 8 to 14 months.