Running Your Business

Top Cognizant Exec Stepping Down: ‘Excited For The Next Chapter’

by Joseph F. Kovar

‘I have loved this company and its amazing people. Together, over the past 16 years, we have grown the firm 20-fold to a $17BB+ run rate and approximately 300,000 associates. It was the ride of a lifetime and I feel so honored to have been a part of it,’ writes Malcolm Frank, who is retiring as president of digital business and technology at Cognizant.
Accenture Federal Services Expands AI, Cybersecurity Skills With Novetta Buy

by Joseph F. Kovar

‘Novetta brings us new scale in the new technologies. And it brings in cutting-edge capabilities that we can lean in to when clients need the latest capabilities. Novetta expands our footprint. And they bring us new packaged capabilities that make our offerings more easily consumable and speed time to value,’ says Ira Entis, Accenture Federal Services’ senior managing director of growth and strategy.
Flex Equity Buys Logical Maintenance Solutions As Platform To Acquire Other MSPs

by Joseph F. Kovar

‘[Logical Maintenance Solutions] is now our platform for the managed services business,’ says Sameer Mittal, Flex Equity managing partner. ‘We will use it to acquire other MSPs in the future.’
Partners ‘Need A Plan’ To Capture Post-Pandemic IT Spending Opportunities: IDC

by Gina Narcisi

‘Basically, 72 percent of the companies you are going to be competing with have reacted and embraced the new normal and are moving their businesses forward,’ IDC’s Group VP Joseph Pucciarelli tells partners during MES Spring 2021.
MSP Electric Closes $40M Funding Round, Turns Eye Toward Acquisitions

by Joseph F. Kovar

‘We’re on the hunt to do one or two more M&A deals similar to the one we did with SINU. We’re looking for companies with similar profiles to SINU: profitable, $1 [million] to $5 million in annual recurring revenue, and strong technical expertise. If we find people who believe in our mission, we want to talk with them,’ says Electric CEO Ryan Denehy.
CDW 4Q20: Coronavirus Made The Company, Customers Stronger

by Joseph F. Kovar

“Our value proposition resonated with customers. We combined our services and broad solutions portfolio with our extensive technical knowledge and logistical and distribution capabilities to deliver the best outcomes for our customers. This led to meaningful outperformance compared to the US IT market. We emerged from 2020 stronger and even more committed to executing our strategy,” says CDW CEO Christine Leahy.
Google Partners Collaborate On Providing Google Job Opportunities

by Joseph F. Kovar

“This is great for Google, great for partners, and great for job candidates. If someone loves Google technology--and remember, less than 1 percent of applicants get hired by Google--they have another place to go. No one else--not Microsoft, not Oracle, not Salesforce, not any other ecosystem--works to support the partner ecosystem like Google Cloud,” says SADA CEO Tony Safoian (pictured).
ePlus CEO: Diversified Business Model, Services Key To Success

by Joseph F. Kovar

‘Customers are taking advantage of our remote managed services, and we have the capabilities to provide security services and support solutions to create reliable hybrid work environments. Post-pandemic, work-from-home options are expected to be more prevalent than they were a year ago,’ says ePlus President and CEO Mark Marron.
Staples Makes $2.1B Bid To Buy Office Depot, Considers Divesting CompuCom

by Joseph F. Kovar

Staples indicated that it thinks Office Depot would have a greater value if it divested itself of either its CompuCom system integration business or its Business Solutions Division, which focuses on the B2B market.
CGI Acquires HMB’s Professional Services Business To Expand Its Footprint

by Joseph F. Kovar

The acquisition not only enhances CGI’s Columbus, Ohio, and central Ohio business, it also gives customers access to a wider range of solutions to more quickly implement digital transformation initiatives, Dave Henderson, president of U.S. commercial and state government operations, tells CRN.
Channel Consolidation: CDI Acquires High Availability In Move To Build Scale, Flexibility

by Joseph F. Kovar

‘Clients are frustrated with smaller competitors who don’t offer all the services they need, and larger competitors who aren’t flexible in helping with digital transformation. It’s a tough time for many integrators to meet market needs and move fast enough,’ CDI President Rich Falcone tells CRN.
How Sharpening Emerging Tech Skills Can Boost Women Of The Channel

by Gina Narcisi

Keeping up with current trends and emerging technology is the No. 1 skill for women in IT to possess right now as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to take its toll on the IT landscape and the global workforce.
Trace3 Acquires Groupware To Expand Geographic Footprint

by Joseph F. Kovar

‘We’ll do more acquisitions,’ Trace3 CEO Rich Fennessy tells CRN. ‘Job No. 1 is organic growth. But we’re always looking for things to accelerate our strategies.’
Accenture Looks To Shake Up Tech Investing With Project Spotlight

by Joseph F. Kovar

‘I found the real power of the boardroom is in the entrepreneur and the technical people. A startup might spend two years developing its product-market fit. So I see the opportunity for a third party to represent the market to help accelerate this process,’ says Tom Lounibos, global managing director of Accenture Ventures.
ePlus CEO Mark Marron: COVID-19 Forcing Changes In Customer Purchasing

by Joseph F. Kovar

‘We believe that, after investing in cloud, networking, and security upgrades as a result of the early COVID-19 remote workforce initiatives, many customers turn to upgrading their end-user devices, which are typically sold at lower margins and require less services,’ says Mark Marron, ePlus CEO.