Alternative Payments Acquires Delmar Insights Amid Tripling Growth: Exclusive

‘We’re very focused on financial and operational automation,’ says Baxter Lanius, Alternative Payments CEO. ‘MSPs have done a great job automating their tech stack and service delivery, but financial operations remain one of the last frontiers. By integrating Delmar’s analytics capabilities, we’re delivering the first holistic toolset that unites payments automation, business intelligence and AI-driven analytics.’

Alternative Payments has acquired data and analytics vendor Delmar Insights, launching an AI-powered payments and intelligence platform designed specifically for MSPs.

The combined platform will allow MSPs to automate payments while tracking profitability, revenue growth and operational performance in real time. Baxter Lanius, CEO of New York-based payments company Alternative Payments, said the goal is to give MSPs a clearer picture of their financial health from customer-level margins to cash flow, so they can make faster, more informed decisions.

“We’re very focused on financial and operational automation,” Lanius told CRN in an exclusive interview. “MSPs have done a great job automating their tech stack and service delivery, but financial operations remain one of the last frontiers. By integrating Delmar’s analytics capabilities, we’re delivering the first holistic toolset that unites payments automation, business intelligence and AI-driven analytics.”

He said there are two key components to what the company is building.

“The first is operational clarity—things like ticket volume and customer-level performance. The second is financial clarity—understanding margin profiles, recurring revenue and profitability by service type,” he said. “When you can see those metrics together, you can manage your business with precision.”

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. All three of Delmar’s employees are coming over in the deal.

Danny O’Hanley, founder and CEO of Richmond, Va.-based Delmar Insights, will join Alternative Payments as general manager of data and analytics. He said the acquisition accelerates a shared mission to simplify how MSPs use their data.

“The problem we set out to solve was that MSPs are drowning in data but don’t have the time or resources to turn it into something useful,” O’Hanley told CRN. “We wanted to create a curated experience that identifies the real problems—like staffing efficiency, client-level profitability and peer benchmarking—and delivers insights through the tools they already use every day.”

He added that joining forces with Alternative Payments allows Delmar to expand faster and innovate more deeply.

“This isn’t a handoff, it’s a partnership,” he said. “MSPs will get the same great product experience, but with more resources behind it. We’re going to accelerate innovation, improve support and drive this business forward together.”

Corey Kirkendoll, a channel partner of both Alternative Payments and Delmar, likened the merger to the 1980’s film The Blues Brothers.

“When two of my favorite partners come together to strengthen how I can accurately run and keep my business finances top of mind to be successful, it’s always a great thing,” Kirkendoll, CEO of Plano, Texas-based 5K Technical Services, told CRN. “I feel like I’m in the Blues Brothers movie — I’m with Joliet Jake (Danny) and Elwood (Baxter), they’re getting the band back together and it’s going to be a game changer.”

The acquisition is Alternative Payments’ first, and Lanius said it comes amid rapid growth. Over the past year, the company has tripled both its revenue and MSP customer base, now processing more than $1 billion in payments annually. Its team has also doubled in size to about 60 employees.

Despite the milestone, Lanius said the MSP market still has “massive white space.” Nearly half of MSPs the company meets still process payments by check or manage finances manually.

“Everyone’s so focused on automating their tech delivery that they forget about automating the business itself,” he said. “Financial health is one of the most critical components of performance.”

Looking ahead, Lanius said the integration of Delmar Insights will begin in early 2026, with broader M&A still on the table. “If we find opportunities that accelerate our mission to build the most complete financial and operational automation platform for MSPs, we’ll keep pursuing them.”

For both leaders, the deal is as much about enabling growth as it is about redefining what financial intelligence looks like for MSPs.

“Our message to partners is simple,” Lanius said. “We’re building best-in-class products in partnership with them—moving fast, solving real problems and shaping the future of financial automation in the MSP industry.”

O’Hanley agreed: “When MSPs understand their data, they control their future. That’s what this is all about—giving them the insight and automation they need to grow with confidence.”