Solution provider Dimension Data Canada is looking to grow its footprint across the country as it opens what it’s calling its Western Canada headquarters in Calgary.

Business in Alberta is nothing new for the Cisco-focused company, as Canadian area vice president Wendy Lucas says the company has had clients in Alberta pre-dating its formal arrival in Canada by opening a Mississauga, Ont. headquarters five years ago. Much of the business was worldwide Dimension Data clients with a presence in Alberta. In fact, the global nature of its customers factors heavily in the company’s decision to expand into Alberta – both for the benefit of existing Dimension Data clients with local offices, and for local businesses looking to grow on a global scale.

“With so many clients going global, there’s a lot of demand for global systems integrators,” Lucas said, particularly in the face of mergers and acquisitions.

No surprises in where she sees the big opportunities in Alberta. Yes, the company will continue to work on its traditional strengths in the service provider and financial markets. But in Alberta, there’s no doubt that it’s all about the oil and gas industry.

Currently, Lucas said about 30 per cent of the company’s revenues in Canada come from Western Canada clients, and that’s a number she sees growing quickly to about half of Dimension Data’s business here. That growth will come both from expanding its work with existing accounts and with new opportunities for DiData, Lucas said.

“It’s so nice to open up in a new region with existing clients, and with references, so you can just accelerate that growth,” she said.

The Calgary office is still growing. Lucas said that key technical and sales talent are already onboard, but that the company still needs to expand its Calgary office in terms of staff footprint. She intends to have the Calgary location “fully ramped up” by halfway through 2013 at the latest.

The services menu should be familiar to anyone who’s seen Dimension Data’s offerings: Cloud, private cloud, virtualization, data centre, and collaboration.

It’s not the first time a large solution provider has moved from east to west or vice versa, and it won’t be the last. In fact, there are persistent murmurs that Alberta-based super-MSP Long View Systems is eyeing a permanent presence in eastern Canada, so stay tuned for further developments.

As for Lucas, she’s likely not sweating that – an Alberta native herself, she’s got big plans for her company’s new presence in Calgary.

“I’m already planning the Stampede events for next year,” she said.