Running Your Business

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.
ePlus CEO Mark Marron: Solution Providers Key To Helping Customers ‘Navigate The Next’

by Joseph F. Kovar

‘I do believe it’s a great time for companies like ePlus [and our peers] to make a difference with technology, especially with customers that are lagging in the IT space, and help them make a forward leap,’ Mark Marron, president and CEO of ePlus, tells attendees of this week’s Best of Breed virtual conference.
SolarWinds MSP’s David Weeks: Customer Experience Defines An MSP

by Joseph F. Kovar

‘The motion of customer experience [is changing] in regards to the way that some partners are starting to look at the way they run their sales motions and the way that they interact with their customers,’ says David Weeks, SolarWinds MSP director of sales.
COLUMN: Should You Prepare For A Protracted Downturn?

by Robert Faletra

The Channel Company’s Executive Chairman Robert Faletra says while the technology industry has been spared the worst of post-pandemic economic downturn, that won’t remain the case for long.
How Solution Providers Can Survive COVID-19 And Actually Thrive

by Joseph F. Kovar

Businesses go through four waves in a crisis--react, protect, optimize, and elevate--and knowing how to handle the last two of those waves will result in an IT infrastructure that will be resilient when the next crisis hits, said Connection’s Kurt Hildebrand.