NTT, one of, if not the largest global IT services and telecommunications companies, today announced its intentions to acquire managed security service provider Solutionary. Other than being an all cash transaction, the terms of the deal were not disclosed.
I was able to speak with Solutionary CEO Steve Idelman earlier today to get his thoughts on the acquisition and what it means for Solutionary and the larger managed services market. According to Mr. Idelman, the relationship between NTT and Solutionary had been going on for several years. NTT, who purchased Dimension Data, was interested in increasing their focus on IT security services. Now with these two organizations combining, Solutionary has the potential for "real serious global expansion", while simultaneously creating an exit strategy for some of Solutionary's long term investors. One thing is for certain; the deal was not a deal of necessity, but rather an issue of good timing between two companies that have many synergies.
"We are pleased to become a member of the NTT Group" said Steve Idelman, CEO of Solutionary. "NTT's global presence and group resources will strongly complement Solutionary's well established, leading edge capability in providing security services. The Management Team and I are very excited about the ideal strategic fit with NTT and the ability to continue delivering innovative security solutions from within our pure-play culture. This partnership enables the combined organizations to deliver cutting edge IT security services, solutions and analytics to a larger number of global customers, as well as to accelerate security research to protect our clients."
One of the highlights of the acquisition is that Solutionary will be operating as a wholly owned subsidiary, which means that the operations and long term strategic focus of the company will likely not change much, if at all. Naturally, both companies will be able to cross sell new offerings to their respective customers, it also means that Solutionary will have fuel to expand its own robust research and development team.
Regarding Solutionary's channel efforts to recruit and partner with managed service providers who need access to more sophisticated security offerings, this policy will not change, according to Mr. Idelman. Since earlier this year, Solutionary has been a staunch advocate of the MSPAlliance and has been participating as a sponsor of regional networking events aimed at bringing together local MSPs to discuss the state of the market and engage in dialog about managed services industry specific topics.
It sounds like the NTT and Solutionary match was an ideal one and we will be watching the evolution of these companies as it unfolds in the coming months and years.
