5 Companies That Came To Win This Week

The Week Ending Sept. 16

Topping this week's roundup of companies that came to win is SS&C Technologies for its announced acquisition of a division of Wells Fargo, which it says will strengthen its offerings for hedge funds and private equity funds.

Also making the list is Intermedia, for its announcement that it will be purchased by private equity powerhouse Madison Dearborn Partners, which it says will boost its investment in the channel; Ensono, which acquired a U.K.-based cloud platform provider; Hewlett Packard Enterprise, for its new strategic software-defined infrastructure partnership and sales pact with Arista Networks, and HP Inc., which said it will simplify its Partner First compensation model.

Not everyone in the IT industry was making smart moves this week. For a rundown of companies that were unfortunate, unsuccessful or just didn't make good decisions, check out this week's 5 Companies That Had A Rough Week roundup.

SS&C Will Buy Wells Fargo Unit To Boost Financial Services Clients

Solution provider giant SS&C Technologies said it will purchase Wells Fargo Global Fund Services to strengthen its middle- and back-office management capabilities for hedge funds and private equity funds.

Windsor, Conn.-based SS&C -- No. 36 on the 2016 CRN Solution Provider 500 -- said its acquisition of Wells Fargo's 250-person GFS unit will create a compelling advantage for SS&C customers around accessing and managing sophisticated asset classes. GFS has more than 130 fund relationships in the U.S., United Kingdom, Singapore and Hong Kong.

Terms of the deal, expected to close in the fourth quarter, were not disclosed.

The acquisition comes five months after SS&C bought a one-third stake in learning technology provider Nervanix, Naples, Fla.

Intermedia Eyes More Channel Investment After Purchase By Private Equity

Cloud business application provider Inte rmedia will be purchased by private equity powerhouse Madison Dearborn Partners, which will enable Intermedia to invest more in its VAR and MSP channel, unveil new products and tools, and possibly pursue acquisitions around unified communications or security, according to its CEO, Michael Gold.

The announcement came just days after the Mountain View, Calif.-based company said that Microsoft channel superstar Eric Martorano will come aboard as senior vice president of worldwide sales.
Since being purchased by Oak Hill Capital Partners in 2011, Intermedia -- No. 189 on the CRN Solution Provider 500 -- has tripled its annual revenue to $200 million and its user base to 75,000. Oak Hill's sale of Intermedia to Chicago-based MDP is expected to close later this year. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Ensono Acquires MSP To Boost Hybrid IT Capabilities

Infrastructure management solution provider Ensono has purchased a 270-person cloud platform provider to bolster its capabilities around VMware, Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure.
The acquired company, Attenda, is based in the United Kingdom. It recorded worldwide sales of $59.3 million in its most recent fiscal year, according to its CEO, Mark Fowle.

Downers Grove, Ill.-based Ensono, formerly Acxiom IT, said marrying its mainframe and infrastructure capabilities with Attenda's cloud and automation expertise will create a global leader in hybrid IT.
Attenda plans to begin rolling out its cloud environment in the U.S. in the first quarter of 2017, Fowle said, and expects to have it live in all American data centers next year.

HPE Targets Cisco Via Software-Defined Partnership, Sales Pact With Arista

Hewlett Packard Enterprise is turning up the heat on rival Cisco Systems with a strategic software-defined infrastructure partnership and sales pact with network switching innovator Arista Networks.
Arista will be HPE's "preferred networking partner" in data center networking as an infrastructure foundation for HPE's software-defined infrastructure offerings.

HPE, which already has a converged architecture agreement with Arista, is also offering solution providers and customers the ability to buy the Arista network switching products directly from HPE starting Nov. 7.

HP Inc. Simplifies Its Partner First Compensation Mode l

HP Inc. is dramatically simplifying its Partner First sales compensation model with a new streamlined program that cuts by more than half the different payment tiers and qualifiers related to specific products.
"We have heard what the partners said and are responding," said Thomas Jensen, vice president of worldwide channel sales strategy at HP.

The changes will take effect Nov. 1. Jensen said the compensation model had gotten too "detail-oriented" over time as HP added new product categories, creating multiple qualifiers.

The "massive reduction" in core compensation metrics will be accompanied by back-end automation changes that ensure that partners spend more time in the field selling rather than managing compensation, said Jensen.