NetatWork Boosts eCommerce Capabilities With Pixafy Acquisition

Net@Work has acquired the ecommerce practice of Pixafy in a move that the New York solution provider said will expand Net@Work's portfolio of ecommerce services -- especially in building B2B and B2C websites based on the Magento open-source ecommerce platform.

Net@Work will operate Pixafy Services LLC as a separate business unit and merge it with its existing ecommerce offerings, according to the solution provider. And those services will be integrated with Net@Work's other Web development, ERP, CRM, enterprise content management and system integration services.

Pixafy "has always been one of the strongest brands in the Magento market," said Alex Solomon, Net@Work co-president and co-owner, in an interview with CRN. "We're well on our way to growing our ecommerce practice to be the strongest in the market."

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Pixafy is the latest in a string of acquisitions by Net@Work in recent years that have greatly expanded the scope of its services portfolio, especially around products from software vendor Sage.

In November, it bought the Peoria, Ill.-based Sage practice of CliftonLarsonAllen, a national professional services firm, and in July acquired Axis Integrated Solutions, a consultant and reseller of Sage 300 and Sage CRM applications in the Midwest.

The company said its strategy has been to partner with, and in some cases acquire, companies with business and technology practices that extend its offerings and integrate those with the broader Net@Work technology stack. That has allowed the company, founded in 1996, to grow beyond its original network support focus into a provider of a full range of IT services and solutions.

Last year, Net@Work, No. 366 on the CRN 2015 Solution Provider 500, also added cloud application provider NetSuite to the roster of IT vendors it works with.

Solomon said additional acquisitions are in the works -- some of them in the infrastructure managed services business. "It's all about making sure we have a comprehensive set of technology solutions for our customers," Solomon said.

Net@Work has been in the ecommerce space for a long time, Solomon said. But the demand for ecommerce IT services has been growing, because more companies -- particularly small and midsize companies -- need ecommerce strategy and technology services to accommodate more business conducted online.

The solution provider is buying the agency and development operations of Pixafy, bringing 43 employees to Net@Work. It has hired Ross Glick, a digital marketing expert and former CEO of Indelible Media, to be managing director of Pixafy Services.

The company that previously owned Pixafy will continue to operate as Zoey Inc., selling its Magento-based ecommerce platform. Other terms of the acquisition weren't disclosed.

PUBLISHED JAN. 21, 2016