Reseller's EMEA boss claims acquisition is vital digital transformation play

Insight's EMEA boss has said that its acquisition of cloud services provider Caase.com last month will help the firm cultivate a new "intelligent technology" talent pipeline.

EMEA president of Insight, Wolfgang Ebermann, said that the rationale behind the acquisition was to fulfil customer demand for more "intelligent" digital transformation solutions. Furthermore, the location of Caase's office near the German border is also expected to provide a lift to Insight's German operations.

"The Caase office [in Enschede] is close to the German border, and we retained that office for two key reasons. Firstly, its proximity to Germany gives us access to another geographical footprint; and also, very importantly, Caase has a close relationship with a university there. It's very IT and technology orientated, so we clearly see that location as being a great base for bringing out additional key technology architects and consultants, which are a core engine for our growth around those future intelligent solutions."

Insight currently has two offices in the Netherlands - in Amsterdam and Apeldoorn - with a joint headcount of 150.

The addition of Caase, which focuses solely on selling intelligent solutions for cloud, has added just under 50 staff.

It has been named Microsoft's Dutch partner of the year for the last three years.

Caase is also Insight's second Benelux buyout of the year, after the firm took over the Microsoft licensing business of 130 customers from Belgium IT services firm Systemat.

Ebermann says it is a reflection of his belief that Benelux is a vital growth market for Insight's European operations.

"Our Benelux growth journey is very important for us. If you look in Europe, it's the UK, Dutch and Nordic markets that are the ones leading cloud transformation in Europe, and for that reason you see really strong cloud partners there," he said.

Analysing his competitive landscape, Ebermann's message to partners and rivals alike is to view the rapid changes in new technology as good for business.

"Overall, the whole IT industry is currently in the midst of big transformational change; and that's actually pretty good. Why? Because if you look at the way IT has been used over the last 25 years, when you talk to business decision makers - the CFOs and CEOs - you're going to hear them say that in many areas they still see IT as a cost factor, versus a strategic asset helping to drive our future business outcome.

"I think because of that, you saw in the financial crisis, IT budgets did not grow. And many CFOs will tell you that more than 80 per cent of their IT budget gets spent on just maintaining their IT infrastructure: that equation is not good.

"It's especially true with so much disruption in the market. Look at smartphones.

"There are over 2.8 billion smartphones. That means the smartphone is clearly becoming the digital personal assistant for businesses, and organisations need to really assess how they're going to adapt to these changes in IT going forward," Ebermann advised.

"Those who don't make that adaption a strategic priority are at risk, but we see that as an opportunity. How do you take that digital assistant - the smartphone - and embed it into your product and services portfolio as a business? I think every channel partner needs to assess this."

Ebermann noted that Insight's attempt to adapt to changes in the market is the reason for the company's poorer than expected Q1 2017 results.

The firm incurred $3.5m (£2.6m) in restructuring costs, although Q2 profits bounced back, with earnings reaching $13.5m (£10.2m).

"As part of that journey, some structures have to be changed. You saw that in Q1 and you already saw the benefits of that in the next quarter," said Ebermann.

"Will you see some further tweaking of our organisational footprint? Well, we have to do this. And if there are costs associated, we will go for that because it's better for us in the long run."

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• caase.com