IBM VARs Combine: Sirius Acquires Symatrix

IBM Sirius Computer Solutions Symatrix Technology

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Symatrix, which has offices in Seattle; Portland, Ore.; San Francisco; Salt Lake City; and Honolulu, had revenue of about $33 million last year, said Harvey Najim, president and CEO of Sirius.

Both Sirius,which company officials claim is the largest IBM midrange solution provider in the United States,and Symatrix are profitable organizations, Najim said.

Symatrix is the third recent acquisition for Sirius. The company purchased a Lancaster, Pa.-based J.D. Edwards specialist in April 1998, and an Irvine, Calif.-based solution provider in February 2000. Last November, it sold its J.D. Edwards practice to Atlanta-based CD Group, Najim said.

Sirius will continue to grow via acquisitions in the future, said Najim. He expects to announce a small acquisition by the end of this month, and another after the new year.

Najim said his company is following a "platform within geography" strategy in regards to acquisitions. He said he wishes to emulate IBM's strategy, which is to have the ability to sell a full range of Big Blue's servers and storage products throughout the entire country. However, Sirius has been weak in the Northwestern United States, which is why it acquired Symatrix, he said.

Sirius' revenue is currently 8 percent to 9 percent ahead of last year, Najim said. The company has done that by penetrating deeper into existing accounts, focusing more on SMB customers, hiring people with solutions sales experience and acquiring companies in new geographies, he said.

Najim said there are a lot of solution providers looking to be acquired. "From my perspective, they have had a couple-three tough years, especially those that tried to go aggressively into the service business," he said. "Many were not successful and used income from their hardware and middleware business to fund services. They lost a lot of money. . . . So today, people are receptive to talking about being acquired. But their perspective about what they are worth often is unrealistic."