Ingram acquires Comms-care
Distributor says purchase will extend high-value services it provides in UK
Ingram has bolstered its services kitbag by grabbing UK channel services outfit Comms-care for an undisclosed sum.
Comms-care is one of the largest providers of support, professional and managed services to the UK channel, claiming to serve about 850 resellers, SIs and other channel firms.
Its acquisition by Ingram is the latest act of consolidation in the channel services space following the sale of rival Networks First in February and Phoenix IT last summer. Two more of its competitors, Intact and ITEC, have recently been acquired by distributors in the form of Westcon and Exclusive Networks, respectively.
Cisco specialist Comms-care saw revenues rise by a third to £26.1m in its fiscal 2015, thanks partly to its 2014 acquisition of Platform Consultancy.
It claimed in its most recent annual accounts that resellers are requiring access to a broader range of professional and managed services to sell to end users, boosting demand for its services, a trend explored in this feature.
Comms-care's acquisition also reflects the growing appetite among distributors to move further beyond their roots as product shifters and grow their services repertoires, a trend that has not gone down well in all quarters.
Highlighting the pre-sales support, configuration, professional, maintenance and managed services Comms-care provides, Ingram said the move would enhance the high-value services it provides in the UK.
Brent McCarty, Ingram Micro vice president and chief country executive UK, said: "The addition of Comms-care supports our strategy to expand our global capabilities and expertise in fast-growing, high-value markets. Comms-care offers a unique opportunity as they have developed a well-respected, unique services model that exclusively serves the channel. We are delighted to welcome the Comms-care team to Ingram Micro."
In a letter to partners, Comms-care managing director Ben Davis (pictured, on the left, with Comms-care chairman Peter Lloyd) promised that Comms-care's character would not change under its new distributor owner.
"The new opportunities that this acquisition brings to you and your clients is vast, and while we will be working hard to ensure you are aware of these new capabilities, we will be equally focused in ensuring that all the reasons you originally chose Comms-care remain," he said.