Even as the managed services market grows, consolidation among platform providers, MSPs and vendors continues to accelerate. Keep track of merger and acquisition (M&A) information, company valuations and key alliances isn’t easy. That’s why we launched the MSPmentor M&A Tracker. Here, you’ll find the latest M&A information, including links to acquiring companies’ Web sites.
As the merger and acquisition trend continues across the managed services market, I figured it’s time to weigh in with a few of my own experiences. It has been roughly five months since Penton Media (a big company) acquired Nine Lives Media (a small media business and parent of MSPmentor). The Penton-Nine Lives combo has worked out really well. But I must also concede: I’ve made my share of mistakes since the M&A deal was announced. Here are five such mistakes, and the things I’d do differently next time around.
How’s this for ironic: Many of us in the high-tech sector work tirelessly to raise our company valuations. But sometimes lofty valuations and unreasonable expectations can destroy the very businesses we’ve worked so hard to build. Skeptical? Consider this cautionary tale involving Ziff Davis Enterprise, which spent a decade trying to overcome two unrealistic valuations (set in 1999 and 2007) that triggered lofty, insurmountable debt levels.
The Aldridge Company, a technology and cloud integrator for SMBs, has merged with Rafte & Company, a business and technology consulting firm, to offer a more comprehensive IT support offering. Financial terms were not disclosed. Here’s a little more background on both Texas-based companies, as well as what the merger means for both Aldridge and Rafte business customers.
AVI-SPL, a video communications provider, has acquired Iformata Communications LLC, a managed video services provider. Under the terms of the deal, AVI-SPLwill take over Iformata’s Video Network Operations Center (VNOC) business and its VNOC Symphony management platform. Overall, AVI-SPL is adding a suite of end-to-end automation services that includes call setup, intelligent framing, automated monitoring and event correlation, as well as a new managed conferencing offering.
When outsourceIT and GoBeyondIT merged today, MSPmentor went seeking more information from outsourceIT CEO Craig Guice. We’re curious to know how the combination of a managed services provider (MSP) and cloud services provider (CSP) will ultimately move forward. Guice says the combined company will be an MSP plus a cloud services provider that works with VARs and channel partners. Plus, outsourceIT may be close to buying at least two more companies. Here’s why.
outsourceIT and GoBeyondIT are merging. outsourceIT is a large managed services provider (MSP) and an MSPmentor 100 company. GoBeyondIT is a cloud services provider (CSP) with a hosted desktop service for SMBs and large enterprises. The combined company, which will accelerate a VDI (virtual desktop infrastructure) strategy, has more than $15 million in revenues and 70 employees. It’s the latest in a growing list of MSP mergers and acquisitions so far in 2012. Here’s how outsourceIT and GoBeyondIT will march forward.
ePlus Technology Inc. has purchased VantiCore LLC, a Cisco-centric managed services provider in New Hampshire. The move will allow ePlus to expand its unified computing and managed services footprint in New England. The ePlus-VantiCore deal is the latest in a growing list of MSP M&A agreements announced since January 1, 2012.
Now that Best Buy (BBY) has completed the mindSHIFT acquisition, let’s take a much closer look at the financial aspects of the managed services and cloud services acquisition. MSPmentor has gathered some hard-to-find financial metrics about mindSHIFT’s business. Examine the numbers and you may get a better feel for managed services provider (MSP) and cloud services provider (CSP) valuations.
MSPmentor concedes: Our math isn’t exactly right. But using some fuzzy logic, we’ve spotted seven mergers and acquisitions within the managed services market since the start of 2012. And we’re only five days into the New Year. The latest deal involves Xerox buying LaserNetworks, a managed print services specialist. Are more deals coming? Absolutely yes. Here’s a brief look at the next potential deal — which may be announced in late January or February 2012.
ConnectWise CEO Arnie Bellini and President David Bellini have spent the past two years preparing for software industry convergence and competitive wars. The result: ConnectWise and its investments — most notably LabTech Software and Quosal — have been in growth mode. But ironically, the anticipated MSP software wars never fully emerged. Here’s the back story.
Move over, managed services providers (MSPs). Your close cousins — cloud services providers — also are pursuing mergers and acquisitions at a frantic pace. The latest evidence — Internap buying Voxel for $30 million — arrived earlier today. In some ways, the Internap-Voxel combination also involves a touch of managed services.
The managed services provider (MSP) market is starting 2012 much in the way it started 2011: With plenty of MSP merger and acquisition activity. We’re tracking all of the M&A deals on MSPmentor’s MSP Merger and Acquisition page. As of this writing, four M&A deals involving MSPs have either been announced or completed since the New Year. What’s driving the M&A activity?
Within the managed services market, 2012 is starting with a merger and acquisition feeding frenzy. The latest deal involves Birch Communications buying the operating assets of AstroTel. This is the 14th acquisition for Birch since 2006. Here are details.
Best Buy’s acquisition of mindSHIFT is now complete, and mindSHIFT is now “officially a 100% owned subsidiary of Best Buy,” according to mindSHIFT CEO Paul Chisholm. So should customers — and rival managed services providers — expect big changes over at mindSHIFT? The simple answer is no. I believe mindSHIFT has a clear long-term plan for cloud services and managed services, while Best Buy has its hands full trying to bolster its traditional retail business. Here’s the background.
Presidio Networked Solutions has completed its buyout of INX Inc., an infrastructure solutions integrator and fellow managed services provider. The $85 million deal, which first surfaced in November 2011, blends two VAR500 companies that have a combined 1,800 employees.
Call it the second managed services merger (or acquisition) of 2012. Canfield Computers and Steel Valley Computers, both of Ohio, have essentially merged their IT services and managed services businesses, effective January 1, 2012. The combined company apparently will work under the Candfield Computers moniker. Financial terms were not disclosed but here’s some anecdotal information about the deal.
It’s time to shift our managed services coverage back into overdrive. The New Year holiday is over. MSPs are getting back to work. But before you check in with your customers, here are seven managed services blogs and MSP news tips that MSPmentor didn’t have a chance to write for the week ending December 30, 2011.
Network Depot has acquired Evolve Technologies, MSPmentor has confirmed. The New Year deal combines two well-known managed services providers (MSPs) that support SMB customers in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. Here are the initial details.
Autotask has sold VARStreet to VARStreet’s management and employees, ending a 21-month business marriage that never quite clicked. Autotask will focus on international expansion with VARs and MSPs, while VARStreet heads off as an independent company, seeking to help VARs and MSPs to more easily source IT products. Here’s why the two companies ultimately went their separate ways.
For the second time today, MSPmentor has confirmed new merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in the managed services market. The latest emerging deal, expected to be announced in Q1 2012, involves an MSPmentor 100 company that will merge with a cloud services provider. The other pending M&A deal, MSPmentor reported earlier today, involves two MSPs on the U.S. east coast. Yes folks, the 2012 merger season is starting early.
Two well-known managed services providers are finalizing M&A (merger and acquisition) discussions, and the two MSPs will likely announce a business combination in January 2012, MSPmentor believes. The pending deal, which apparently involves two MSPs on the U.S. east coast, will potentially be the first managed services M&A deal announced in 2012.
Now that the IT Nation conference is over, I’ve had some time to think about the continued evolution of ConnectWise and its sister companies — CharTec, LabTech Software and Quosal. I hesitate to say ConnectWise “owns” each of those companies, since I hear investment terms — organized through ConnectWise Capital — are likely different for each company. Also, each ConnectWise Capital investment has a different mission and market focus. So how will the ConnectWise Capital portfolio members evolve in 2012? I’ve got some educated hunches.
The MSPmentor team is heading off to conferences hosted by Synnex and Intel this week. Plus we’ll closely track CA World in Las Vegas. But before MSPmentor kicks off another round of managed services coverage, here are seven blogs the MSPmentor team didn’t have a chance to write for the week ending November 11.
Take a look at our MSPmentor FAQ to find answers to your managed services questions. Plus, submit your questions and we'll build out the FAQ even faster. Start here.
