EarthLink (Nasdaq: ELNK) has completed its acquisition of Synergy Global Solutions' IT Solution Center and its hosted application business, adding another piece to its growing business solutions puzzle.
With Synergy operating in Western, New York, these purchases will be folded into EarthLink's growing business division and sold to customers through its direct and indirect sales channels.
The Synergy asset acquisition is part of an ongoing drive by the competitive carrier to grow out its managed services portfolio. Over the past year, EarthLink has made three purchases in this area: managed IT security provider xDefenders, managed Business Vitals, and LogicalSolutions.net, an enterprise data center solutions provider.
So what does EarthLink get with the Synergy purchase?
Synergy's IT Solutions includes a Help Desk, Network Operations Center, and remote technical management and support across a wide range of networking and operating system platforms. In addition, EarthLink will acquire its cloud-based application service, which provides end-to-end hosted IT capabilities for the environmental services vertical market. The offering will then be hosted by EarthLink Cloud service.
It appears that much of the day-to-day operations will continue at Synergy's Solutions Center as the 100 member support specialists and engineers will join EarthLink. Likewise, current Synergy President Clark Crook will become EarthLink's VP of Solution Center Services.
No less important are the new 120 Value Added Resellers (VARs) relationships EarthLink gains. Already selling Synergy's Solution Center and hosted application services, the service provider plans to expand those VAR relationships by having them sell all of its Business products, including cloud services, data vaulting, secure email, managed firewall as well as the communications and network services.
Meanwhile, Synergy will continue to distribute its IT Solution Center services and other EarthLink service as an EarthLink VAR.
For more:
- see the release
Special report: The most important M&As of 2011
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