CloudJumper has acquired an IT service provider business unit. Why? The deal essentially expands CloudJumper's Workspace as a Service (WaaS) installed base, while also expanding the company's MSP and ISV ecosystem with 50 additional partners.
CloudJumper did not disclose the seller's name or the price, but the installed base involves MSPs and ISVs that leverage independenceIT's WaaS platform. CloudJumper also leverage independenceIT as a core piece of its overall WaaS development broader software strategy.
CloudJumper completed the deal in December and alerted the acquired partner base in early January. Those partners can continue to run existing customers on existing WaaS infrastructure, though net new customers will activate atop CloudJumper's partner support infrastructure and my.CloudJumper partner management portal.
Those partners gain access to a more robust WaaS offering at lower prices than the previous owner could offer, according to President JD Helms. Moreover, they can work closely with Chief Sales Officer Max Pruger, a Kaseya and USWeb managed services veteran.
DaaS and WaaS: Growing, Evolving & Fragmented
Overall, the WaaS market is highly fragmented -- with multiple cloud and software providers vying for position. Traditional desktop as a service (DaaS) and VDI (virtual desktop infrastructure) providers have also evolved their wares. Many folks (including ChannelE2E) keep expecting Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services to set de facto standards for hosted desktops and WaaS. But so far, neither Microsoft nor AWS has established market leadership.
For its part, CloudJumper expects to double its revenues in 2017, though the company has not disclosed actual dollar figures. New partnerships also is emerging. For instance, CloudJumper plans to leverage US Signal cloud infrastructure to deliver hosted desktops, applications, storage and complete workspaces to midsize and large enterprises nationwide.
Meanwhile, WaaS rivals also are jockeying for position. Among the key moves worth watching:
- Amazon expanded its DaaS pricing options to include part-time employees in August 2016.
- Citrix Systems launched new DaaS efforts and acquired Unidesk earlier this month.
- Itopia raised $3.5 million in October 2016 for its cloud-based workspace management platform.
- independenceIT just partnered with interworks.cloud, and the company's revenues grew 70 percent in 2016 vs. 2015.
- Konica Minolta’s All Covered business has been expanding its Citrix-based WaaS efforts.
- Microsoft punted on some of its own DaaS-for-Azure offerings and now works more closely with Citrix.
- NeverFail (formerly Artisan Infrastructure) acquired Vertiscale in mid-2016 for its own WaaS push.
We expect additional M&A in the sector...
Complete M&A Coverage: Track all VAR, MSP and CSP mergers and acquisitions by visiting the ChannelE2E Milestones section daily. Also, check out ChannelE2E's Top 100 Mergers & Acquisitions across the IT channel, 2017 edition.
