Feldman: Microsoft arranged Cloudamour-RedPixie marriage

Cloudamour founder Mitchell Feldman opens up on creating a 'superpower' cloud reseller

The acquisition of Cloudamour by RedPixie was all Microsoft's idea as it looked to create a born-in-the-cloud "superpower", according to Mitchell Feldman.

Feldman (pictured) founded Cloudamour in 2012 and the firm announced late last year that it had been acquired by fellow born-in-the-cloud outfit RedPixie, keeping the latter's name and branding.

Feldman - who is now CEO of the firm and works alongside RedPixie president Simon Bullers - told CRN the combined entity is performing well.

He said he had always wanted to remain the sole owner of Cloudamour, but added that Microsoft had other ideas.

"Microsoft brokered this marriage," he said. "Microsoft identified us [Cloudamour] as being if not the best, then one of the best, sales and marketing IT companies in the UK. Redpixie was regarded as one of the most technically proficient companies in the UK - but it lacked in sales and marketing. Cloudamour was great for the SMB space, but when you start to move up into corporate and enterprise accounts, we had no experience.

"So Microsoft, cleverly for them, said 'what about if we bring you guys together and forge this new superpower?'"

Microsoft first made the suggestion last February, Feldman said, which kicked off a period in which the two companies got to know each other.

"We started flirting with each other for a while - I had a cupboard in his house, he had a cupboard in my house," he joked. "Then I got a drawer, then I started leaving clothes there, and he would leave clothes at mine, and eventually it was like 'this is just right'. We worked on a couple of deals together, so that was the final endorsement for me. It just felt right - the culture and ambition was the same and me and Simon [RedPixie's president] just got each other. There's a bit of a bromance going on."

Feldman said meeting RedPixie made the decision about branching out easier.

"As we got bigger, I realised I couldn't be all things to all men and actually, the company was becoming slightly bigger than I was," he said. "I needed to employ better, more experienced people. And all of a sudden I met these guys [RedPixie] and when I started seeing their capabilities around product development and high-end governance and security and project management, I was like a kid in a candy shop."

Microsoft declined to comment.