Acquisition Creates Virtualization Powerhouse
Entisys Solutions, Concord, Calif., acquired Agile360, Irvine, Calif., for an undisclosed amount. The deal closed on December 31.
It is the first acquisition for Entisys, which was founded in 1998 as a computer and software training center but which today partners with Palo Alto, Calif.-based VMware, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.-based Citrix, and Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft to provide consulting and engineering services to mid-tier and enterprise customers and government agencies.
Agile360, founded in 2001, has expertise in data center infrastructure virtualization, and works with the same three core vendor partners, said Mike Strohl, president of Entisys.
When Entisys looked to expand its business, one of the key reasons for considering an acquisition of Agile360 was the two solution providers' similar vendor relationships and expertise, Strohl said.
"We didn't want to dilute our core expertise," he said. "We didn't want to look at adding new solutions. We focus on virtualization, and Agile360 has the same vendor relationships and the same solution offerings. But we both developed unique solutions, so we are putting them together."
The other deciding factor was based on geography, as Entisys in Northern California and Agile360 in Southern California had little customer overlap and almost never competed with each other, Strohl said. "We did some work down there, and they did some work up here," he said. "But together, this gives us a strong, deep engineering pool."
The two solution providers have known each other for several years, primarily since both are elite partners of VMware, Strohl said. Both are also strong in the Citrix channel, where Entisys was the top North American reseller partner for the Citrix Application Networking Group in 2007 and Agile360 was runner-up for Citrix Solution Provider of the Year in North America in 2006.
The combined entity, which has strong partnerships with VMware, Citrix, and Microsoft, all of which are competing in the virtualization market, might look on the outside to be a scenario ripe for conflict. But that is not the case, Strohl said.
"On the street, there's little conflict," he said. "We don't position ourselves as a VMware or a Citrix or a Microsoft supplier. We position ourselves as a consultant. If we stay focused on consulting and our business, everything else is a non-issue for us."
Entisys and Agile360 do differ in one part of their business. Entisys has a managed services offering, while Agile360 has hosted services. "There's a lot of synergy in this acquisition," Strohl said.
The two solution providers are in the process of integrating their businesses. However, Strohl said, "integrating" is not the right way to describe what they are doing. "We're two really strong companies with strong processes," he said. "We're not integrating. We're more focused on sharing our processes."
Strohl said he sees little chance of making another acquisition in the future. And, he said, he is not interested in being acquired.
"Acquisition is not part of our strategic plan," he said. "My focus over the next two years is to take these two great organizations and invest in their growth. And we have no interest in being acquired. With these two organizations, we have an awesome opportunity to build a strong consulting organization. To have my eye anywhere else is not in the cards."