Two of Toronto's most successful MSPs (managed IT service providers) are uniting their businesses to further scale end-customer experiences across Ontario, Canada.
The strategy involves PACE Technical and Vertex Solutions Group -- long-time competitors and cooperators that are deeply familiar with each other's businesses. The combined company, known as PACE Technical, has roughly 55 employees, according to CEO Shael Risman. Meanwhile, Vertex will continue as Vertex Legal, a PACE Technical Company.
In an expansive conversation with ChannelE2E, Risman zeroed in on themes like customer experience, employee satisfaction, employee career development, scale, responsiveness -- and the precious commodity of time.
At points, we drifted away from the bits and bytes of the MSP sector, and reflected on Risman's family life, music and a pressing need to deeply value and prioritize time. (Perhaps we'll share more details at a later date.) What didn't we discuss? Mergers, acquisitions, takeovers and the like.
Aligning MSP Talent with Customer Outcomes
Read between the lines, and Risman wants to emphasize the similar cultures of PACE Technical and Vertex -- and a continued focus on end-customer service. To wit, PACE Technical is a seven-time-winner of “The Best Workplaces In Canada” by Great Place to Work, and Vertex has been named one of the Top 50 Best Managed IT Companies in Canada for five years running, the two companies note.
In a prepared statement about the deal, Risman said:
“We believe that a person’s experience with technology directly influences their creativity, productivity, and efficiency. We want to disrupt and reinvent the client experience with technology and in doing so, become the go-to managed service provider for all small to medium-sized businesses and professional service firms in Ontario.”
Added Tyler Sanders, owner and CEO of Vertex Solutions:
“With a 50–60-person managed services company, and the combination of our skill sets and resources, we will be able to offer better coverage and better infrastructure to all our clients without sacrificing the client experience or causing employees to burn-out. Our employees will have access to more training and learning, expanded benefits, increased knowledge and additional support – a key reason we chose to join forces."
Rob Rae, Gary Pica Offer Perspectives
MSP market leaders also weighed in on the deal.
Rob Rae, senior VP of business development at Datto, a Kaseya company, said:
“I can’t imagine a better fit than these two companies when it comes to innovation and enhanced customer experience. Both Vertex and PACE are well established and respected brands in the MSP world and I for one cannot wait to see them light this up!”
Added Gary Pica, founder of TruMethods, a Kaseya company:
“This new combined team of experts will have more experience and more resources to make the investments that every client needs, specifically around cloud, security, and compliance. Customers need more from their MSPs, and this new joint venture puts PACE in a position to be able to deliver on that. If I am a PACE Technical or a Vertex Solutions customer today, I feel really good about my relationship moving forward.”
For those keeping score, this is M&A deal number 860 that ChannelE2E has covered so far in 2022. See more than 2,000 technology M&A deals involving MSPs, MSSPs & IT service providers listed here. But once again, PACE Technical and Vertex haven't called it an M&A deal. Instead, the want to emphasize a continued, unified obsession with customer experience.
