Colt Technology Services has acquired channel-focused cloud platform provider ThinkGrid to strengthen its channel-led cloud services.
Colt will add the ThinkGrid offering to its Communication Services division which is served by around 700 partners plus an incoming community of 100 ThinkGrid partners. The financial details have been withheld, but in a separate statement, the unaudited value of the gross assets being acquired was £0.6m for the financial year ending 31 December 2011.
According to Rob Lovell, CEO of ThinkGrid, “[The acquisition] offers us a great deal and platform to expand.” Lovell himself will become head of the ThinkGrid unit within Colt reporting to François Eloy, the firm’s executive VP.
According to Eloy, the strategy of being able to offer both a mostly direct cloud for the larger enterprise, combined with a purely indirect alternative, is the key to long term success for communication providers. “If you don’t own the platform and the network then you're missing a critical point,” he comments.
In terms of distribution agreements, Colt will retain its existing relationship with Magirus and ThinkGrid will continue its distribution with Ingram Micro UK. Eloy discounted the recent purchase of Magirus by Avnet has having any material impact on the deal, but Colt will be in a great position with a “theoretical” distribution agreement now in place with two major broadliners.
Thinkgrid CEO Lovell confirmed that both he and his senior management team will all be moving to Colt and that the firm is actively recruiting to grow its market presence backed by the firm’s expanded resources.
