IT, communications, and cloud platform provider Digital Wholesale Solutions (DWS) is to acquire channel-only cloud services firm Giacom for an undisclosed fee.
Founded back in 1999 as an internet service provider, Giacom has evolved into a cloud services provider that now boasts the largest independent cloud portal in the UK.
Designed to help IT businesses that serve UK SMEs, the company’s Cloud Market platform delivers SaaS, security, and backup solutions to more than 70,000 end-user SMEs through Giacom’s ITC clients.
Giacom CEO Mike Wardell, who will continue to lead the business with his existing management team, said the two companies share a common approach to the channel.
“The more time we spent with the team from DWS, the more similarities we saw in our businesses and how we approach the channel,” Wardell explained. “From our focus on customer experience to our business values to the integration approach we each adopt for our technology platforms, it was clear that the two businesses are a great fit.
“As we work together, I’m excited about the extra value we can add for our customers, providing access to products, training and expertise that helps them stay ahead of a changing market”.
Having switched to focus on its Cloud Marketplace as an indirect cloud software provider just four years ago, Giacom has achieved significant growth in that time after capitalising on the industry shift towards cloud-based solutions. The company has also been named as a Sunday Times Tech Track 100 company for the last four years.
This success has not been halted by this year’s COVID-19 pandemic either, with the firm managing to continue its revenue and SME partner growth during that time.
Retaining the Giacom brand name, the firm will now form part of DWS, a high-growth, channel-only software platform business that specialises in providing IT, communications, and cloud products to over 2,500 partners in the UK. The provider offers expertise in voice, mobile, unified communications, as well as connectivity services.
“I’ve admired the Giacom business for a number of years - a great channel-only business, obsessed about delivering great products and a great experience for partners through a great platform,” commented Terry O’Brien, CEO of DWS. “We have so much in common in terms of focus, ways of working and values. Bringing together these two high growth businesses in Unified comms and Cloud services is a huge step forward in our plans to support an ever-converging ICT partner channel.
“I think this will be great for our combined 5,500 partners and I am really looking forward to working with Mike and his team at Giacom.”
Giacom is being sold by Livingbridge, one of the UK’s leading mid-market private equity investors, which first invested in the business back in 2017.
