EMIT sees revenue jump after slashing vendor partners

MSP cut its vendor partners from 20 to just Microsoft and Dell

Irish managed service provider EMIT claims its revenues have soared after a shift in business strategy that now sees it carry just two vendors.

The firm underwent a business restructure at the end of 2014 after its previous model, which saw it act as an outsourced IT department for its customers, was leaving it stretched and unable to focus on core skills, managing director Eamon Moore said.

However, EMIT claims it has seen 34 per cent revenue growth in its first fiscal year since the change was made and now works with just Microsoft and Dell, having dropped around 18 partners.

Moore said the firm now offers solutions across four key areas: business productivity, infrastructure, cloud computing, and security.

"When we looked at it as a company we were probably trying to do too much," he said.

"We had our team on-site acting as IT consultants in Irish businesses on a part-time model, and when you go with that model and you become the de facto IT person, we found we were getting dragged in and out of different things.

"While that was valuable to clients, it meant that we couldn't have a core skill set with the business."

Moore said that EMIT wanted to transition from being a "break/fix support company" to a "non-traditional" partner for Dell and Microsoft by also offering business productivity solutions to customers alongside technology support.

"Of course we still do IT services and that would fall under the technology bracket," he said. "But the business productivity is about, when you have the stable infrastructure, how do you improve the way the business runs? We feel we have that solution now."

The firm is now looking to achieve revenue growth of 45 per cent this year and is aiming to double its headcount from 13 to around 25.

Moore didn't rule out adding to the two vendors, saying EMIT will be in a position to take on more partners in the future, but he said Dell and Microsoft are "keeping them very busy at the moment".

He is however excited at the prospect of adding EMC's capabilities to EMIT's offering, with Dell's acquisition set to be completed this week.

"As a Dell partner we're very much looking forward to a lot of that EMC storage portfolio coming in and complementing what has been done there already," he said.

"When you're bringing two powerhouses like Dell and EMC together, I see it as a massive opportunity for us as a partner and for the industry as well.

"No doubt there will be some consolidation in storage applications when they bring the two portfolios together, but you're talking about bringing the best-of-breed stuff from both companies."