Daisy opens up on Phoenix, Damovo and 2e2 integration

Neil Muller completes tour of UK offices spreading the One Daisy message

Daisy has said the integration of Phoenix IT is going "really well", partly because every aspect of the process has been led by a member of staff from each company. The firm made the claims while opening up to CRN about the integration of a number of its recent acquisitions, which include Damovo UK and part of the 2e2 business.

Last July, Daisy acquired Phoenix IT Group, just months after it snapped up the UK arm of European reseller Damovo. Following the collapse of 2e2, the Lancashire reseller swooped on its datacentre business in February 2013.

Since the trio of acquisitions went ahead, the company has been pursuing its "One Daisy" strategy, which involves integrating all three and rebranding where necessary.

Some staff who worked in overlapping functions have been let go, and new management teams have already been settled on for the new-look company.

Daisy expects the digital rebrand to be finished by 1 February, with the launch of its new website and intranet symbolising completion. In March or April, a new CRM system will be in place across the business and at the end of this calendar year, the firm will start standardising its finance functions.

Daisy's chief people officer David Jones said: "It's no small feat in that timescale. We got the keys on 16 July and from [then] to Christmas, we've taken 3,600 people through a pretty major transformation of bringing the Phoenix business in.

"If you look at some of the deadlines we set in terms of our commitment to investors and the teams inside the two businesses, we sorted out the structures in the central areas very quickly - a matter of a couple of months, which is about the shortest you can do it legally, by observing the appropriate practices."

The company admitted that there was some nervousness about the integration of Phoenix, but that it has taken steps to ensure everyone's views are taken into account.

In recent months, Daisy's chief executive Neil Muller and other key executives have been on a tour of its UK offices to personally deliver the One Daisy message in the form of roadshows. Home-working engineers will also be targeted in a dedicated conference.

Jones added that the company has tried hard to listen to Phoenix staff.

"The way we structured the integration was in a number of work streams - finance, HR, sales, as you'd expect - which would look at what it would look like," he said.

"Every single work stream had a joint owner; there was a Phoenix and Daisy person on every one. So at the roadshows, we talked from a position of knowledge and comfort that everybody had been engaged. It helps create the culture of being part of something else. It is not being done 'to' them, [but with them instead]."

One of the key things Daisy and ex-Phoenix staff asked at roadshows was when they would be able to sell the other's technology, said Daisy's chief change officer John Danter.

"The other thing that came out was 'when can we start selling the broader range of products'?" he said. "It was really positive for us as people were seeing the opportunity and asking 'how can we leverage this full range of products we have into my customer base'?"

There were already Daisy and Phoenix offices in some locations, in which case, staff have all moved into one base instead. In towns and cities where Daisy is not present, former Phoenix, Damovo and 2e2 offices will get a Daisy makeover, with the reception areas having priority.