Ricoh acquires two VARs in mainland Europe

Print vendor acquires DataVision in Germany and SimplicITy in Poland as it looks to bolster IT services footprint

Ricoh Europe has announced acquisitions of two European VARs in as many days as it looks to bolster its IT services clout across the continent and transform itself into a "digital services company".

The Tokyo-based print vendor has snapped up Düsseldorf-based DataVision and Warsaw-based SimplicITy.

DataVision is an AV and workplace integrator with 100 employees and 10 sales and services offices across Germany.

The firm works with device vendors including Canon, Epson, Cisco, Microsoft Samsung and Sharp. DataVision was announced as Microsoft's 2020 Partner of the Year for Surface Hub earlier this year. It also claims to be one of Microsoft's preferred partners in Germany for Teams Rooms Premium.

Ricoh claims the acquisition makes it one of the largest AV and workplace integrators in Europe, and gives it new skills in modern meeting and workplace solutions and unified communications.

The acquisition will give Ricoh Europe more than 1,300 customers including 15 of the DAX 30 companies in Germany as well as new business with some large government entities. Ricoh claims its customers across Europe will benefit from DataVisions's exerprise.

DataVision will continue to operate under its existing name as an individual entity following the acquisition, Ricoh claims.

VP of communication services at Ricoh Europe, Edward Hamilton, said DataVision will provide a springboard for further growth in Europe for its IT services division.

"The decision to acquire DataVision was based on a number of factors. This includes their market leading position, extensive competencies and experience, and the synergies we share with them in terms of customer bases, culture and strategy. This acquisition provides a strong platform for further growth across Europe and forms a key pillar in our transformation to become a Digital Services company. Most importantly, it serves to support our customers on their digital transformation journeys," he said.

Jochen Roggenkämper, MD of DataVision, added: "We are very excited about the journey ahead. The global footprint and infrastructure of Ricoh with their experience in delivering end-to-end Managed Services, paired with our extensive experience and expertise in AV, UCC and Workplace Management at DataVision, means that our customers across Germany and Europe are better positioned than ever to benefit from advanced and collaborative working environments."

The DataVision acquisition comes in tandem with another acquisition by Ricoh. The print vendor has also acquired one of Poland's "fastest growing" VARs in the shape of Citrix, Dell and Lenovo partner SimplicITy.

Based in Warsaw, SimplicITy is a team of 38 staff including 19 technical specialists specialising in datacentre, hybrid cloud, networking and security services.

Like DataVision, Ricoh intends to run SimplicITy as an independent company under its own branding. Ricoh however claims that SimplicITy will look to create synergies with its existing business in Poland as well as Ricoh Europe's Service Operations Centre and wider IT services team.

Alberto Mariani, SVP of Office Services at Ricoh Europe, said: "This is an exciting and significant addition to our IT Services business in a key market. The acquisition fits perfectly with our strategy to expand coverage in Poland and to acquire further competences around hybrid cloud and high end IT services. We are looking forward to supporting the growth of SimplicITy customers and aiding the progress made on their respective digital journeys."

Mariusz Iwański, Co-Founder of SimplicITy, added: "We are delighted to be joining the Ricoh family. It is clear that Ricoh shares our appetite for customer excellence, innovation and driving successful IT transformation. This will enable us to provide an even more comprehensive service to customers in an increasingly competitive IT market."

Ricoh has been acquiring channel businesses over the last few years in order to grow its own IT services business. In 2019, the firm acquired IPM in Spain and TotalStor in Portugal.

It follows a general trend of print vendors acquiring in the channel, with previous acquisitions coming from Sharp, Xerox, Kyocera and HP.