When Apax Partners confirmed plans to acquire ECi Software Solutions yesterday, the announcement emphasized manufacturing-centric software. That made ChannelE2E wonder: Is Apax committed to ECi's Naverisk platform -- which offers RMM (remote monitoring and management) and IT service desk capabilities to MSPs?
ChannelE2E went searching for answers, and an ECi spokesperson promptly replied. The short answer: Apax and ECi certainly are committed to the IT services sector and associated software. However, the spokesperson conceded yesterday's M&A announcement emphasized manufacturing, but that's because the M&A deal also includes the Exact North America software businesses.
ECi Statement on Naverisk Commitment
According to the spokesperson:
"As you are aware, ECi provides business management solutions to SMBs in four primary verticals: Building & Construction, Field and I/T Service, Manufacturing, and Distribution. The press release had an emphasis on manufacturing only as a result of our acquisition of the Exact North America software businesses which are in that sector. That doesn’t in any way diminish our focus on our other core vertical markets. Despite the change in ownership, our strategic focus has not changed. Apax supports our growth strategy both organically and through acquisition."
Apax's buyout of ECi is expected to close in Q3 2017. ECi, plans to communicate "the detailed strategies of each vertical and products within each division" as the deal moves toward its official closing date, the spokesperson says,
Financial terms of the ECi buyout were not disclosed. The company claims it is one of the largest privately held SaaS businesses in the world. ECi has nearly 15,000 customers, though actual revenue figures are undisclosed.
MSP Software Acquisitions: Sounds Familiar
I suspect Naverisk and a sister business (FMAudit for managed print services) represent relatively small slices of the overall ECi revenue pie -- though that's just my own personal hunch.
In some ways, the Apax-ECi-Exact deal reminds me of Avast acquiring AVG Technologies in 2016. In that deal, two security-minded software companies came together. AVG's MSP-focused software (Managed Workplace, formerly owned by Level Platforms) was a "nice to have" part of the deal, rather than a core driver for the Avast-AVG marriage, I've long maintained.
Still, Avast has made frequent AVG Managed Workplace updates. We'll be watching to see if ECi makes frequently MSP-centric updates for the Naverisk and FMAudit partner bases.
